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to Moses.” But the phrase “just as He spoke” indicates the foreknowledge of God, meaning, the God of all was not ignorant of any of these things, but foretold them from the beginning. I have gone through all these things, wishing to show that Pharaoh was neither of an evil nature, nor did the Lord God make his will hard and resistant. For he who now inclines to this, and now to that, shows the free will of his choice. But that I may also resolve what is in doubt by an image: the sun by the energy of its heat moistens the wax, but dries the clay, and it softens the one, but hardens the other. Just as, therefore, it by one energy does opposite things, so by the long-suffering of the God of all, some reap benefit, others harm; and some are softened, but others are hardened. This the Lord also has declared in the holy gospels: “For judgment,” He says, “I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may become blind.” But this does not indicate the Lord’s purpose. For he did not come for this reason, to make blind those who see, but he has declared what has happened. “For He Himself wills 109 all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” But since human nature has free will, those who believed enjoyed salvation, while those who disbelieved became the authors of Gehenna for themselves. Thus Judas, who saw—for he was an apostle—was later blinded; but the divine Paul, being blind before, later received his sight. Thus through the epiphany of the Savior most of the Jews were blinded, but the Gentiles received their sight. However, because some were going to disbelieve, it was not right for the economy of our Savior in the flesh not to happen; for this would have deprived the world of salvation. Thus also the most divine Simeon said: “Behold, this one is set for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is spoken against.” And one must know this, too, that the God of all has appointed the present life as an arena for men, so that by contending in it, they may reveal their own purpose. And in the life to come, making a just judgment, He will crown some as victorious contestants, and punish others as having become workers of evil. But since not all believe in the life to come, the God of all very wisely both punishes some in this life who have lived in wickedness, and again, on the other hand, proclaims others who have cared greatly for piety. For this reason the divine apostle named some “vessels of wrath” and others “vessels of mercy,” since through the former the Lord God is shown to punish justly, and through the latter to deem the athletes of virtue worthy of all kinds of care and providence. One might also see physicians of the body using incisions and cauteries, and stirring up and drawing out the hidden humors that work a grievous disease, and making the hidden afflictions manifest. So also the God of all lays bare the wickedness of the thoughts by chastisements. For this He also said to Israel in Deutero- 110 nomy: “And you shall remember all the way which the Lord your God led you this fortieth year in the wilderness, that He might afflict you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. And He afflicted you and made you hungry,” and what follows. And just as, again, physicians cut those who are incurably ill in the presence of many, not so much helping them—for they know their disease is incurable—but teaching the students the method of healing, so also God subjected Pharaoh, who had used a most cruel and beastly will, to all kinds of punishments, teaching all men in general that He Himself governs creation, and justly defends those who are wronged, and punishes in justice those who do wrong. For this He also said to Pharaoh himself, “For this reason you have been kept, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be declared in all the earth.” That the things that had been done spread everywhere

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Μωϋσῇ ". τὸ δὲ " καθάπερ ἐλάλησε ", τὴν πρόγνωσιν τοῦ Θεοῦ δηλοῖ, ἀντὶ τοῦ, οὐδὲν τούτων ἠγνόησεν ὁ τῶν ὅλων Θεός, ἀλλ' ἐξ ἀρχῆς προείρηκε, ταῦτα δὲ πάντα διεξῆλθον δεῖξαι βουλόμενος, ὡς οὔτε φύσεως ἦν ὁ Φαραὼ πονηρᾶς, οὔτε ὁ δεσπότης Θεὸς σκληρὰν αὐτοῦ καὶ ἀντίτυπον τὴν γνώμην εἰργάσατο· ὁ γὰρ νῦν μὲν εἰς τοῦτο ῥέπων, νῦν δὲ εἰς ἐκεῖνο, δείκνυσι τὸ τῆς γνώμης αὐθαίρετον, ἵνα δὲ καὶ ἔκ τινος εἰκόνος τὸ ἀμφιβαλλόμενον διαλύσω· ὁ ἥλιος τῇ τῆς θέρμης ἐνερ γείᾳ τὸν μὲν κηρὸν ὑγραίνει, τὸν δὲ πηλὸν ξηραίνει, καὶ τὸν μὲν μαλάτ τει, τὸν δὲ σκληρύνει. ὥσπερ τοίνυν οὗτος τῇ ἐνεργείᾳ τῇ μιᾷ τὰ ἐναντία ποιεῖ, οὕτω τῇ τοῦ Θεοῦ τῶν ὅλων μακροθυμίᾳ, οἱ μὲν ὠφέλειαν, οἱ δὲ βλάβην καρποῦνται· καὶ οἱ μὲν μαλάττονται, οἱ δὲ σκληρύνονται. τοῦτο καὶ ὁ Κύριος ἐν τοῖς ἱεροῖς εὐαγγελίοις δεδήλωκεν· " εἰς κρῖμα, γάρ φησιν, ἐγὼ εἰς τὸν κόσμον τοῦτον ἦλθον, ἵνα οἱ μὴ βλέποντες βλέπωσι, καὶ οἱ βλέποντες τυφλοὶ γένωνται ". τοῦτο δὲ οὐ τοῦ δεσπότου δηλοῖ τὸν σκοπόν. οὐδὲ γὰρ τούτου χάριν ἐλήλυθεν, ἵνα τυφλοὺς ἀποφήνῃ τοὺς βλέποντας, ἀλλὰ τὸ γεγενημένον δεδήλωκεν· " αὐτὸς μὲν γὰρ βούλεται 109 πάντας ἀνθρώπους σωθῆναι καὶ εἰς ἐπίγνωσιν ἀληθείας ἐλθεῖν ". ἐπειδὴ δὲ τὸ αὐθαίρετον ἔχει τῶν ἀνθρώ πων ἡ φύσις, οἱ μὲν πεπιστευκότες τῆς σωτηρίας ἀπήλαυσαν, οἱ δὲ ἀπισ τήσαντες πρόξενοι ἑαυτοῖς τῆς γεέννης γεγένηνται. οὕτως ὁ Ἰούδας βλέπων- ἀπόστολος γὰρ ἦν-ὕστερον ἐτυφλώθη· ὁ δὲ θεσπέσιος Παῦλος τυφλὸς ὢν πρότερον, ἀνέβλεψεν ὕστερον. οὕτω διὰ τῆς τοῦ σωτῆρος ἐπιφανείας ἐτυφλώθησαν μὲν τῶν ἰουδαίων οἱ πλεῖστοι, ἀνέβλεψαν δὲ τὰ ἔθνη. οὐ μήν, ἐπειδή τινες ἔμελλον ἀπιστήσειν, ἐχρῆν μὴ γενέσθαι τὴν κατὰ σάρκα τοῦ σωτῆρος ἡμῶν οἰκονομίαν· τοῦτο γὰρ ἀπεστέρει τὴν οἰκουμένην τῆς σωτηρίας. οὕτω καὶ ὁ θειότατος ἔφη Συμεών· " ἰδοὺ οὗτος κεῖται εἰς πτῶσιν καὶ ἀνάστασιν πολ λῶν ἐν τῷ Ἰσραὴλ καὶ εἰς σημεῖον ἀντιλεγό μενον ". κἀκεῖνο μέντοι εἰδέναι χρή, ὡς τὸν παρόντα βίον ὁ τῶν ὅλων Θεὸς στάδιον τοῖς ἀνθρώποις ἀπέφηνεν, ἵν' ἐν τούτῳ ἀγωνιζόμενοι, δη λώσωσι τὸν οἰκεῖον σκοπόν· ἐν δέ γε τῷ μέλλοντι τὴν δικαίαν ποιούμενος κρίσιν, τοὺς μὲν ὡς νικηφόρους ἀγωνιστὰς στεφανώσει, τοὺς δὲ κολάσει ὡς τῆς κακίας ἐργάτας γεγενημένους. ἐπειδὴ δὲ οὐχ ἅπαντες τῷ μέλλοντι πιστεύουσι βίῳ, μάλα σοφῶς ὁ τῶν ὅλων Θεὸς καὶ κολάζει τινὰς ἐν τῷδε τῷ βίῳ πονηρίᾳ συνεζηκότας, καὶ αὖ πάλιν ἄλλους ἀνακηρύττει εὐσε βείας πεφροντικότας ὡς μάλιστα. τούτου χάριν ὁ θεῖος ἀπόστολος, τι νὰς μὲν " σκεύη ὀργῆς ", τινὰς δὲ " σκεύη ἐλέους " ὠνόμα σεν, ἐπειδὴ δι' ἐκείνων μὲν δῆλος γίνεται κολάζων ἐνδίκως ὁ δεσπότης Θεός, διὰ δὲ τούτων ἐπιμελείας παντοδαπῆς ἀξιῶν καὶ προμηθείας τοὺς τῆς ἀρετῆς ἀθλητάς. ἴδοι δ' ἄν τις καὶ τῶν σωμάτων τοὺς ἰατροὺς τομαῖς καὶ καυτῆρσι χρωμένους, καὶ τοὺς κεκρυμμένους χυμοὺς καὶ χαλεπὴν τὴν νόσον ἐργαζομένους, ἀναμοχλεύοντας καὶ ἐξάγοντας, καὶ τὰ λαν θάνοντα πάθη δῆλα ποιοῦντας. οὕτως καὶ ὁ τῶν ὅλων Θεὸς τῶν λογισ μῶν τὴν πονηρίαν ταῖς παιδείαις γυμνοῖ. τοῦτο γὰρ καὶ ἐν τῷ ∆ευτε 110 ρονομίῳ πρὸς τὸν Ἰσραὴλ ἔφη " καὶ μνησθήσῃ πᾶσαν τὴν ὁδὸν ἣν ἤγαγέ σε Κύριος ὁ Θεός σου τεσ σαρακοστὸν ἔτος ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ, ὅπως κακώσῃ σε καὶ πειράσῃ σε καὶ διαγνωσθῇ τὰ ἐν τῇ καρ δίᾳ σου, εἰ φυλάξῃ τὰς ἐντολὰς αὐτοῦ, ἢ οὔ. καὶ ἐκάκωσέ σε καὶ ἐλιμαγχόνησέ σε ", καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς. καθάπερ δὲ πάλιν οἱ ἰατροὶ τοὺς ἀνηκέστως διακειμένους πολλῶν παρόν των τέμνουσιν, οὐκ ἐκείνοις τοσοῦτον ἐπικουροῦντες- ἴσασι γὰρ αὐτῶν τὴν νόσον ἀνίατον-, ἀλλὰ τοὺς φοιτητὰς τὸν τῆς ἰατρείας διδάσκοντες τρόπον, οὕτω καὶ τὸν Φαραὼ ὠμοτάτῃ καὶ θηριώδει χρησάμενον γνώ μῃ ταῖς παντοδαπαῖς τιμωρίαις ὑπέβαλεν ὁ Θεός, πάντας ὡς ἐπίπαν διδάσκων ἀνθρώπους, ὡς αὐτὸς ἰθύνει τὴν κτίσιν, καὶ τοῖς μὲν ἀδικου μένοις ἐπαμύνει δικαίως, κολάζει δὲ τοὺς ἀδικοῦντας ἐν δίκῃ. τοῦτο γὰρ καὶ πρὸς αὐτὸν ἔφη τὸν Φαραώ, " ἕνεκεν τούτου διετηρή θης, ἵνα ἐνδείξωμαι ἐν σοὶ τὴν ἰσχύν μου, καὶ ὅπως διαγγελῇ τὸ ὄνομά μου ἐν πάσῃ τῇ γῇ ". ὅτι δὲ πάντοσε διέδραμε τῶν πεπραγμένων