Philocalia or Selections from the works of Origen made by Basil and Gregory of Nazianzus (ch. 23, 25-27)

 of those concerning the stars, so that what is said by them may not be an unproven declaration, let them try to bring us more compellingly, by present

 to her a sign, saying: This is the sign which the Lord spoke, saying: Behold, the altar shall be rent, and the fat that is upon it shall be poured out

 of certain observations, or also from the teaching of angels who had transgressed their own order and, for the ruin of our race, taught certain things

 to be mistaken, but it is possible concerning things that are contingent to happen and not to happen to think that they happen and that they do not ha

 these past events are not in our power, it being possible on the basis of the same past events to do other things than what we do. But if anyone seeks

 It is fated for you to have children or not to have children in vain then you have relations with a woman. For just as in this case, since it is impo

 they will reasonably agree that nothing concerning human affairs comes from the stars, but, as we have said before, if anything, they are signified A

 argument, that humans are able to comprehend the heavenly configurations and the signs and what they are signs of, let us now examine if this is true.

 of human nature, not in a human way but in a divine way they are taught the secrets just as Paul, saying: I heard unspeakable words, which it is not

 they read the book of God and thus they do what is incumbent upon them. But as we said before, what we do, or what the opposing energies accomplish i

 they do away with sayings, also using the one: “The sinners were estranged from the womb,” spoken in the psalms. Now to this it is easy to reply, by a

 troubling our argument since Paul says: “But we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called accordin

 the deeds foreknown beforehand but happening later, each from the apostolic preparation and choice. But now to apply this to the saying from the psalm

 Health, of course, and bodily strength are a good. The text reads thus: ‘If you will not hearken to do all the words of this law that are written in t

 it is necessary to raise a further question to those who suppose, whether the prophets, whose sins are not spoken against, have kept the law for exam

 of whom the prophet also finds fault with those who are in such states, saying: 'From the feet to the head, there is neither wound, nor bruise, nor fe

 who was once the morning star, rising in the morning, but later was shattered upon the earth. For not only among the sons of men, if one is perfect, i

 that the sound account concerning this Scripture is also among the hidden things. But those who claim there is another god besides the creator wish hi

 they suppose concerning God, nor to what they dogmatize concerning natures, does the argument from the reading now under examination contribute, as th

 leading him into the open and perhaps exhausting him through the action, so that having brought to completion all the outbursts of his indwelling wick

 chasten me” the one praying these things is asking not to need the reproof that comes through the wrath of God and the chastisement that comes throug

 Good masters, being long-suffering toward their sinning servants, are accustomed to say: I have ruined you and: I have made you wicked showing with

 the heart of Pharaoh” whether they believe that these things are said truly by God through the inspired Moses or falsely. For if falsely, then accord

Good masters, being long-suffering toward their sinning servants, are accustomed to say: I have ruined you; and: I have made you wicked; showing with character that their goodness and long-suffering seem to have become the occasion for more wickedness. Just as, then, when these things are said, some slanderer can say that the master confessed to having made the servant wicked; so also the things from the goodness of God, having become an occasion for the hardness of Pharaoh, are written to have hardened the heart of Pharaoh. And this one will be comforted from apostolic sayings to say what he has understood: "Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance? But in accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who will render to each one according to his deeds." The same apostle, then, in the same epistle to the Romans says: "What if God, wanting to show His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath prepared for destruction"; as the longsuffering of God having borne the vessels of wrath and, as it were, having begotten them. For if, because He was long-suffering, not punishing sinners but having mercy, one abounded in the outpouring of wickedness, He Himself in a way bore with His own longsuffering the vessels of wrath, and, so to speak, He Himself made them vessels of wrath, and according to this He Himself hardened their heart. For when so many signs and wonders were happening, Pharaoh is not persuaded, but after such great things resists, how is he not convicted of being harder and more unbelieving, with the hardness and the unbelief seeming to have come from the wondrous powers? And similar is that in the gospel: "For judgment I have come into this world"; for the Savior did not intend to come for judgment, but it followed upon His coming that He had come for judgment of those who after the wonders did not believe in Him; but also He came for the fall of many; not intending when He came to make those fall, for whose fall He had come. 27.11n And after other things: Thus the wonders that happened were mercy to those who received and believed, just as to the mixed multitude of Egyptians who had come out with the people; but to the disobedient it brings hardness to their hearts. And from the gospel, still besides the things that have been said, it is possible to set forth similar things, about how the Savior also seemed to have become a cause of evils for some: "Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago sitting in sackcloth and ashes. But I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon than for you. And you, he says, Capernaum"; and what follows. For the Savior, being a foreknower of the unbelief of those in Chorazin and those in Bethsaida and those in Capernaum, and that it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for them, why did He perform the wonders in Chorazin and in Bethsaida, seeing that because of these things it becomes more tolerable in the day of judgment for the Tyrians and Sidonians than for these? 27.12n And after other things: "But you shall say to Pharaoh: Thus says the Lord: Israel is My firstborn son; and I said to you: Let My people go, that they may serve Me; but if you will not let him go, behold then, I will kill your firstborn son." It must be said then to those who affirm these things to be of a just God, and who suppose according to the plain sense of the text that the heart of Pharaoh was hardened: how is He just who both hardened the heart of the king so that he would not send out His people, and threatening if he does not release them to kill his firstborn son? For being hard-pressed, they will confess Him to be evil. Then again they will be overturned by other things and will be brought together to not be enslaved to the plain text, which is not able, according to them, to save the justness of the Creator. But once they are compelled to examine these things under pressure, they will rise to the point of no longer accusing the Creator but affirming Him to be good. It must be asked then of those who think they have understood this: "The Lord hardened the

χρηστοὶ κύριοι μακροθυμοῦντες ἐπὶ τοὺς ἁμαρτάνοντας τῶν οἰκετῶν λέγειν εἰώθασι τό· Ἐγώ σε ἀπώλεσα· καί· Ἐγώ σε πονηρὸν ἐποίησα· μετὰ ἤθους ἐμφαίνοντες ὅτι ἡ χρηστότης αὐτῶν καὶ ἡ μακροθυμία πρόφασις δοκεῖ γεγονέναι τῆς ἐπὶ πλεῖον πονηρίας. Ὥσπερ οὖν τούτων λεγομένων συκοφαν τῶν τις δύναται λέγειν, ὅτι ὡμολόγησεν ὁ δεσπότης πονηρὸν πεποιηκέναι τὸν οἰκέτην· οὕτω τὰ ὑπὸ τῆς ἀγαθότητος τοῦ θεοῦ πρόφασις γενόμενα τῆς σκληρότητος τοῦ Φαραὼ ἐσκληρυκέναι ἀναγέγραπται τὴν καρδίαν Φαραώ. Παραμυ θήσεται δὲ οὗτος ἐξ ἀποστολικῶν ῥητῶν ὃ νενόηκεν εἰπεῖν· «Ἢ τοῦ πλούτου τῆς χρηστότητος αὐτοῦ καὶ τῆς ἀνοχῆς καὶ τῆς μακροθυμίας καταφρονεῖς, ἀγνοῶν ὅτι τὸ χρηστὸν τοῦ θεοῦ εἰς μετάνοιάν σε ἄγει; κατὰ δὲ τὴν σκληρότητά σου καὶ ἀμετανόητον καρδίαν θησαυρίζεις σεαυτῷ ὀργὴν ἐν ἡμέρᾳ ὀργῆς καὶ ἀποκαλύψεως καὶ δικαιοκρισίας τοῦ θεοῦ, ὃς ἀποδώσει ἑκάστῳ κατὰ τὰ ἔργα αὐτοῦ.» Ὁ αὐτὸς γοῦν ἀπόστολος ἐν τῇ αὐτῇ ἐπιστολῇ τῇ πρὸς Ῥωμαίους φησίν· «Εἰ δὲ θέλων ὁ θεὸς ἐνδείξασθαι τὴν ὀργὴν καὶ γνωρίσαι τὸ δυνατὸν αὐτοῦ ἤνεγκεν ἐν πολλῇ μακροθυμίᾳ σκεύη ὀργῆς κατηρτισμένα εἰς ἀπώλειαν»· ὡς τῆς μακροθυμίας τοῦ θεοῦ ἐνηνοχυίας τὰ σκεύη τῆς ὀργῆς καὶ οἱονεὶ γεγεννηκυίας. Εἰ γὰρ παρὰ τὸ μακροθυμεῖν αὐτὸν οὐ κολάζοντα τοὺς ἁμαρτάνοντας ἀλλ' ἐλεοῦντα ἐπλεόνασε τῇ χύσει τῆς κακίας, αὐτός πως ἤνεγκε τῇ ἑαυτοῦ μακρο θυμίᾳ τὰ σκεύη τῆς ὀργῆς, καί, ἵν' οὕτως εἴπω, αὐτὸς αὐτὰ πεποίηκε σκεύη ὀργῆς, καὶ κατὰ τοῦτο αὐτὸς ἐσκλήρυνε τὴν καρδίαν αὐτῶν. Ὅτε γὰρ σημείων τοσούτων καὶ τεράτων γινομένων οὐ πείθεται ὁ Φαραώ, ἀλλὰ μετὰ τηλικαῦτα ἀνθίσταται, πῶς οὐ σκληρότερος καὶ ἀπιστότερος ὢν ἐλέγχεται, τῆς σκληρότητος καὶ τῆς ἀπιστίας δοκούσης ἐκ τῶν τεραστίων δυνάμεων γεγονέναι; ὅμοιον δὲ καὶ τὸ ἐν τῷ εὐαγγελίῳ· «Εἰς κρίμα ἐγὼ εἰς τὸν κόσμον τοῦτον ἦλθον»· οὐ γὰρ προέθετο ὁ σωτὴρ εἰς κρίμα ἐλθεῖν, ἀλλ' ἠκολούθησε τῷ ἐληλυθέναι αὐτὸν τὸ εἰς κρίμα αὐτὸν ἐληλυθέναι τῶν μετὰ τὰ τεράστια οὐ πεπιστευκότων αὐτῷ· ἀλλὰ καὶ εἰς πτῶσιν πολλῶν παρεγένετο· οὐ προθέμενος ὅτε παρεγίνετο ποιῆσαι πεσεῖν τούτους, ὧν εἰς πτῶσιν ἐλήλυθεν. 27.11n Καὶ μεθ' ἕτερα· Οὕτως τὰ τεράστια γινόμενα τοῖς μὲν δεχομένοις καὶ πιστεύουσιν, ὥσπερ τοῖς ἐπιμίκτοις Αἰγυπτίοις τοῖς συνεληλυθόσι τῷ λαῷ, ἔλεος ἦν· τοῖς δὲ ἀπειθοῦσι σκλη ρότητα ταῖς καρδίαις αὐτῶν ἐπιφέρει. Καὶ ἐκ τοῦ εὐαγγε λίου δὲ ἔτι παρὰ τὰ εἰρημένα ἔστι τὰ ὅμοια παραθέσθαι, περὶ τοῦ καὶ τὸν σωτῆρα κακῶν αἴτιον δοκεῖν γεγονέναι τισίν· «Οὐαί σοι, Χοραζίν· οὐαί σοι, Βηθσαϊδά· ὅτι εἰ ἐν Τύρῳ καὶ Σιδῶνι ἐγένετο τὰ σημεῖα τὰ γενόμενα ἐν ὑμῖν, πάλαι ἂν ἐν σάκκῳ καὶ σποδῷ καθήμενοι μετενόησαν. Πλὴν λέγω ὑμῖν, Τύρῳ καὶ Σιδῶνι ἀνεκτότερον ἔσται ἢ ὑμῖν. Καὶ σύ, φησίν, Καπερναούμ»· καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς. Προ γνώστης γὰρ ὢν ὁ σωτὴρ τῆς ἀπιστίας τῶν ἐν Χοραζὶν καὶ τῶν ἐν Βηθσαϊδὰ καὶ τῶν ἐν Καπερναούμ, καὶ ὅτι ἀνεκτότερον γίνεται γῇ Σοδόμων ἐν ἡμέρᾳ κρίσεως ἢ ἐκείνοις, διὰ τί τὰ τεράστια ἐπετέλει ἐν Χοραζὶν καὶ ἐν Βηθσαϊδά, ὁρῶν ὅτι διὰ ταῦτα ἀνεκτότερον γίνεται ἐν ἡμέρᾳ κρίσεως Τυρίοις καὶ Σιδωνίοις ἢ τούτοις; 27.12n Καὶ μεθ' ἕτερα· «Σὺ δὲ ἐρεῖς τῷ Φαραώ· τάδε λέγει κύριος· υἱὸς πρωτότοκός μου Ἰσραήλ· εἶπα δέ σοι· ἐξαπόστειλον τὸν λαόν μου ἵνα μοι λατρεύσῃ· εἰ δὲ μὴ βούλει ἐξαποστεῖλαι αὐτόν, ὅρα οὖν, ἐγὼ ἀποκτενῶ τὸν υἱόν σου τὸν πρωτό τοκον.» Λεκτέον οὖν τοῖς φάσκουσι δικαίου ταῦτα εἶναι θεοῦ, καὶ ὑπολαμβάνουσι κατὰ τὸ πρόχειρον τῆς λέξεως ἐσκληρύνθαι τὴν καρδίαν Φαραώ· πῶς δίκαιος ὁ σκληρύνας τε τὴν καρδίαν τοῦ βασιλέως ἵνα μὴ ἐξαποστείλῃ τὸν λαὸν αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἀπειλῶν εἰ μὴ ἀπολύσει ἀποκτεῖναι τὸν πρωτό τοκον αὐτοῦ υἱόν; Θλιβόμενοι γὰρ πονηρὸν αὐτὸν ὁμολο γήσουσιν. Εἶτα πάλιν ἀπὸ ἑτέρων ἀνατραπήσονται καὶ συναχθήσονται εἰς τὸ μὴ τῇ προχείρῳ λέξει δουλεύειν, οὐ δυναμένῃ κατ' αὐτοὺς σῶσαι τὸ δίκαιον τοῦ δημιουργοῦ. Ἅπαξ δὲ ἐὰν συναναγκασθῶσι βεβιασμένως ταῦτα ἐξετάζειν, ἀναβήσονται ἐπὶ τὸ μηκέτι κατηγορεῖν τοῦ δημιουργοῦ ἀλλὰ φάσκειν αὐτὸν εἶναι ἀγαθόν. Πευστέον οὖν τῶν οἰομένων νενοηκέναι τό· «Ἐσκλήρυνε κύριος τὴν