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to be punished, with things turning out neither according to right reason, nor entirely according to law. And where neither law nor reason prevails, how could one say that there is a God who cares for us? For it happens for the most part that the good are wronged and are humbled and are surrounded by countless evils; while the wicked and violent increase in power and wealth and offices and in the other goods of this life. But to me it seems that those who say these things are ignorant of many other doctrines concerning providence, but especially of the immortality of the soul. For supposing it to be mortal, they limit human affairs to this life; then they have perverted judgments about goods. For they think that those who are clothed in wealth and who pride themselves on high positions and who revel in other material goods are fortunate and blessed; but the goods of the soul they count as nothing, although they are superior by a great measure to those of the body and external things. For better are the goods of the better things. Therefore, virtues surpass wealth and health and other things by as much as the soul surpasses the body. For that reason, the virtues, both alone and with other things, make a person blessed; with other things, in breadth, but alone and by themselves, in a circumscribed way. For of existing things, some are conceived in a circumscribed way, such as "two cubits long," and others in breadth, such as a heap. For from a heap, even if you take away two bushels, what is left remains a heap; and from blessedness in breadth, if you should take away the goods of the body and external goods, and leave only the virtues, even so blessedness remains; for virtue, even by itself, is sufficient for happiness. Every good person, therefore, is blessed, and every evil person is wretched, even if he should have all together the so-called goods of fortune. Being ignorant of this, the many think that only those are blessed who have healthy bodies and are wealthy. For this reason they blame providence, which administers our affairs not only on the basis of appearances, but also according to its own foreknowledge. For God, knowing that it is expedient for the person who is now good and virtuous to be poor and that wealth, coming in, would corrupt his mind, expediently keeps him in poverty; and often knowing that the rich person will become more difficult if he should lack money, for he would resort to robbery or murders or some other greater evils, He allows him to enjoy his wealth. Therefore, even poverty has often been profitable for us, and to bury children, and for servants to flee; for their preservation would have been more bitter than their loss, with the children having become wicked, and the servants, robbers. For we, knowing nothing of what will be but looking only at the present, do not judge correctly what happens; but to God even future things are as present. But these things have been said to those who condemn, to whom it would also be fitting to say the word of scripture: Shall the clay say. For how is a person not to be shunned who legislates against God and exhorts against the works of providence, who does not even dare to speak against human laws? Therefore, leaving aside such errors, or rather, impieties, let us show that it is not right for them to say that particulars are without providence, when the universals and general things receive providence. For one might say these three reasons alone for there not being providence for particulars: either that God is ignorant that it is good to care for these things too, or is unwilling, or is unable. But ignorance and lack of learning are entirely most foreign to the blessed essence. For it itself is knowledge and wisdom and understanding. And how could it escape God's notice what not even a person of sound mind would be ignorant of, namely that when all the particulars are destroyed, the universals will also be destroyed? For from all the particulars the universals are constituted. At any rate the species are equal to all the particulars together, and are coextensive, and are destroyed together and preserved together. And nothing prevents all the individuals from perishing if they receive no care from above. Therefore when these are perishing, also the

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κολάζεσθαι, οὔτε τῶν κατὰ τὸν ὀρθὸν λόγον, οὔτε τῶν κατὰ νόμον πάντως ἀποβαινόντων. ἔνθα δὲ μήτε νόμος μήτε λόγος κρατεῖ πῶς ἄν τις φαίη θεὸν εἶναι τὸν ἐπιμελούμενον; καὶ γὰρ συμβαίνει τοὺς χρηστοὺς ὡς ἐπὶ τὸ πλεῖστον ἀδικεῖσθαι καὶ ταπεινοῦσθαι καὶ μυρίοις κακοῖς περιβάλλεσθαι· τοὺς δὲ πονηροὺς καὶ βιαίους αὔξεσθαι δυναστείᾳ καὶ πλούτῳ καὶ ἀρχαῖς καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις τοῖς κατὰ τὸν βίον ἀγαθοῖς. ἐμοὶ δὲ δοκοῦσιν οἱ ταῦτα λέγοντες πολλὰ μὲν καὶ ἄλλα τῶν κατὰ τὴν πρόνοιαν ἀγνοεῖν θεωρημάτων, μάλιστα δὲ τῆς ψυχῆς τὸ ἀθάνατον. θνητὴν γὰρ αὐτὴν ὑπολαμβάνοντες εἶναι, τῇ ζωῇ ταύτῃ τὰ κατὰ τὸν ἄνθρωπον περιγράφουσιν· ἔπειτα διεστραμμένας ἔχουσι τὰς περὶ τῶν ἀγαθῶν κρίσεις. οἴονται γὰρ τοὺς πλοῦτον περιβεβλημένους καὶ κομῶντας ἀξιώμασιν καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις ὑλικοῖς ἀγαθοῖς ἐναβρυνομένους εὐδαίμονας εἶναι καὶ μακαρίους· τὰ δὲ τῆς ψυχῆς ἀγαθὰ παρ' οὐδὲν τίθενται, πολλῷ τῷ μέτρῳ τῶν σωματικῶν καὶ τῶν ἐκτὸς ὑπερέχοντα. κρείττονα γὰρ τὰ τῶν κρειττόνων ἀγαθά. τοσούτῳ τοίνυν ἀρεταὶ πλούτου τε καὶ ὑγείας καὶ τῶν ἄλλων ὑπερφέρουσιν ὅσῳ ψυχὴ σώματος. τοιγάρτοι καὶ μόναι καὶ σὺν τοῖς ἄλλοις αἱ ἀρεταὶ μακάριον ποιοῦσι τὸν ἄνθρωπον· μετὰ μὲν τῶν ἄλλων κατὰ πλάτος, μόναι δὲ καὶ καθ' ἑαυτὰς κατὰ περιγραφήν. τῶν γὰρ ὄντων τὰ μὲν κατὰ περιγραφὴν νοεῖται, ὡς δίπηχυ, τὰ δὲ κατὰ πλάτος, ὡς σωρός. σωροῦ γὰρ κἂν δύο μεδίμνους ἀφέλῃς, τὸ λειπόμενον μένει σωρός· καὶ τῆς κατὰ πλάτος δὲ μακαριότητος ἂν ἀφέλῃς τά τε τοῦ σώματος καὶ τὰ τῶν ἐκτὸς ἀγαθά, καταλείπῃς δὲ μόνας τὰς ἀρετάς, μένει καὶ οὕτω τὸ μακάριον· ἡ γὰρ ἀρετὴ καὶ καθ' ἑαυτὴν αὐτάρκης ἐστιν πρὸς εὐδαιμονίαν. πᾶς οὖν ἀγαθὸς μακάριος, καὶ πᾶς κακὸς ἄθλιος, κἂν πάντα συλλήβδην ἔχῃ τὰ λεγόμενα τῆς τύχης ἀγαθά. ὅπερ ἀγνοοῦντες οἱ πολλοὶ μόνους μακαρίους εἶναι νομίζουσι τοὺς εὐ σωματοῦντάς τε καὶ πλουτοῦντας. διὸ μέμφονται τὴν πρόνοιαν, τὴν οὐ μόνον ἐκ τῶν φαινομένων διοικοῦσαν τὰ καθ' ἡμᾶς, ἀλλὰ καὶ κατὰ τὴν οἰκείαν πρόγνωσιν. εἰδὼς γὰρ ὁ θεὸς ὅτι τῷ νῦν χρηστῷ καὶ ἀγαθῷ συμφέρει πένεσθαι καὶ ὅτι διαφθείρει τὴν γνώμην αὐτοῦ πλοῦτος ἐπεισελθών, ἐν τῇ πενίᾳ φυλάττει συμφερόντως αὐτόν· εἰδὼς δὲ πολλάκις τὸν πλούσιον χαλεπώτερον ἐσόμενον εἰ σπανίσειε χρημάτων, λῃστείαις γὰρ ἐπιχειρήσειν ἢ μιαιφονίαις ἤ τισιν ἄλλοις μείζοσι κακοῖς, ἐᾷ τὸν πλοῦτον καρποῦσθαι. οὐκοῦν καὶ πενία πολλάκις ἡμῖν ἐλυσιτέλησεν, καὶ τέκνα θάψαι καὶ φυγεῖν οἰκέτας· πικροτέρα γὰρ τῆς ἀπωλείας αὐτῶν ἐγένετο ἂν ἡ σωτηρία, φαύλων μὲν τῶν τέκνων, λῃστῶν δὲ τῶν οἰκετῶν γενομένων. ἡμεῖς μὲν γὰρ οὐδὲν τῶν ἐσομένων εἰδότες πρὸς τὰ παρόντα δὲ μόνα βλέποντες οὐκ ὀρθῶς τὰ συμβαίνοντα κρίνομεν· τῷ δὲ θεῷ καὶ τὰ μέλλοντα ὡς παρόντα ἐστίν. ἀλλὰ ταῦτα μὲν πρὸς τοὺς καταγινώσκοντας εἴρηται, πρὸς οὓς καὶ τὸ τῆς γραφῆς ἁρμόσειεν ἂν εἰπεῖν· μὴ ὁ πηλὸς ἐρεῖ. πῶς γὰρ οὐ φευκτός ἐστιν ἄνθρωπος ἀντινομοθετῶν τῷ θεῷ καὶ ἀντιπαρακελευόμενος τοῖς τῆς προνοίας ἔργοις, ὁ μηδὲ ταῖς ἀνθρωπίναις νομοθεσίαις ἀντιλέγειν τολμῶν; παραλιπόντες οὖν τὰ τοιαῦτα πλημμελήματα, μᾶλλον δὲ ἀσεβήματα, δείξωμεν ὡς οὐ καλῶς αὐτοῖς ἀπρονόητα λέγεται τὰ καθ' ἕκαστα, τῶν καθόλου καὶ γενικῶν προνοίας τυγχανόντων. τρεῖς γὰρ ταύτας αἰτίας μόνας ἄν τις φαίη τοῦ μὴ γίνεσθαι πρόνοιαν τῶν καθ' ἕκαστα· ἢ γὰρ ἀγνοεῖν τὸν θεὸν ὅτι καλὸν καὶ τούτων ἐπιμελεῖσθαι, ἢ μὴ βούλεσθαι, ἢ μὴ δύνασθαι. ἀλλ' ἄγνοια μὲν καὶ ἀμαθία παντάπασιν ἀλλοτριώτατον τῆς μακαρίας οὐσίας. αὐτὸ γὰρ γνῶσίς ἐστι καὶ σοφία καὶ ἐπιστήμη. πῶς δ' ἂν καὶ λάθοι τὸν θεὸν ἃ μηδ' ἄνθρωπος εὖ φρονῶν ἀγνοήσειεν, ὡς τῶν κατὰ μέρος πάντων διαφθειρομένων, καὶ τὰ καθόλου διαφθαρήσεται; ἐκ γὰρ τῶν κατὰ μέρος πάντων τὰ καθόλου συνίσταται. ἐξισάζει γοῦν τὰ εἴδη πᾶσιν ὁμοῦ τοῖς κατὰ μέρος, καὶ ἀντιστρέφει, καὶ συνδιαφθείρεται καὶ συνδιασῴζεται. οὐδὲν δὲ κωλύει πάντα τὰ ἄτομα ἀπολέσθαι μηδεμιᾶς ἄνωθεν κηδεμονίας τυγχάνοντα. τούτων οὖν ἀπολλυμένων καὶ τὰ