139

For it is not that we should appear approved, he says, but that you should do what is good; much more so God. But since He was longsuffering, that He might lead him to repentance, but that one did not repent, He bore with him for a long time, at once showing His own goodness, and also His power, if that one would not gain anything from this great longsuffering. As therefore by punishing this man who remained incorrigible, He showed His power; so by having mercy on those who had sinned much and repented, He declared His love for humanity. 60.561 9. But he did not say His love for humanity, but His glory, showing that this is especially God's glory, and this He was zealous for before all other things. But when he says, 'Which He prepared beforehand for glory,' he does not say that it is all of God; since if this were so, nothing would have hindered all from being saved; but again he shows His foreknowledge, and removes the distinction between Jews and Gentiles. And from this again he constructs no small defense for his argument. For not only among the Jews did some perish and some were saved, but this also happened among the Gentiles; wherefore he does not say all the Gentiles, but, 'from the Gentiles'; nor, all Jews, but, 'those from the Jews.' As, therefore, Pharaoh became a vessel of wrath from his own lawlessness, so also these became vessels of mercy from their own right-mindedness. For even if the greater part is of God, yet we too contributed some small part. Wherefore he did not say, vessels of right achievements, nor, vessels of confidence, but, 'Vessels of mercy,' showing that the whole is of God. For the saying, 'Not of him that wills, nor of him that runs,' even if it is spoken in the form of a contrast, yet when said by Paul, it presents no difficulty. For when he says, 'Not of him that wills, nor of him that runs,' he does not do away with free will, but shows that the whole is not of man, but he needs grace from above. For one must both will and run, but trust not in one's own labors, but in the love of God for humanity; which he also said elsewhere: 'Yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.' And he well said: 'Which He prepared beforehand for glory.' For since they were reproaching this, that they were saved by grace, and thought to shame them, with great abundance he does away with this suspicion. For if the matter brought glory to God, much more to them through whom God was glorified. But consider his right-mindedness and ineffable wisdom. For though he was able not to bring in Pharaoh to the argument about those who are punished, but sinners from among the Jews, and to make the argument clearer, and to show that where there are the same fathers, where the same sins, some perished and some were pitied, and to persuade them no longer to be perplexed if some from the Gentiles were saved while Jews were perishing; in order not to make the argument burdensome, he brings the proof of punishment from the barbarian, so as not to be compelled to call them vessels of wrath; but he brings those who are pitied from the people of the Jews. And yet he sufficiently defends God, that even though He knew him perfectly fitting himself out as a vessel of destruction, nevertheless He contributed His own part, forbearance, longsuffering, and not simply longsuffering, but much longsuffering; but yet He did not wish to exercise this upon the Jews. Whence then are some vessels of wrath, and others of mercy? From their own choice. But God, being exceedingly good, shows the same goodness to both. For He not only had mercy on those who were saved, but also on Pharaoh, for His part; for both they and he enjoyed the same longsuffering. But if he was not saved, it was entirely because of his own mind; for as far as it depended on God, he had nothing less than those who were saved. Having therefore given the solution to the problem through the facts, so as to make the argument credible from another source as well, he brings in the prophets proclaiming the same things beforehand. For Hosea, he says, wrote these things from of old, speaking thus: 'I will call them my people, which were not my people; and her beloved, which was not beloved.' For lest they should say, 'You deceive us by saying these things,'

139

Οὐ γὰρ ἵνα ἡμεῖς δόκιμοι φανῶμεν, φησὶν, ἀλλ' ἵνα ὑμεῖς τὸ καλὸν ποιῆτε· πολλῷ μᾶλλον ὁ Θεός. Ἀλλ' ἐπειδὴ ἐμακροθύμησε μὲν, ἵνα εἰς μετάνοιαν ἀγάγῃ, οὐ μετενόησε δὲ ἐκεῖνος, ἤνεγκεν αὐτὸν ἐπὶ πολὺν χρόνον, ὁμοῦ μὲν τὴν αὐτοῦ χρηστότητα ἐπιδεικνύμενος, ὁμοῦ δὲ καὶ τὴν δύναμιν, εἰ μὴ βουληθείη τι κερδᾶναι ἐκεῖνος ἀπὸ τῆς πολλῆς ταύτης μακροθυμίας. Ὥσπερ οὖν τοῦτον ἀδιόρθωτον μείναντα κολάσας, ἔδειξεν αὑτοῦ τὴν δύναμιν· οὕτω τοὺς πολλὰ ἁμαρτήσαντας καὶ μετανοήσαντας ἐλεήσας, ἐδήλωσεν αὑτοῦ τὴν φιλανθρωπίαν. 60.561 θʹ. Ἀλλ' οὐκ εἶπε τὴν φιλανθρωπίαν, ἀλλὰ τὴν δόξαν, δεικνὺς ὅτι τοῦτο μάλιστα δόξα Θεοῦ, καὶ τοῦτο πρὸ τῶν ἄλλων ἁπάντων ἐσπούδακεν. Ὅταν δὲ λέγῃ, Ἃ προητοίμασεν εἰς δόξαν, οὐ τοῦ Θεοῦ τὸ πᾶν εἶναί φησιν· ἐπεὶ εἰ τοῦτο ἦν, οὐδὲν ἐκώλυσεν ἅπαντας σώζεσθαι· ἀλλὰ πάλιν αὐτοῦ τὴν πρόγνωσιν δείκνυσι, καὶ τὸ μέσον Ἰουδαίων καὶ ἐθνῶν ἀναιρεῖ. Καὶ οὐ μικρὰν δὲ καὶ ἐντεῦθεν τῷ λόγῳ κατασκευάζει πάλιν ἀπολογίαν. Οὐδὲ γὰρ μόνον ἐπὶ τῶν Ἰουδαίων οἱ μὲν ἀπώλοντο, οἱ δὲ ἐσώθησαν, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν ἐθνῶν τοῦτο γέγονε· διόπερ οὐδὲ λέγει τὰ ἔθνη πάντα, ἀλλ', Ἐξ ἐθνῶν· οὐδὲ, Ἰουδαίους πάντας, ἀλλὰ, Τοὺς ἐξ Ἰουδαίων. Ὥσπερ οὖν ὁ Φαραὼ σκεῦος ὀργῆς γέγονεν ἀπὸ τῆς οἰκείας παρανομίας· οὕτω καὶ οὗτοι σκεύη ἐλέους ἀπὸ τῆς οἰκείας εὐγνωμοσύνης. Εἰ γὰρ καὶ τὸ πλέον ἐστὶ τοῦ Θεοῦ, ἀλλ' ὅμως καὶ αὐτοί τι μικρὸν εἰσηνέγκαμεν. ∆ιὸ οὐδὲ εἶπε, σκεύη κατορθωμάτων, οὐδὲ, σκεύη παῤῥησίας, ἀλλὰ, Σκεύη ἐλέους, δεικνὺς, ὅτι τὸ πᾶν ἐστι τοῦ Θεοῦ. Καὶ γὰρ τὸ, Οὐ τοῦ θέλοντος οὐδὲ τοῦ τρέχοντος, εἰ καὶ ἐν τάξει ἀντιθέσεως εἴρηται, ἀλλ' ὅμως καὶ παρὰ τοῦ Παύλου λεγόμενον, οὐδεμίαν ἀπορίαν φέρει. Ὅταν γὰρ εἴπῃ, Οὐ τοῦ θέλοντος οὐδὲ τοῦ τρέχοντος, οὐ τὴν ἐξουσίαν ἀναιρεῖ, ἀλλὰ δείκνυσιν, ὅτι οὐ τὸ πᾶν αὐτοῦ ἐστιν, ἀλλὰ δεῖται τῆς ἄνωθεν χάριτος. ∆εῖ μὲν γὰρ καὶ θέλειν καὶ τρέχειν, θαῤῥεῖν δὲ μὴ τοῖς οἰκείοις πόνοις, ἀλλὰ τῇ τοῦ Θεοῦ φιλανθρωπίᾳ· ὅπερ καὶ ἀλλαχοῦ ἔλεγεν· Οὐκ ἐγὼ δὲ, ἀλλ' ἡ χάρις τοῦ Θεοῦ ἡ σὺν ἐμοί. Καὶ καλῶς εἶπεν· Ἃ προητοίμασεν εἰς δόξαν. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ τοῦτο ὠνείδιζον, ὅτι χάριτι ἐσώθησαν, καὶ καταισχύνειν αὐτοὺς ἐνόμιζον, ἐκ πολλῆς τῆς περιουσίας ταύτην ἀναιρεῖ τὴν ὑπόνοιαν. Εἰ γὰρ τῷ Θεῷ τὸ πρᾶγμα δόξαν ἤνεγκε, πολλῷ μᾶλλον ἐκείνοις, δι' ὧν ὁ Θεὸς ἐδοξάσθη. Σκόπει δὲ αὐτοῦ εὐγνωμοσύνην καὶ σοφίαν ἄφατον. ∆υνάμενος γὰρ μὴ τὸν Φαραὼ παρενεγκεῖν εἰς τὸν περὶ τῶν κολαζομένων λόγον, ἀλλ' ἐξ Ἰουδαίων τοὺς ἡμαρτηκότας, καὶ σαφέστερον μᾶλλον ποιῆσαι τὸν λόγον, καὶ δεῖξαι ὅτι ἔνθα οἱ αὐτοὶ πατέρες, ἔνθα τὰ αὐτὰ ἁμαρτήματα, οἱ μὲν ἀπώλοντο, οἱ δὲ ἠλεήθησαν, καὶ πεῖσαι μηκέτι διαπορεῖν, εἰ καὶ ἐξ ἐθνῶν τινες ἐσώθησαν, Ἰουδαίων ἀπολλυμένων· ἵνα μὴ ποιήσῃ τὸν λόγον φορτικὸν, τὴν μὲν τῆς κολάσεως ἀπόδειξιν ἀπὸ τοῦ βαρβάρου παράγει, ὥστε μὴ ἀναγκασθῆναι σκεύη ὀργῆς αὐτοὺς καλέσαι· τοὺς δὲ ἐλεουμένους ἀπὸ τοῦ δήμου τῶν Ἰουδαίων παράγει. Καίτοι γε ἱκανῶς καὶ ὑπὲρ τοῦ Θεοῦ ἀπολογεῖται, ὅτι καὶ σφόδρα αὐτὸν εἰδὼς ἀπαρτίζοντα ἑαυτὸν σκεῦος ἀπωλείας, ὅμως τὰ παρ' ἑαυτοῦ εἰσήνεγκε, τὴν ἀνοχὴν, τὴν μακροθυμίαν, καὶ οὐχ ἁπλῶς μακροθυμίαν, ἀλλὰ πολλὴν μακροθυμίαν· ἀλλ' ὅμως οὐκ ἠθέλησεν ἐπὶ τῶν Ἰουδαίων αὐτὸ γυμνάσαι. Πόθεν οὖν οἱ μὲν σκεύη ὀργῆς, οἱ δὲ ἐλέους; Ἀπὸ προαιρέσεως οἰκείας. Ὁ δὲ Θεὸς σφόδρα ἀγαθὸς ὢν, ἐπ' ἀμφοτέρων τὴν αὐτὴν ἐπιδείκνυται χρηστότητα. Καὶ γὰρ οὐχὶ τοὺς σωζομένους ἠλέησε μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸν Φαραὼ, τό γε αὐτοῦ μέρος· τῆς γὰρ αὐτῆς μακροθυμίας κἀκεῖνοι καὶ οὗτος ἀπήλαυσαν. Εἰ δὲ μὴ ἐσώθη, παρὰ τὴν αὐτοῦ γνώμην τὸ πᾶν· ὡς τό γε εἰς τὸν Θεὸν ἧκον, οὐδὲν ἔλαττον τῶν διασωθέντων ἔσχεν. Ἀποδοὺς τοίνυν τὴν λύσιν τῷ ζητήματι τὴν διὰ τῶν πραγμάτων, ὥστε καὶ ἑτέρωθεν ἀξιόπιστον ποιῆσαι τὸν λόγον, τοὺς προφήτας εἰσάγει τὰ αὐτὰ προαναφωνοῦντας. Καὶ γὰρ Ὠσηὲ, φησὶν, ἄνωθεν ταῦτα ἔγραφεν, οὕτω λέγων· Καλέσω τὸν οὐ λαόν μου, λαόν μου· καὶ τὴν οὐκ ἠγαπημένην, ἠγαπημένην. Ἵνα γὰρ μὴ λέγωσιν, ὅτι Παραλογίζῃ ἡμᾶς ταῦτα λέγων,