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I will meet them, as a bear robbed of her cubs, in a punitive sense; and when it says, Our God is a consuming fire, this refers to the consuming that comes from punishment; so therefore here also we must understand the clay and the potter and the vessels. And when he brings it forward and says, Or has the potter no authority over the clay, from the same lump to make one vessel for honor, and another for dishonor? do not think that these things were said by Paul in the sense of creation, nor of a necessity of will, but of the authority and difference of dispensations. For if we do not understand it this way, many absurdities will follow. For if the discussion here is about will, He Himself will be the creator of both the good and the not so good, and man will be outside of all blame; and Paul will also appear in this way to be contradicting himself, he who everywhere crowns free choice. He wishes, therefore, to establish nothing else here than to persuade the listener with all hyperbole to yield to God, and never to demand an accounting from Him for anything. For just as the potter, he says, makes what he wishes from the same lump, and no one objects; so also do not be overly curious or meddlesome when God punishes some from the same race of men, and honors others, but only worship, and imitate the clay. And just as that follows the hands of the potter, so you too should follow the will of the One who ordains these things. For He does nothing simply, nor at random, even if you yourself are ignorant of the secret of His wisdom. But you allow that one to make different things from the 60.560 same lump, and you do not complain; but from this One you demand an accounting for the punishments and the honors, and you do not concede to Him to know who is worthy and who is not, but because it is the same lump of the same substance, you demand that the choices also be the same. And how much madness is this! And yet, not even in the case of the potter does the dishonorable and the honorable come from the lump, but from the use of those who handle them, which here, therefore, also comes from free choice. However, as I have already said, we must take the example for this one thing only, that we must not contradict God, but yield to His incomprehensible wisdom. For the examples ought to be greater than the subjects at hand, and for which they are brought forward, so that they may affect the hearer more; since if it were not greater, and did not have more hyperbole, it would not be able to reach as it should, and shame the one who contradicts. He thus silenced their untimely contentiousness with fitting hyperbole; and then he brings forward the solution. What then is the solution? But if God, willing to show His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted for destruction; and that He might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy, which He had prepared beforehand for glory; even us, whom He has called, not from the Jews only, but also from the Gentiles. What he is saying is this: Pharaoh was a vessel of wrath; that is, the man kindling the wrath of God through his own hardness; for having enjoyed much longsuffering, he did not become better, but remained uncorrected. Therefore he called him not only a vessel of wrath, but also fitted for destruction; that is, perfected, yet by his own doing and from himself. For neither did God omit anything that would lead to his correction, nor did he himself omit anything that would destroy him and deprive him of all pardon. But nevertheless, though God knew these things, He endured with much longsuffering, wishing to lead him to repentance; for if He had not wished this, He would not have been longsuffering. But since he did not wish to use the longsuffering for repentance, but perfected himself for wrath, He used him for the correction of others, making others more diligent through the punishment upon him, and thereby showing His power. For that God does not wish His power to be known in this way, but otherwise, through His benefactions, through His good deeds, this He has shown through all things from the beginning. For if Paul does not wish to appear powerful in this way;

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Ἀπαντήσομαι αὐτοῖς, ὡς ἄρκτος ἀπορουμένη, τὸ τιμωρητικόν· καὶ ὅταν λέγῃ, Ὁ Θεὸς ἡμῶν πῦρ καταναλίσκον, τὸ δαπανητικὸν τὸ ἐκ τῆς κολάσεως· οὕτως οὖν καὶ ἐνταῦθα τὸν πηλὸν καὶ τὸν κεραμέα καὶ τὰ σκεύη ἐκλαμβάνειν ἀνάγκη. Καὶ ὅταν δὲ ἐπάγῃ καὶ λέγῃ, Ἢ οὐκ ἔχει ἐξουσίαν ὁ κεραμεὺς τοῦ πηλοῦ ἐκ τοῦ αὐτοῦ φυράματος ποιῆσαι, ὃ μὲν εἰς τιμὴν σκεῦος, ὃ δὲ εἰς ἀτιμίαν; μὴ εἰς δημιουργίας λόγον νόμιζε ταῦτα εἰρῆσθαι τῷ Παύλῳ, μὴ εἰς γνώμης ἀνάγκην, ἀλλ' εἰς οἰκονομιῶν ἐξουσίαν καὶ διαφοράν. Εἰ γὰρ μὴ οὕτως ἐκλάβοιμεν, πολλὰ τὰ ἄτοπα ἕψεται. Καὶ γὰρ εἰ περὶ γνώμης ἐνταῦθα ὁ λόγος, καὶ τῶν ἀγαθῶν καὶ τῶν οὐ τοιούτων ἔσται αὐτὸς δημιουργὸς τούτων, καὶ ὁ ἄνθρωπος πάσης αἰτίας ἐκτός· φανεῖται δὲ καὶ ὁ Παῦλος οὕτως αὐτὸς ἑαυτῷ μαχόμενος ὁ πανταχοῦ τὴν προαίρεσιν στεφανῶν. Οὐδὲν τοίνυν ἕτερον ἐνταῦθα κατασκευάσαι βούλεται, ἢ τὸ πεῖσαι τὸν ἀκροατὴν μεθ' ὑπερβολῆς ἁπάσης εἴκειν, τῷ Θεῷ, καὶ μηδενὸς μηδέποτε ἀπαιτεῖν εὐθύνας αὐτόν. Καθάπερ γὰρ ὁ κεραμεὺς, φησὶν, ἐκ τοῦ αὐτοῦ φυράματος ἃ βούλεται ποιεῖ, καὶ οὐδεὶς ὁ ἀντιλέγων· οὕτω καὶ τὸν Θεὸν ἐκ τοῦ αὐτοῦ γένους τῶν ἀνθρώπων τοὺς μὲν κολάζοντα, τοὺς δὲ τιμῶντα μὴ περιεργάζου, μηδὲ πολυπραγμόνει, ἀλλὰ προσκύνει μόνον, καὶ μιμοῦ τὸν πηλόν· καὶ καθάπερ ἐκεῖνος ἕπεται ταῖς χερσὶ τοῦ κεραμέως, οὕτω καὶ σὺ τῇ γνώμῃ τοῦ ταῦτα οἰκονομοῦντος. Οὐδὲν γὰρ ἁπλῶς, οὐδὲ ὡς ἔτυχεν, ἐργάζεται, κἂν αὐτὸς ἀγνοῇς καὶ τὸ τῆς σοφίας ἀπόῤῥητον. Σὺ δὲ ἐκείνῳ μὲν συγχωρεῖς ἐκ τοῦ 60.560 αὐτοῦ φυράματος διάφορα ποιεῖν, καὶ οὐκ ἐγκαλεῖς· τοῦτον δὲ εὐθύνας ἀπαιτεῖς τῶν κολάσεων καὶ τῶν τιμῶν, καὶ οὐ παραχωρεῖς αὐτῷ εἰδέναι, τίς μὲν ἄξιος, τίς δὲ οὐ τοιοῦτος, ἀλλ' ἐπειδήπερ τὸ αὐτὸ φύραμα τῆς αὐτῆς οὐσίας ἐστὶ, καὶ τὰς αὐτὰς προαιρέσεις ἀξιοῖς εἶναι. Καὶ πόσης ταῦτα παραπληξίας· Καίτοι γε οὐδὲ ἐπὶ τοῦ κεραμέως ἐκ τοῦ φυράματος τὸ ἄτιμον καὶ τὸ ἔντιμον, ἀλλ' ἀπὸ τῆς χρήσεως τῶν μεταχειριζομένων, ὅπερ οὖν καὶ ἐνταῦθα ἀπὸ τῆς προαιρέσεως. Πλὴν, ὅπερ ἔφθην εἰπὼν, εἰς ἓν τοῦτο λαμβάνειν δεῖ μόνον τὸ ὑπόδειγμα, τὸ μὴ δεῖν ἀντιλέγειν τῷ Θεῷ, ἀλλὰ παραχωρεῖν αὐτοῦ τῷ ἀκαταλήπτῳ τῆς σοφίας. Καὶ γὰρ τὰ παραδείγματα μείζονα εἶναι δεῖ τῶν προκειμένων, καὶ ὑπὲρ ὧν εἰς μέσον ἄγεται, ὥστε μᾶλλον ἐνεργεῖν τὸν ἀκροατήν· ἐπεὶ εἰ μὴ μεῖζον εἴη, καὶ πλείονα ἔχοι τὴν ὑπερβολὴν, οὐκ ἂν ὡς χρὴ καθικέσθαι δυνηθείη, καὶ ἐντρέψαι τὸν ἀντιλέγοντα. Τὴν μὲν οὖν ἄκαιρον αὐτῶν φιλονεικίαν οὕτως ἐπεστόμισε μετὰ τῆς προσηκούσης ὑπερβολῆς· ἐπάγει δὲ λοιπὸν καὶ τὴν λύσιν. Τίς οὖν ἡ λύσις; Εἰ δὲ θέλων ὁ Θεὸς ἐνδείξασθαι τὴν ὀργὴν καὶ γνωρίσαι τὸ δυνατὸν αὐτοῦ, ἤνεγκεν ἐν πολλῇ μακροθυμίᾳ σκεύη ὀργῆς κατηρτισμένα εἰς ἀπώλειαν· καὶ ἵνα γνωρίσῃ τὸν πλοῦτον τῆς δόξης αὑτοῦ ἐπὶ σκεύη ἐλέους, ἃ προητοίμασεν εἰς δόξαν· οὓς καὶ ἐκάλεσεν ἡμᾶς, οὐ μόνον ἐξ Ἰουδαίων, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐξ ἐθνῶν. Ὃ δὲ λέγει, τοιοῦτόν ἐστι· Σκεῦος ὀργῆς ἦν ὁ Φαραώ· τουτέστιν, ὁ ἄνθρωπος τοῦ Θεοῦ τὴν ὀργὴν ἀνάπτων διὰ τῆς οἰκείας σκληρότητος· πολλῆς γὰρ ἀπολαύσας μακροθυμίας, οὐκ ἐγένετο βελτίων, ἀλλ' ἀδιόρθωτος ἔμεινε. ∆ιὸ οὐδὲ σκεῦος ὀργῆς αὐτὸν ἐκάλεσε μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ κατηρτισμένον εἰς ἀπώλειαν· τουτέστι, ἀπηρτισμένον, οἴκοθεν μέντοι καὶ παρ' ἑαυτοῦ. Οὔτε γὰρ ὁ Θεὸς ἐνέλιπέ τι τῶν εἰς τὴν διόρθωσιν εἰκόντων τὴν ἐκείνου, οὔτε αὐτὸς ἐνέλιπέ τι τῶν ἀπολλύντων αὐτὸν, καὶ πάσης ἀποστερούντων συγγνώμης. Ἀλλ' ὅμως καὶ ταῦτα εἰδὼς ὁ Θεὸς, ἤνεγκεν πολλῇ μακροθυμίᾳ, βουλόμενος αὐτὸν εἰς μετάνοιαν ἀγαγεῖν· εἰ γὰρ μὴ τοῦτο ἤθελεν, οὐδ' ἂν ἐμακροθύμησεν. Ἐπειδὴ δὲ οὐκ ἠθέλησεν εἰς μετάνοιαν τῇ μακροθυμίᾳ χρήσασθαι, ἀλλ' ἀπήρτισεν ἑαυτὸν εἰς ὀργὴν, ἐχρήσατο αὐτῷ εἰς τὴν ἑτέρων διόρθωσιν διὰ τῆς εἰς ἐκεῖνον κολάσεως ἑτέρους σπουδαιοτέρους ποιῶν, καὶ τὴν δύναμιν αὐτοῦ ταύτῃ δεικνύς. Ὅτι γὰρ οὐ βούλεται ὁ Θεὸς οὕτως αὐτοῦ γνωρίζεσθαι τὸ δυνατὸν, ἀλλὰ ἑτέρως δι' ὧν εὐεργετεῖ, δι' ὧν εὖ ποιεῖ, καὶ τοῦτο διὰ πάντων ἐδήλωσεν ἄνωθεν. Εἰ γὰρ Παῦλος οὐχ οὕτω βούλεται φαίνεσθαι δυνατός·