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to be persuaded by Christ, it is necessary to do and to undertake everything, so that his righteousness which Christ fulfilled may remain in us, and not be corrupted. For they that are after the flesh, he says, do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. But neither is this an accusation against the flesh. For as long as it keeps its proper order, nothing amiss happens; but when we entrust everything to it, and having overstepped its own boundaries it rises up against the soul, then it destroys and corrupts all things, not because of its own nature, but because of its immoderation and the disorder resulting from this. But they that are after the Spirit, the things of the Spirit; for to be carnally minded, is death. He did not say, For the nature of the flesh, nor, The substance of the body, but, The mind; which could be corrected and destroyed. And he says this not ascribing a particular reasoning to the flesh, far from it, but indicating the grosser 60.516 impulse of the mind, and naming it from the inferior part, just as he is often accustomed to call the whole man, having a soul, flesh. But the mind of the spirit. Again here he means the spiritual mind, just as he also says further on, But he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit; and he shows that the good things from this are many, both in the present and in the future. For the spiritual mind provides many more good things than the evils which the carnal mind introduces; which he made clear by saying, Life and peace; the one in contrast to the former; For the mind of the flesh, he says, is death; the other in contrast to what follows; for having said, Peace, he added, Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; which is worse than death. Then showing how it is both death and enmity: For it is not subject to the law of God, he says; neither indeed can be. But do not be troubled hearing, Neither indeed can be; for this difficulty has an easy solution. For here by the mind of the flesh he means earthly reasoning, the gross, that which is captivated by worldly affairs and wicked deeds; this, he says, is unable to be subject to God. And what hope of salvation is there then, if it is impossible for one who is evil to become good? He does not say this; since how did Paul become such? how the thief? how Manasseh? how the Ninevites? how did David, having fallen, recover himself? how did Peter, having denied, restore himself? how was the one who had fornicated counted in the flock of Christ? how did the Galatians, having fallen from grace, return to their former nobility? He does not, therefore, say this, that it is impossible for the wicked to become good, but that it is impossible for one remaining wicked to be subject to God; but for one who changes, to become good and to be subject, is easy. For he did not say that man cannot be subject to God, but that a wicked deed cannot be good; as if he were saying: Fornication cannot be chastity, nor vice virtue. Which is what he also says in the Gospel, A corrupt tree cannot bring forth good fruit, not forbidding the change from vice to virtue, but saying that perseverance in vice cannot bear good fruits. For he did not say, A wicked tree cannot become good, but that it cannot bear good fruits while remaining wicked; since that it is possible for it to be changed, he showed this both from this and from another parable, when he introduces the tares becoming wheat. Therefore he also forbids to root them out: Lest, he says, you root up also the wheat with them; that is, what is to become wheat from them. He calls, therefore, the mind of the flesh vice, and the mind of the spirit the grace that has been given and the energy that is judged by good choice, nowhere here discoursing about hypostasis and substance, but about virtue and vice. For what you were not strong enough to do in the law, he says, this you will be able to do now, to walk uprightly and without stumbling, if you lay hold of the help of the Spirit. For it is not enough not to be according to

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πεισθῆναι τῷ Χριστῷ, πάντα δεῖ ποιεῖν καὶ πραγματεύεσθαι, ὥστε τὸ ἐκείνου δικαίωμα μένειν ἐν ἡμῖν ὅπερ ἐπλήρωσεν ὁ Χριστὸς, καὶ μὴ διαφθαρῆναι. Οἱ γὰρ κατὰ σάρκα ὄντες, φησὶ, τὰ τῆς σαρκὸς φρονοῦσιν· οἱ δὲ κατὰ πνεῦμα, τὰ τοῦ πνεύματος. Τὸ γὰρ φρόνημα τῆς σαρκὸς θάνατος, τὸ δὲ φρόνημα τοῦ πνεύματος ζωὴ καὶ εἰρήνη. ∆ιότι τὸ φρόνημα τῆς σαρκὸς ἔχθρα εἰς Θεόν· τῷ γὰρ νόμῳ τοῦ Θεοῦ οὐχ ὑποτάσσεται· οὐδὲ γὰρ δύναται. Ἀλλ' οὐδὲ τοῦτο διαβολὴ τῆς σαρκός. Ἕως μὲν γὰρ ἂν τὴν οἰκείαν φυλάττῃ τάξιν, οὐδὲν ἄτοπον γίνεται· ὅταν δὲ αὐτῇ πάντα ἐπιτρέπωμεν, καὶ τοὺς οἰκείους ὑπερβᾶσα ὅρους κατεξανίσταται τῆς ψυχῆς, τότε πάντα ἀπόλλυσι καὶ διαφθείρει, οὐ παρὰ τὴν οἰκείαν φύσιν, ἀλλὰ παρὰ τὴν ἀμετρίαν καὶ τὴν ἐκ ταύτης ἀταξίαν. Οἱ δὲ κατὰ πνεῦμα, τὰ τοῦ πνεύματος· τὸ γὰρ φρόνημα τῆς σαρκὸς, θάνατος. Οὐκ εἶπεν, Ἡ γὰρ τῆς σαρκὸς φύσις, οὐδὲ, Ἡ οὐσία τοῦ σώματος, ἀλλὰ, Τὸ φρόνημα· ὃ διορθωθῆναι δύναιτ' ἂν καὶ ἀναιρεθῆναι. Τοῦτο δὲ λέγει οὐ τῇ σαρκὶ λογισμὸν διδοὺς ἴδιον, ἄπαγε, ἀλλὰ τὴν παχυ 60.516 τέραν τῆς διανοίας ὁρμὴν ἐνδεικνύμενος, καὶ ἀπὸ τοῦ χείρονος αὐτὴν καλῶν, ὥσπερ οὖν καὶ σάρκα πολλάκις ὁλόκληρον ἄνθρωπον καὶ ψυχὴν ἔχοντα εἴωθε καλεῖν. Τὸ δὲ φρόνημα τοῦ πνεύματος. Πάλιν κἀνταῦθα τὴν πνευματικὴν διάνοιαν λέγει, ὥσπερ οὖν καὶ προϊών φησιν, Ὁ δὲ ἐρευνῶν τὰς καρδίας, οἶδε τί τὸ φρόνημα τοῦ πνεύματος· καὶ δείκνυσι πολλὰ τὰ ἐκ ταύτης ἀγαθὰ καὶ ἐν τῷ παρόντι καὶ ἐν τῷ μέλλοντι. Τῶν γὰρ κακῶν, ὧν τὸ φρόνημα εἰσάγει τὸ σαρκικὸν, πολλῷ πλείονα ἀγαθὰ παρέχει τὸ πνευματικόν· ἅπερ ἐδήλωσεν εἰπὼν, Ζωὴ καὶ εἰρήνη· τὸ μὲν πρὸς ἀντιδιαστολὴν τοῦ προτέρου· Τὸ γὰρ φρόνημα, φησὶ, τῆς σαρκὸς, θάνατος· τὸ δὲ πρὸς ἀντιδιαστολὴν τοῦ ἑξῆς· εἰπὼν γὰρ, Εἰρήνη, ἐπήγαγε, ∆ιότι τὸ φρόνημα τῆς σαρκὸς, ἔχθρα εἰς Θεόν· ὃ τοῦ θανάτου χεῖρόν ἐστιν. Εἶτα δεικνὺς, πῶς καὶ θάνατος καὶ ἔχθρα· Τῷ γὰρ νόμῳ τοῦ Θεοῦ οὐχ ὑποτάσσεται, φησίν· οὐδὲ γὰρ δύναται. Ἀλλὰ μὴ θορυβηθῇς ἀκούων, Οὐδὲ γὰρ δύναται· καὶ γὰρ εὔκολον ἡ ἀπορία αὕτη τὴν λύσιν ἔχει. Φρόνημα γὰρ σαρκὸς ἐνταῦθά φησι τὸν γεώδη λογισμὸν, τὸν παχὺν, τὸν πρὸς τὰ βιωτικὰ καὶ τὰς πονηρὰς πράξεις ἐπτοημένον· τοῦτόν φησιν ἀδύνατον εἶναι ὑποταγῆναι Θεῷ. Καὶ ποία λοιπὸν ἐλπὶς σωτηρίας, εἰ ἀδύνατον κακὸν ὄντα γενέσθαι καλόν; Οὐ τοῦτό φησιν· ἐπεὶ πῶς ὁ Παῦλος ἐγένετο τοιοῦτος; πῶς ὁ λῃστής; πῶς ὁ Μανασσῆς; πῶς οἱ Νινευῖται; πῶς ὁ ∆αυῒδ πεσὼν, ἑαυτὸν ἀνεκτήσατο; πῶς ὁ Πέτρος ἀρνησάμενος, ἑαυτὸν ἀνέλαβε; πῶς ὁ πεπορνευκὼς, εἰς τὴν ἀγέλην κατελέγη τοῦ Χριστοῦ; πῶς οἱ Γαλάται τῆς χάριτος ἐκπεσόντες, πρὸς τὴν προτέραν ἐπανῆλθον εὐγένειαν; Οὐ τοίνυν τοῦτό φησιν ὅτι ἀδύνατον τὸν πονηρὸν γενέσθαι καλὸν, ἀλλ' ὅτι ἀδύνατον πονηρὸν μένοντα ὑποταγῆναι τῷ Θεῷ· μεταβαλ[λ]όμενον μέντοι, καλὸν γενέσθαι καὶ ὑποταγῆναι, ῥᾴδιον. Οὐ γὰρ εἶπεν, ὅτι ὁ ἄνθρωπος οὐ δύναται ὑποταγῆναι τῷ Θεῷ, ἀλλ' ὅτι ἡ πονηρὰ πρᾶξις οὐ δύναται εἶναι καλή· ὡσανεὶ ἔλεγεν· Ἡ πορνεία οὐ δύναται εἶναι σωφροσύνη, οὐδὲ ἡ κακία ἀρετή. Ὅπερ οὖν καὶ ἐν τῷ Εὐαγγελίῳ φησὶν, Οὐ δύναται δένδρον σαπρὸν καρποὺς καλοὺς ποιεῖν, οὐ τὴν ἀπὸ κακίας εἰς ἀρετὴν μεταβολὴν κωλύων, ἀλλὰ τὴν ἐν τῇ κακίᾳ διατριβὴν λέγων μὴ δύνασθαι φέρειν καρποὺς καλούς. Οὐ γὰρ εἶπεν, Οὐ δύναται δένδρον πονηρὸν καλὸν γενέσθαι, ἀλλ' ὅτι φέρειν καρποὺς καλοὺς οὐ δύναται μένον πονηρόν· ἐπεὶ ὅτι γε δυνατὸν μεταβληθῆναι, καὶ ἐντεῦθεν καὶ ἐξ ἄλλης ἔδειξε τοῦτο παραβολῆς, ὅταν εἰσάγῃ τὰ ζιζάνια σῖτον γινόμενα. ∆ιὸ καὶ ἐκριζῶσαι αὐτὰ κωλύει· Μή ποτε γὰρ, φησὶ, σὺν αὐτοῖς ἀνασπάσητε καὶ τὸν σῖτον· τουτέστι, τὸν μέλλοντα γίνεσθαι ἐξ αὐτῶν. Φρόνημα τοίνυν σαρκὸς τὴν κακίαν φησὶ, καὶ φρόνημα πνεύματος τὴν χάριν τὴν δεδομένην καὶ τὴν ἐνέργειαν τὴν τῇ προαιρέσει κρινομένην τῇ χρηστῇ, οὐδαμοῦ περὶ ὑποστάσεως καὶ οὐσίας διαλεγόμενος ἐνταῦθα, ἀλλὰ περὶ ἀρετῆς καὶ κακίας. Ὅπερ γὰρ οὐκ ἴσχυσας ἐν τῷ νόμῳ, φησὶ, τοῦτο δυνήσῃ νῦν, ὀρθὰ βαδίζειν καὶ ἀδιάπτωτα, εἰ τῆς τοῦ Πνεύματος ἐπιλάβοιο βοηθείας. Οὐ γὰρ ἀρκεῖ τὸ μὴ κατὰ