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does he exhort us? For if He himself works the willing, you speak to us in vain, that "you have obeyed;" for we do not obey. In vain you say, "In fear and in trembling;" for the whole is of God. I did not say this for this reason, "For it is He who works both to will and to work," but wishing to relieve your anxiety. If you will, then he will work the willing. Do not be afraid, and you labor at nothing; and he himself gives us both readiness and the working. For when we will, he then increases our willing; for instance, I wish to do some good thing; he has worked the good thing itself, he has worked also the willing through it. Or he says this out of great reverence, as when he says our right actions are gifts. 2. As therefore in calling them gifts, he does not cast us out from our free will, but leaves in us our free will; so when he says he works in us the willing, he does not take away our free will, but shows that from succeeding we receive much eagerness for willing. For just as doing comes from doing, so not doing comes from not doing. Have you given alms? you were more inclined to give. But did you not give? you became more idle. Were you temperate for one day? you have an incentive for the second as well. Were you indolent? you increased the indolence; for "an ungodly man," it says, "when he is come into the depth of evils, despises." As then when he comes into the depth of evils, he despises; so when he comes into the depth of good things, he is zealous. For just as that man in despair becomes more slothful; so this man, considering the multitude of good things, becomes more zealous, fearing lest he lose everything. "For his good pleasure," he says; that is, for love's sake, for his pleasure, that the things pleasing to him may be done, that it may be according to his will. Here he shows, and makes us confident, that he certainly works. For he wills us to live as he himself wishes. And if he wishes, and he himself works to this end, he will certainly accomplish this; for he wills us to live rightly. Do you see how he does not take away free will? "Do all these things," he says, "without murmurings and disputings." The devil, when he is not able to lead us away from doing well, contrives another way to empty our reward. For he has introduced either vainglory, or arrogance, or, 62.241 if not this, murmuring, or, if none of these, disputing. See then how Paul clears these things away. He said about humility as much as he said, abolishing arrogance; he spoke about vainglory, pulling down pride; and elsewhere, "Not in my presence only;" and he speaks here about murmuring and disputing. Why then, when abolishing this passion among the Corinthians, did he also mention the Israelites, but here said nothing of the sort, but simply commanded? Because there this had already happened; for which reason it needed a sharper blow and a greater rebuke; but here, so that it might not happen, he exhorts. It was therefore superfluous to secure those who had not yet sinned more sternly; since also when leading them to humility he did not set forth the example in the Gospel, where the proud were punished, but introduced the exhortation from God, and addresses them as free men, as genuine children, not as servants. For in good things, the grateful and noble man is led by those who succeed, but the ungrateful not by these, but by those who are punished; the former by honor, the latter by punishment. For this reason also when writing to the Hebrews he said, bringing Esau into the middle, who for one meal sold his birthright; and again, "If he draws back, my soul has no pleasure in him." And among the Corinthians there were many who had committed fornication; for this reason he said, "Lest when I come again to you, my God may humble me, and I shall mourn for many of those who have sinned before and have not repented of the uncleanness and fornication and licentiousness which they have practiced." That you may become,

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ἡμῖν παρακελεύει; Εἰ γὰρ καὶ τὸ θέλειν αὐτὸς ποιεῖ, εἰκῆ ἡμῖν λέγεις, ὅτι Ὑπηκούσατε· οὐ γὰρ ὑπακούομεν. Εἰκῆ λέγεις, Ἐν φόβῳ καὶ ἐν τρόμῳ· Θεοῦ γὰρ τὸ ὅλον ἐστίν. Οὐ διὰ τοῦτο εἶπον, Αὐτὸς γάρ ἐστιν ὁ ἐνεργῶν καὶ τὸ θέλειν καὶ τὸ ἐνεργεῖν, ἀλλ' ἐκλῦσαι τὴν ἀγωνίαν ὑμῶν βουλόμενος. Ἂν θελήσῃς, τότε ἐνεργήσει τὸ θέλειν. Μὴ φοβηθῇς, καὶ οὐδὲν κάμνῃς· καὶ προθυμίαν αὐτὸς ἡμῖν δίδωσι καὶ ἐργασίαν. Ὅταν γὰρ θελήσωμεν, αὔξει τὸ θέλειν ἡμῶν λοιπόν· οἷον, βούλομαι ἀγαθόν τι ἐργάσασθαι· ἐνήργησεν αὐτὸ τὸ ἀγαθὸν, ἐνήργησε δι' αὐτοῦ καὶ τὸ θέλειν. Ἢ ἀπὸ πολλῆς εὐλαβείας τοῦτό φησιν, ὥσπερ ὅταν τὰ κατορθώματα τὰ ἡμέτερα χαρίσματα εἶναι λέγῃ. βʹ. Ὥσπερ οὖν λέγων αὐτὰ χαρίσματα, οὐκ ἐξωθεῖ ἡμᾶς τοῦ αὐτεξουσίου, ἀλλ' ἀφίησιν ἐν ἡμῖν τὸ αὐτεξούσιον· οὕτως ὅταν λέγῃ ἐνεργεῖν ἐν ἡμῖν τὸ θέλειν, οὐκ ἀφαιρεῖται ἡμᾶς τὸ αὐτεξούσιον, ἀλλὰ δείκνυσιν, ὅτι ἀπὸ τοῦ κατορθοῦν πολλὴν εἰς τὸ θέλειν λαμβάνομεν προθυμίαν. Καθάπερ γὰρ τὸ ποιεῖν ἐκ τοῦ ποιεῖν γίνεται· οὕτως ἐκ τοῦ μὴ ποιεῖν τὸ μὴ ποιεῖν. Ἔδωκας ἐλεημοσύνην; μᾶλλον προετράπης δοῦναι. Οὐκ ἔδωκας δέ; μᾶλλον ἤργησας. Ἐσωφρόνησας μίαν ἡμέραν; ἔχεις προτροπὴν καὶ εἰς τὴν δευτέραν. Ἐῤῥᾳθύμησας; ἐπέτεινας τὴν ῥᾳθυμίαν· Ἀσεβὴς γὰρ, φησὶν, ἐλθὼν εἰς βάθος κακῶν καταφρονεῖ. Ὥσπερ οὖν ὅταν ἔλθῃ εἰς βάθος κακῶν, καταφρονεῖ· οὕτως ὅταν ἔλθῃ εἰς βάθος ἀγαθῶν, σπουδάζει. Καθάπερ γὰρ ἐκεῖνος ἀπογνοὺς ῥᾳθυμότερος γίνεται· οὕτως οὗτος ἐννοῶν τὸ πλῆθος τῶν ἀγαθῶν, σπουδαιότερος γίνεται, δεδοικὼς μὴ τὸ πᾶν ἀπολέσῃ. Ὑπὲρ τῆς εὐδοκίας, φησί· τουτέστι, διὰ τὴν ἀγάπην, διὰ τὴν ἀρέσκειαν αὐτοῦ, ἵνα τὰ δοκοῦντα αὐτῷ γένηται, ἵνα κατὰ τὴν θέλησιν αὐτοῦ. Ἐνταῦθα δείκνυσι, καὶ ποιεῖ θαῤῥεῖν, ὅτι πάντως ἐνεργεῖ. Θέλει γὰρ ἡμᾶς, ὡς αὐτὸς βούλεται, ζῇν. Εἰ δὲ βούλεται, πρὸς δὲ τοῦτο αὐτὸς ἐνεργεῖ, καὶ τοῦτο πάντως ἐνεργήσει· θέλει γὰρ ἡμᾶς ὀρθῶς ζῇν. Ὁρᾷς πῶς οὐκ ἀφαιρεῖται τὸ αὐτεξούσιον; Ταῦτα πάντα ποιεῖτε, φησὶ, χωρὶς γογγυσμῶν καὶ διαλογισμῶν. Ὁ διάβολος ἐπειδὰν μὴ δυνηθῇ ἡμᾶς ἀπαγαγεῖν τοῦ καλῶς ποιεῖν, ἑτέρως τεχνάζεται ἡμῶν κενῶσαι τὸν μισθόν. Ἢ γὰρ κενοδοξίαν, ἢ ἀπόνοιαν ἐπεισήγαγεν, ἢ, 62.241 εἰ μὴ τοῦτο, γογγυσμὸν, ἢ, εἰ μηδὲν τούτων, διάκρισιν. Ὅρα τοίνυν πῶς αὐτὰ ἐκκαθαίρει ὁ Παῦλος. Εἶπε περὶ τῆς ταπεινοφροσύνης ὅσαπερ εἶπεν, ἀναιρῶν ἀπόνοιαν· εἶπε περὶ τῆς κενοδοξίας, κατασπῶν τὸ φύσημα· καὶ ἀλλαχοῦ μὲν, Μὴ ἐν τῇ παρουσίᾳ μου μόνον· λέγει δὲ ἐνταῦθα περὶ τοῦ γογγυσμοῦ καὶ τοῦ διακριτικοῦ. Τί δήποτε δὲ ἐπὶ μὲν τῶν Κορινθίων τοῦτο τὸ πάθος ἀναιρῶν, ἐμνημόνευσε καὶ τῶν Ἰσραηλιτῶν, ἐνταῦθα δὲ οὐδὲν τοιοῦτον εἶπεν, ἀλλ' ἁπλῶς ἐπέταξεν; Ὅτι ἐκεῖ μὲν γενόμενον ἤδη τοῦτο ἦν· διὸ καὶ σφοδροτέρας ἐδέησεν αὐτῷ τῆς πληγῆς, καὶ μείζονος τῆς ἐπιτιμήσεως· ἐνταῦθα δὲ, ὥστε μὴ γενέσθαι, παραινεῖ. Τοὺς οὖν οὐδέπω ἡμαρτηκότας περιττὸν ἦν πληκτικώτερον ἀσφαλίζεσθαι· ἐπεὶ καὶ εἰς ταπεινοφροσύνην ἐνάγων οὐ παρέθηκεν ὑπόδειγμα τὸ ἐν τῷ Εὐαγγελίῳ, ἔνθα οἱ ἀλαζόνες ἐκολάσθησαν, ἀλλ' ἀπὸ τοῦ Θεοῦ τὴν παραίνεσιν εἰσήγαγε, καὶ ὡς ἐλευθέροις αὐτοῖς διαλέγεται, ὡς τέκνοις γνησίοις, οὐχ ὡς οἰκέταις. Ἐν γὰρ τοῖς ἀγαθοῖς ὁ μὲν εὐγνώμων καὶ εὐγενὴς ἀπὸ τῶν κατορθούντων ἐνάγεται, ὁ δὲ ἀγνώμων οὐκ ἀπὸ τούτων, ἀλλ' ἀπὸ τῶν τιμωρουμένων· ἐκεῖνος ἀπὸ τῆς τιμῆς, οὗτος ἀπὸ τῆς κολάσεως. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο καὶ Ἑβραίοις γράφων ἔλεγε, τὸν Ἡσαῦ εἰς μέσον παραγαγὼν, ὃς ἀντὶ βρώσεως μιᾶς ἀπέδοτο τὰ πρωτοτόκια· καὶ πάλιν, Ἐὰν ὑποστείληται, οὐκ εὐδοκεῖ ἡ ψυχή μου ἐν αὐτῷ. Καὶ ἐν τοῖς Κορινθίοις δὲ πολλοὶ ἦσαν οἱ πορνεύσαντες· διὰ τοῦτο ἔλεγε, Μὴ πάλιν ἐλθόντα με πρὸς ὑμᾶς ταπεινώσῃ ὁ Θεός μου, καὶ πενθήσω πολλοὺς τῶν προημαρτηκότων καὶ μὴ μετανοησάντων ἐπὶ τῇ ἀκαθαρσίᾳ καὶ πορνείᾳ καὶ ἀσελγείᾳ, ᾗ ἔπραξαν. Ἵνα γένησθε,