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such men. Therefore, before all else, there is need of these who, having been chosen for teaching, will be sent out as heralds of the world, through whom it is possible both to learn piety and, having learned it, to believe, and, having believed, to call upon henceforth in the hope of receiving the salvation that comes from calling upon. But grace did not choose these from elsewhere, considering them to be suitable, but rather from those who had been under the law and its instruction, who over a long period of time, by the predictions of the prophets, had firmly received the expectation of Christ's coming for the cause of many good things, so that not even the place from where he was to appear was unknown to them, so that the salvation of men through Christ depended on the instruction in the law, both because he appeared from there among those where he was expected, and because the first believers came from there, who, having been deemed worthy of the grace from above, were judged to be sufficient for the teaching of all. Therefore, if Christ is from there, he says, and the apostles, the teachers of all, then great is the economy of God according to the law, having the salvation of all contained within it; for thus it was possible for men to learn what is fitting, and having learned, to believe, and having believed, to call upon, and having called upon, to receive the salvation that comes from calling upon. And since he made everything depend on the teaching of the apostles, so as to show the usefulness of the law, since indeed he appointed the apostles as teachers of all, he adds: As it is written: 'How beautiful are the feet' and so on. But these things were said by the prophet not concerning the apostles, but concerning those who were to announce the good things that would happen concerning the Jews. But if the announcers of those things, he says, are thus considered worthy of wonder, surely then it is necessary to consider the teaching of the apostles a necessary and most beneficial thing for all. Ro+m 10,16-17 The phrase 'But not all obeyed the gospel' must be read as a question, placed by the apostle as a form of objection, instead of 'But you will say that not all believed.' Nothing surprising; for the scarcity of those who would be persuaded was spoken of long ago by Isaiah. Thus indeed he places the matter in a state of difficulty, so as to say: 'Who then will be the one to receive these things which we, having learned from divine grace, now proclaim?' Therefore, nothing new is happening now either. And having resolved the objection by the testimony, from it he draws a conclusion about the things before the objection, that is, 'How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed,' and so on, and says: 'So then faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of God.' And it is very clear to us, he says, from the voice of the prophet, that very thing which we were saying, that faith could never exist without learning, and the learning of piety could not be established unless God shows what is true; which indeed has now happened through those instructed under the law, whom God, having taught them over a long period of time through the prophets to await these things, in the fitting season appointed as teachers of the truth for all men 153. Ro+m 10,18 The phrase 'Yes, indeed, their voice has gone out into all the earth' he has clearly set down not as something spoken prophetically about them, but as something that can be fitted to the present circumstances. And this too must be known from this, that he uses 'yes, indeed' for resolving an issue, so that it is not unclear that also when he says, 'Yes, indeed, O man, who are you to talk back to God,' he is resolving the question, not rebuking, as some think. Ro+m 10,19 Again he brings up another objection: 'But I say, did Israel not know?' instead of, 'But will you not say this, that the matter has been considered new to them, that those from the Gentiles have been received into piety, and because of this, being disturbed as if at something new, they fight against our doctrine?' And indeed Moses himself, who gave them the law, appears from long ago testifying from God, that when these turned to the worse, he himself will choose the Gentiles before these, and will deem them worthy of his own providence, so that they might receive perception from the events.

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τοιούτους. οὐκοῦν πρὸ πάντων χρεία τούτων οἳ πρὸς διδαχὴν ἐκλεγέντες ἀποσταλήσονται τῆς οἰκουμένης κήρυκες, δι' ὧν δυνατὸν καὶ μαθεῖν τὴν εὐσέβειαν καὶ πιστεῦσαι μαθόντας καὶ πιστεύσαντας ἐπικαλεῖσθαι λοιπὸν ἐλπίδι τοῦ τὴν ἐκ τῆς ἐπικλήσεως σωτηρίαν λαβεῖν. ἀλλὰ τούτους οὐχ ἑτέρωθεν ἐξελέξατο ἡ χάρις ἐπιτηδείους εἶναι νομίσασα, ἀλλ' ἢ ἀπὸ τῶν ὑπὸ τὸν νόμον καὶ τὴν τούτου γεγονότων παιδαγωγίαν, οἳ μακρῷ τῷ χρόνῳ ταῖς τῶν προφητῶν προαγορεύσεσιν τὸ περιμένειν τοῦ Χριστοῦ τὴν παρουσίαν ἐπὶ πολλῶν ἀγαθῶν αἰτίᾳ βεβαίως εἰλήφεισαν, ὡς μηδὲ τὸν τόπον ἄδηλον εἶναι αὐτοῖς ὅθεν φανήσεσθαι ἔμελλεν, ὥστε τῆς ἐν νόμῳ παιδαγωγίας ἤρτηται ἡ διὰ Χριστοῦ τῶν ἀνθρώπων σωτηρία, τῷ τε ἐκεῖθεν φανῆναι παρ' οἷς καὶ ἠλπίζετο, καὶ τῷ τοὺς πρώτους πεπιστευκότας ἐκεῖθεν γενέσθαι οἳ τῆς ἄνωθεν ἀξιωθέντες χάριτος ἱκανοὶ πρὸς τὴν ἁπάντων διδασκαλίαν εἶναι ἐκρίθησαν. οὐκοῦν εἰ ὁ 152 Χριστὸς ἐκεῖθεν, φησί, καὶ οἱ ἁπάντων διδάσκαλοι οἱ ἀπόστολοι, μεγάλη τις ἡ κατὰ νόμον οἰκονομία τοῦ θεοῦ, πάντων ἐμπεριειλημμένην αὐτῷ τὴν σωτηρίαν ἔχουσα· οὕτω γὰρ ὑπῆρξεν τοῖς ἀνθρώποις μαθεῖν τε ἃ προσήκει, καὶ μαθοῦσι πιστεῦσαι, πιστεύσασί τε ἐπικαλέσασθαι, ἐπι καλεσαμένοις δὲ τὴν ἐκ τῆς ἐπικλήσεως σωτηρίαν λαβεῖν. καὶ ἐπειδὴ πάντα τῆς τῶν ἀποστόλων ἀπήρτησεν διδαχῆς ὥστε δεῖξαι τοῦ νόμου τὸ χρήσιμον, εἴγε τοὺς ἁπάντων ἀνέδειξε διδασκάλους ἀποστόλους, ἐπάγει· καθὼς γέγραπται· ὡς ὡραῖοι οἱ πόδες καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς. εἴρηται δὲ ταῦτα οὐ περὶ τῶν ἀποστόλων τῷ προφήτῃ, ἀλλὰ περὶ τῶν μελλόντων μηνύειν τὰ περὶ Ἰουδαίους ἐσόμενα ἀγαθά. εἰ δὲ οἱ μηνυταὶ ἐκείνων, φησίν, οὕτω νομίζονται θαύματος ἄξιοι, ἤπου γε ἀναγκαῖόν τι πρᾶγμα καὶ λυσιτελέστατον ἅπασι δεῖ νομίζειν τῶν ἀποστό λων τὴν διδαχήν. Ro+m 10,16-17 Τὸ ἀλλ' οὐ πάντες ὑπήκουσαν τῷ εὐαγγελίῳ κατ' ἐρώτησιν ἀναγνωστέον, ἀντιθέσεως μέρει παρὰ τοῦ ἀποστόλου τεθέν, ἀντὶ τοῦ ἀλλ' ἐρεῖς ὅτι μὴ πάντες ἐπίστευσαν. θαυμαστὸν οὐδέν· πόρρωθεν γὰρ εἴρηται τῷ Ἡσαΐᾳ τῶν πειθομένων τὸ σπάνιον. οὕτω γοῦν ἐν ἀπόρῳ τίθεται τὸ πρᾶγμα ὡς λέγειν· τίς ἄρα ἔσται ὁ δεξόμενος ταῦτα ἅπερ οὖν ἡμεῖς ὑπὸ τῆς θείας χάριτος μεμαθηκότες κηρύττομεν; οὐκοῦν οὐδὲ νῦν γένηταί τι καινόν. καὶ λύσας τῇ μαρτυρίᾳ τὴν ἀντίθησιν ἀπ' αὐτῆς ἐπισυλλογίζεται τὰ πρὸ τῆς ἀντιθέσεως, τὸ πῶς οὖν ἐπικαλέσονται εἰς ὃν οὐκ ἐπίστευσαν καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς, καί φησιν· ἄρα ἡ πίστις ἐξ ἀκοῆς, ἡ δὲ ἀκοὴ διὰ ῥήματος θεοῦ. πρόδηλον δὲ ἡμῖν, φησίν, ἀπὸ τῆς τοῦ προφήτου φωνῆς κἀκεῖνο ὅπερ ἐλέγομεν, ὅτι πίστις μαθήσεως ἐκτὸς οὐκ ἄν ποτε γένοιτο, καὶ μάθησις εὐσεβείας οὐκ ἂν συνέστη μὴ θεοῦ τἀληθὲς δεικνύντος· ὅπερ οὖν καὶ νῦν διὰ τῶν ὑπὸ τῷ νόμῳ παιδαγωγουμένων ἐγένετο, οὓς ἐν μακρῷ τῷ χρόνῳ διὰ τῶν προφητῶν ἀναμένειν ταῦτα παιδεύσας θεός, ἐν καιρῷ τῷ προσήκοντι διδασκάλους τῆς ἀληθείας ἅπασιν ἀνθρώποις ἀνέδειξεν 153. Ro+m 10,18 Τὸ μενοῦνγε εἰς πᾶσαν τὴν γῆν ἐξῆλθεν ὁ φθόγγος αὐτῶν πρόδηλον ὅτι μὴ ὡς προφητικῶς περὶ αὐτῶν εἰρημένον τέθεικεν, ἀλλ' ὡς ἁρμόττειν τοῖς παροῦσι δυνάμενον πράγμασιν. κἀκεῖνο δὲ ἰστέον ἐντεῦθεν ὅτι τὸ μενοῦνγε ἐπὶ λύσει κέχρηται, ὡς μὴ εἶναι ἄδηλον ὅτι καὶ ὅταν λέγῃ· μενοῦνγε, ὦ ἄνθρωπε, σὺ τίς εἶ ὁ ἀνταποκρινόμενος τῷ θεῷ, λύων τὸ ζητούμενον, οὐκ ἐπιτιμῶν, ὥς τινες οἴονται , λέγει. Ro+m 10,19 Πάλιν ἑτέραν ἀντίθεσιν ἐπάγει· ἀλλὰ λέγω, μὴ Ἰσραὴλ οὐκ ἔγνω; ἀντὶ τοῦ ἀλλὰ μὴ τοῦτο ἐρεῖς ὅτι καινὸν αὐτοῖς τὸ πρᾶγμα νενόμισται, τὸ τοὺς ἐξ ἐθνῶν προσειλῆφθαι εἰς τὴν εὐσέβειαν, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο ὡς ἐπὶ καινῷ ταραττόμενοι πρὸς τὸ δόγμα διαμάχονται τὸ ἡμέτερον. καὶ μὴν εὐθὺς Μωϋσῆς ὁ τὸν νόμον αὐτοῖς δεδωκὼς φαίνεται πόρρωθεν ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ διαμαρτυρόμενος, ὅτι δὴ τούτων πρὸς τὸ χεῖρον νευσάντων καὶ αὐτὸς ἐκλέξεται τὰ ἔθνη πρὸ τούτων, κἀκείνους τῆς οἰκείας ἀξιώσει προνοίας, ὥστε αἴσθησιν αὐτοὺς ἀπὸ τῶν πραγμάτων λαβεῖν.