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to be spiritual, is to lead away from all sins; which then the Law also did, inspiring fear, admonishing, punishing, correcting, counseling all things concerning virtue. Whence then, he says, did sin arise, if the teacher was so wonderful? From the indolence of the disciples. For this reason he added, saying, But I am carnal, describing the person living under the Law and before the Law. Sold under sin. For with death, he says, the crowd of passions also entered in. For when the body became mortal, it received of necessity desire, and anger, and grief, and all the other things, which required much philosophy, so that they might not, by overflowing in us, drown our reason in the abyss of sin. For these things themselves were not sin; but their lack of measure, not being bridled, produced this. For instance, so that I may handle one of 60.508 them as an example and speak, desire is not sin, but when it falls into excess, not willing to remain within the marriages of the law, but also leaping upon other men's wives, then the act becomes adultery, not because of desire, but because of its covetousness. And consider the wisdom of Paul. For after praising the Law, he immediately ran to the earlier time, so that by showing how our race was disposed both then and when it received the Law, he might declare the abundance of grace to be necessary; which he has been eager to establish everywhere. For when he says, Sold under sin, he is not speaking only of those under the Law, but also of those who lived before the Law, and of the people who existed from the beginning. Then he also states the manner of the selling and the surrender. For what I am working out, he says, I do not know. What is, I do not know? I am ignorant. And when has this happened? For no one ever sinned in ignorance. Do you see that if we do not choose the words with fitting reverence, and look to the apostolic purpose, countless absurdities will follow? For if they sinned in ignorance, they were not even worthy to pay the penalty. Just as, then, he said above, For apart from the Law sin is dead; not declaring this, that they did not know they were sinning, but that they knew, yet not so accurately; for which reason they were punished, yet not so severely; and again, I did not know desire, not indicating total ignorance, but making clear the most certain knowledge; and he said that It worked in me all desire, not saying this, that the commandment made desire, but that sin brought in the intensification of desire through the commandment; so also here he does not indicate total ignorance, saying, For what I am working out, I do not know; since how did he delight in the law of God in his inner man? What then is, I do not know? I am darkened, he says, I am snatched away, I endure insolence, I do not know how I am tripped up; which we also are accustomed to say, "I do not know how so-and-so came and snatched it away," not putting forward ignorance, but indicating some deceit and circumstance and plot. For I do not do what I want, 60.509 but I do what I hate. How then do you not know what you are working out? For if you want the good, and hate the evil, this is a matter of perfected knowledge. From which it is clear that he also said, What I do not want, not doing away with free will, nor introducing some forced necessity. For if we sin not willingly, but under compulsion, again the matters of punishments which happened before would have no reason. But just as, in saying "I do not know," he did not show ignorance, but the things we have said; so also in adding, What I do not want, he did not indicate necessity, but the not praising of the things being done; since if he had not indicated this by saying, What I do not want, that I do, why did he not add, But what I am compelled and forced to do, that I do? for this is contrary to wanting and to free will. But now he has not said this, but instead of this he has put, What I hate, so that you may learn that even in saying, What I do not want, he did not do away with free will. What then is, What I do not want? What I do not praise, what I do not accept, what I do not love; to which in contrast he also added the following, saying: But what I hate, that I do. If then I do what I do not want, I agree with the

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εἶναι πνευματικὸν, τὸ πάντων ἁμαρτημάτων ἀπάγειν· ὅπερ οὖν καὶ ὁ νόμος ἐποίει, φοβῶν, νουθετῶν, κολάζων, διορθούμενος, τὰ περὶ ἀρετῆς συμβουλεύων ἅπαντα. Πόθεν οὖν, φησὶν, ἡ ἁμαρτία ἐγεγόνει, εἰ οὕτω θαυμαστὸς ὁ διδάσκαλος; Παρὰ τὴν τῶν μαθητῶν ῥᾳθυμίαν. ∆ιὸ ἐπήγαγε λέγων, Ἐγὼ δὲ σαρκικός εἰμι, τὸν ἐν τῷ νόμῳ καὶ πρὸ τοῦ νόμου πολιτευόμενον ἄνθρωπον ὑπογράφων. Πεπραμένος ὑπὸ τὴν ἁμαρτίαν. Μετὰ γὰρ τοῦ θανάτου, φησὶ, καὶ ὁ τῶν παθῶν ἐπεισῆλθεν ὄχλος. Ὅτε γὰρ θνητὸν ἐγένετο τὸ σῶμα, ἐδέξατο καὶ ἐπιθυμίαν ἀναγκαίως λοιπὸν, καὶ ὀργὴν καὶ λύπην καὶ τὰ ἄλλα πάντα, ἃ πολλῆς ἐδεῖτο φιλοσοφίας, ἵνα μὴ πλημμύραντα ἐν ἡμῖν καταποντίσῃ τὸν λογισμὸν εἰς τὸν τῆς ἁμαρτίας βυθόν. Αὐτὰ μὲν γὰρ οὐκ ἦν ἁμαρτία· ἡ δὲ ἀμετρία αὐτῶν μὴ χαλινουμένη, τοῦτο εἰργάζετο. Οἷον, ἵν' ὡς ἐπὶ ὑποδείγματος ἓν αὐ 60.508 τῶν μεταχειρίσας εἴπω, ἡ ἐπιθυμία ἁμαρτία μὲν οὐκ ἔστιν, ὅταν δὲ εἰς ἀμετρίαν ἐκπέσῃ, εἴσω τῶν τοῦ νόμου γάμων οὐκ ἐθέλουσα μένειν, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀλλοτρίαις ἐπιπηδῶσα γυναιξὶ, τότε λοιπὸν μοιχεία τὸ πρᾶγμα γίνεται, ἀλλ' οὐ παρὰ τὴν ἐπιθυμίαν, ἀλλὰ παρὰ τὴν ταύτης πλεονεξίαν. Καὶ σκόπει σοφίαν Παύλου. Ἐγκωμιάσας γὰρ τὸν νόμον, ἐπὶ τὸν ἀνωτέρω χρόνον ἔδραμεν εὐθέως, ἵνα δείξας πῶς καὶ τότε τὸ γένος διέκειτο τὸ ἡμέτερον καὶ ἡνίκα τὸν νόμον ἔλαβεν, ἀποφήνῃ τῆς χάριτος ἀναγκαίαν οὖσαν τὴν περιουσίαν· ὅπερ πανταχοῦ κατασκευάσαι ἐσπούδακε. Τὸ γὰρ, Πεπραμένος ὑπὸ τὴν ἁμαρτίαν, ὅταν λέγῃ, οὐ περὶ τῶν ἐν τῷ νόμῳ λέγει μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ περὶ τῶν πρὸ τοῦ νόμου βεβιωκότων, καὶ τῶν ἐξ ἀρχῆς γενομένων ἀνθρώπων. Εἶτα καὶ τὸν τρόπον λέγει τῆς πράσεως, καὶ τῆς ἐκδόσεως. Ὃ γὰρ κατεργάζομαι, φησὶν, οὐ γινώσκω. Τί ἐστιν, Οὐ γινώσκω; Ἀγνοῶ. Καὶ πότε τοῦτο γέγονεν; οὐδεὶς γὰρ οὐδέποτε ἐν ἀγνοίᾳ ἥμαρτεν. Ὁρᾷς ὅτι, ἂν μὴ μετὰ τῆς προσηκούσης εὐλαβείας τὰς λέξεις ἐκλεξώμεθα, καὶ πρὸς τὸν ἀποστολικὸν ἴδωμεν σκοπὸν, μυρία ἕψεται τὰ ἄτοπα; Εἰ γὰρ ἀγνοοῦντες ἡμάρτανον, οὐδὲ δίκην ἦσαν ἄξιοι δοῦναι. Ὥσπερ οὖν ἀνωτέρω ἔλεγε, Χωρὶς γὰρ νόμου ἁμαρτία νεκρά· οὐ τοῦτο δηλῶν, ὅτι οὐκ ᾔδεσαν ἁμαρτάνοντες, ἀλλ' ὅτι ᾔδεσαν μὲν, οὐχ οὕτω δὲ ἀκριβῶς· διόπερ ἐκολάζοντο μὲν, οὐχ οὕτω δὲ σφοδρῶς· καὶ πάλιν, Τὴν ἐπιθυμίαν οὐκ ᾔδειν, οὐ τὴν καθόλου ἄγνοιαν δηλῶν, ἀλλὰ τὴν σαφεστάτην γνῶσιν ἐμφαίνων· ἔλεγε δὲ, ὅτι Κατειργάσατο ἐν ἐμοὶ πᾶσαν ἐπιθυμίαν, οὐ τοῦτο λέγων, ὅτι ἡ ἐντολὴ τὴν ἐπιθυμίαν ἐποίησεν, ἀλλ' ὅτι τὴν ἐπίτασιν τῆς ἐπιθυμίας ἡ ἁμαρτία διὰ τῆς ἐντολῆς ἐπεισήγαγεν· οὕτω καὶ ἐνταῦθα οὐ τὴν καθόλου ἄγνοιαν δηλοῖ, λέγων, Ὃ γὰρ κατεργάζομαι, οὐ γινώσκω· ἐπεὶ πῶς συνήδετο τῷ νόμῳ τοῦ Θεοῦ κατὰ τὸν ἔσω ἄνθρωπον; Τί οὖν ἐστιν, Οὐ γινώσκω; Σκοτοῦμαι, φησὶ, συναρπάζομαι, ἐπήρειαν ὑπομένω, οὐκ οἶδα πῶς ὑποσκελίζομαι· ὅπερ καὶ ἡμεῖς εἰώθαμεν λέγειν, Οὐκ οἶδα πῶς ὁ δεῖνα ἐλθὼν συνήρπασεν, οὐκ ἄγνοιαν προβαλλόμενοι, ἀλλὰ ἀπάτην τινὰ καὶ περίστασιν καὶ ἐπιβουλὴν ἐμφαίνοντες. Οὐ γὰρ ὃ θέλω, τοῦτο πράσσω, 60.509 ἀλλ' ὃ μισῶ, τοῦτο ποιώ. Πῶς οὖν οὐ γινώσκεις, ὃ κατεργάζῃ; Εἰ γὰρ θέλεις τὸ καλὸν, καὶ μισεῖς τὸ πονηρὸν, γνώσεως τοῦτο ἀπηρτισμένης ἐστίν. Ὅθεν δῆλον, ὅτι καὶ τὸ, Ὃ οὐ θέλω, εἴρηκεν, οὐχὶ τὸ αὐτεξούσιον ἀναιρῶν, οὐδὲ ἀνάγκην τινὰ εἰσάγων βεβιασμένην. Εἰ γὰρ οὐχ ἑκόντες, ἀλλ' ἀναγκαζόμενοι ἁμαρτάνομεν, πάλιν τὰ τῶν κολάσεων τῶν ἔμπροσθεν γεγενημένων οὐκ ἂν ἔχοι λόγον. Ἀλλ' ὥσπερ, Οὐ γινώσκω, λέγων, οὐκ ἄγνοιαν ἐνέφηνεν, ἀλλ' ἅπερ εἰρήκαμεν· οὕτω καὶ τὸ, Ὃ οὐ θέλω, προσθεὶς, οὐκ ἀνάγκην ἐδήλωσεν, ἀλλὰ τὸ μὴ ἐπαινεῖν τὰ γινόμενα· ἐπεὶ εἰ μὴ τοῦτο ἦν δηλώσας τῷ εἰπεῖν, Ὃ οὐ θέλω, τοῦτο πράσσω, πῶς οὐκ ἐπήγαγεν, Ἀλλ' ὃ ἀναγκάζομαι καὶ βιάζομαι, τοῦτο ποιῶ; τοῦτο γὰρ τῷ θέλειν καὶ τῇ ἐξουσίᾳ ἀντίκειται. Νυνὶ δὲ οὐ τοῦτο εἴρηκεν, ἀλλ' ἀντὶ τούτου τὸ, Ὃ μισῶ, τέθεικεν, ἵνα μάθῃς ὡς καὶ ἐν τῷ εἰπεῖν, Ὃ οὐ θέλω, οὐ τὴν ἐξουσίαν ἀνεῖλε. Τί οὖν ἐστι τὸ, Ὃ οὐ θέλω; Ὃ μὴ ἐπαινῶ, ὃ μὴ ἀποδέχομαι, ὃ μὴ φιλῶ· οὗ πρὸς ἀντιδιαστολὴν καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς ἐπήγαγεν εἰπών· Ἀλλ' ὃ μισῶ, τοῦτο ποιῶ. Εἰ δὲ ὃ οὐ θέλω, τοῦτο ποιῶ, σύμφημι τῷ