John Chrysostom, On 2 Timothy

Tell me, if some robber-chief had in his hands and power a king's son who had fled to him, and who had come to love the wilderness and his company, would he be able to tell him whether he will die, whether he will live? And indeed he will be very able. Why so? Not because he foreknows the future, but because he is lord of both outcomes, of destroying and of saving the child, since that one made him his lord. For he will be able to kill him, if he wishes, and likewise he will be able to let him go, if he wants; for he has come under his power. If he says, 'You will be rich or poor,' he himself is lord of both. The greater part of the world has given itself into the hands of the devil. 5. And in another way, when a man has been accustomed to believe, this too will contribute much to those deceivers; for no one pays attention to the failures, but only if they should somewhere succeed. But if they have any power of foreknowledge, bring them to me, the believer. I do not speak boastfully; for to be rid of these things is not a matter for boasting. For I am full of sins; but on account of these things I would not be humble-minded; by the grace of God I laugh at them all. Bring to me the man, the magician, if he has any power of foreknowledge, let him say what will happen to me, what will befall me tomorrow. But he will not say; for I am under the authority of the King, and he has neither rule over me nor my submission; I am far from his lairs and caves, I serve the King. But, he says, 'So-and-so stole, and so-and-so informed on him.' Indeed, then, this is not even everywhere true, but a mockery and a lie; for they know nothing. But if they know anything, they ought rather to speak of their own affairs, how the many votive offerings of the idols were stolen, how the great quantity of gold was melted down. Why did they not foretell it to their priests? So they know nothing; but for the sake of money they were not even able to speak, 62.649 when their idol temples were being burned, and many were perishing along with them. Why do they not spare their own safety? But the matter is only a coincidence, if they should foretell anything somewhere. There are prophets among us, but they do not fail; they do not say one thing, and lie about another, but they speak the truth in all things; for this is of foreknowledge. Cease at last from this madness, I beseech you, if you truly believe in Christ; but if you do not believe, why do you slander yourselves, why do you deceive yourselves? how long will you limp on both your knees? for what reason do you approach? Why do you ask? As soon as you approached, as soon as you asked, you placed yourself under bondage; for you ask as one who believes. 'No,' he says, 'not believing that he speaks the truth, but testing him.' And to test whether he speaks the truth is not the act of one convinced that he lies, but of one still doubting. For what reason then do you ask what will be? For if he says this, that 'this will happen, do this and you will escape,' certainly not even thus should one practice idolatry, yet the desperation is not so great; but if they foretell future events, the one who learns gains nothing else than superfluous grief; for the event has not yet happened, but he has endured the grief, he has tormented himself. If this were profitable, would not for us 62.647 he provides for all things, that we are self-determining, that some things He works, and other things He permits, that He wishes nothing evil to happen, that not all things happen from His will, but also from ours, all evil things from ours alone, all good things both from ours and from His impulse, that nothing escapes Him. For this reason He works all things. Then you, knowing this, reckon what things are good, what are evil, and what are indifferent; for example, virtue is good, wickedness is evil, indifferent are wealth, poverty, life, death. If you know these things, you will also know along with them, that the righteous are afflicted for this reason, that they may be crowned, the sinners, that they may pay the penalty for their sins; but not all sinners pay the penalty here, lest the many should disbelieve in the resurrection, just as not

Εἰπέ μοι, εἴ τις λῄσταρχος υἱὸν βασιλέως αὐτῷ προσφυγόντα, καὶ ἐρημίαν καὶ τὴν ἐκείνου συνοίκησιν ἀγαπήσαντα ὑπὸ χεῖρας ἔχοι καὶ ἐξουσίαν, δυνήσεται αὐτῷ εἰπεῖν, εἰ τελευτᾷ, εἰ ζῇ; Καὶ σφόδρα γε δυνήσεται. Τί δήποτε; Οὐκ ἐπειδὴ προοῖδε τὸ μέλλον, ἀλλ' ἐπειδὴ ἑκατέρου κύριος γίνεται, τοῦ ἀφανίσαι, καὶ σῶσαι τὸν παῖδα, ἐκείνου ποιήσαντος αὐτὸν κύριον. Καὶ γὰρ ἀνελεῖν, ἐὰν θέλῃ, δυνήσεται, καὶ ἀφεῖναι, ἂν βουληθῇ, ὁμοίως δυνήσεται· ὑπὸ γὰρ ἐκείνῳ γέγονεν. Ἂν εἴπῃ, ὅτι πλούσιος ἔσῃ ἢ πένης, ἀμφοτέρων κύριος αὐτός ἐστι. Τὸ πλέον τοῦ κόσμου ὑπὸ τὰς τοῦ διαβόλου χεῖρας ἑαυτοὺς ἔδωκαν. εʹ. Καὶ ἄλλως δὲ, ὅταν ἐθισθῇ ἄνθρωπος πιστεύειν, πολὺ καὶ τοῦτο συμβαλεῖται ἐκείνοις τοῖς ἀπατεῶσιν· οὐδεὶς γὰρ ταῖς ἀποτυχίαις προσέχει, ἀλλ' εἴ που ἐπιτύχοιεν. Εἰ δέ τινα ἔχουσι δύναμιν προγνωστικὴν, ἐμοὶ τῷ πιστῷ τούτους ἄγε. Οὐ μεγαληγορῶν λέγω· τὸ γὰρ τούτων ἀπηλλάχθαι, οὐ μεγαληγορίας. Ἁμαρτημάτων μὲν γάρ εἰμι μεστός· τούτων δὲ ἕνεκεν οὐκ ἂν ταπεινοφρονήσαιμι· πάντων τῇ τοῦ Θεοῦ χάριτι καταγελῶ. Ἄγε πρὸς ἐμὲ τὸν ἄνδρα τὸν μάγον, εἴ τινα ἔχει δύναμιν προγνωστικὴν, εἰπάτω τί μοι συμβήσεται, αὔριον τί ἔσται μοι. Ἀλλ' οὐκ ἐρεῖ· ὑπὸ γὰρ τὴν τοῦ βασιλέως ἐξουσίαν εἰμὶ, καὶ οὐκ ἔχει τὴν ἐμὴν ἀρχὴν οὐδὲ τὴν ὑποταγήν· πόῤῥω τῶν καταδύσεων αὐτοῦ καὶ τῶν σπηλαίων τυγχάνω, τῷ βασιλεῖ στρατεύομαι. Ἀλλ' ὁ δεῖνα ἔκλεψε, φησὶ, καὶ ὁ δεῖνα αὐτὸν κατεμήνυσε. Μάλιστα μὲν οὖν οὐδὲ πανταχοῦ τοῦτο ἀληθὲς, ἀλλὰ γέλως καὶ ψεῦδος· οὐδὲν γὰρ ἴσασιν· εἰ δέ τι ἴσασι, μᾶλλον τὰ ἑαυτῶν ὤφειλον λέγειν, πῶς τὰ πολλὰ ἀναθήματα τῶν εἰδώλων ἐκλάπη, πῶς τὸ πολὺ χρυσίον ἐχωνεύθη. ∆ιὰ τί μὴ προεῖπον τοῖς ἱερεῦσιν αὐτῶν; Ὥστε οὐδὲν ἴσασιν· ἀλλὰ χρημάτων μὲν ἕνεκεν οὐδὲ εἰπεῖν ἐδύναντο, 62.649 ὅταν οἱ ναοὶ αὐτῶν οἱ εἰδωλικοὶ ἐπίμπραντο, καὶ πολλοὶ συναπώλλυντο. ∆ιὰ τί μὴ φείδονται τῆς σωτηρίας τῆς αὑτῶν; Ἀλλ' ἐπιτυχία μόνον τὸ πρᾶγμά ἐστιν, εἴ πού τι καὶ προείποιεν. Εἰσὶ παρ' ἡμῖν προφῆται, ἀλλ' οὐκ ἀποτυγχάνουσιν· οὐ τοῦτο μὲν λέγουσιν, ἐκεῖνο δὲ ψεύδονται, ἀλλὰ πάντα ἀληθεύουσι· τοῦτο γὰρ προγνώσεώς ἐστι. Παύσασθέ ποτε τῆς μανίας, παρακαλῶ, εἴ γε τῷ Χριστῷ πιστεύετε· εἰ δὲ μὴ πιστεύετε, τί ἑαυτοὺς διασύρετε, τί ἀπατᾶτε; ἕως πότε χωλανεῖτε ἐπ' ἀμφοτέραις ταῖς ἰγνύαις ὑμῶν; τίνος γὰρ ἕνεκεν προσέρχῃ; τί ἐρωτᾷς; Ἅμα προσῆλθες, ἅμα ἠρώτησας, ὑπὸ τὴν δουλείαν σαυτὸν ἐποίησας· ὡς γὰρ πιστεύων ἐρωτᾷς. Οὒ, φησὶν, οὐ πιστεύων αὐτὸν ἀληθεύειν, ἀλλὰ πειράζων. Καὶ τὸ πειράζειν εἰ ἀληθεύει, οὐκ ἔστι πεπεισμένου ὅτι ψεύδεται, ἀλλ' ἔτι ἀμφιβάλλοντος. Τίνος οὖν ἕνεκεν ἐρωτᾷς τί ἔσται; Εἰ μὲν γὰρ τοῦτο λέγει, ὅτι τόδε ἔσται, τόδε πρᾶξον καὶ διαφεύξῃ, μάλιστα μὲν οὐδὲ οὕτως ἐχρῆν εἰδωλολατρεῖν, πλὴν ἀλλ' οὐ τοσαύτη ἡ ἀπόνοια· εἰ δὲ τὰ μέλλοντα προλέγουσιν, οὐδὲν ἄλλο κερδαίνει ὁ μαθὼν, ἢ λύπην περιττήν· τὸ μὲν γὰρ πρᾶγμα οὐκ ἐξέβη, τὴν δὲ λύπην ὑπέμεινεν, ἐταρίχευσεν ἑαυτόν. Εἰ συνέφερε τοῦτο, οὐκ ἂν ἡμῖν 62.647 πάντων προνοεῖ, ὅτι αὐτεξούσιοί ἐσμεν, ὅτι τὰ μὲν ἐνεργεῖ, τὰ δὲ συγχωρεῖ, ὅτι οὐδὲν πονηρὸν γίνεσθαι βούλεται, ὅτι οὐκ ἀπὸ τοῦ βουλήματος αὐτοῦ πάντα γίνεται, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀπὸ τοῦ ἡμετέρου, πάντα τὰ κακὰ ἀπὸ τοῦ ἡμετέρου μόνον, πάντα τὰ ἀγαθὰ ἀπό τε τοῦ ἡμετέρου καὶ τῆς αὐτοῦ ῥοπῆς, ὅτι οὐδὲν αὐτὸν λανθάνει. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο πάντα ἐνεργεῖ. Εἶτα σὺ τοῦτο εἰδὼς, ἀρίθμει τίνα μὲν τὰ ἀγαθὰ, τίνα δὲ τὰ κακὰ, καὶ τίνα τὰ ἀδιάφορα· οἷον, ἀγαθὸν ἡ ἀρετὴ, κακὸν ἡ φαυλότης, ἀδιάφορα πλοῦτος, πενία, ζωὴ, θάνατος. Ἂν ταῦτα εἰδῇς, εἴσῃ καὶ μετὰ τούτων, ὅτι οἱ δίκαιοι διὰ τοῦτο θλίβονται, ἵνα στεφανωθῶσιν, οἱ ἁμαρτωλοὶ, ἵνα τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν δίκην ἐκτίσωσιν· οὐ πάντες δὲ οἱ ἁμαρτωλοὶ δίκην ἐνταῦθα τίνουσιν, ἵνα μὴ τῇ ἀναστάσει οἱ πολλοὶ ἀπιστῶσιν, ὥσπερ οὐ