Chapter XLIV.—Not nullified by prophecy.

And the holy Spirit of prophecy taught us this, telling us by Moses that God spoke thus to the man first created: “Behold, before thy face are good and evil: choose the good.”89    Deut. xxx. 15, 19. And again, by the other prophet Isaiah, that the following utterance was made as if from God the Father and Lord of all: “Wash you, make you clean; put away evils from your souls; learn to do well; judge the orphan, and plead for the widow: and come and let us reason together, saith the Lord: And if your sins be as scarlet, I will make them white as wool; and if they be red like as crimson, I will make them white as snow. And if ye be willing and obey Me, ye shall eat the good of the land; but if ye do not obey Me, the sword shall devour you: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.”90    Isa. i. 16, etc. And that expression, “The sword shall devour you,” does not mean that the disobedient shall be slain by the sword, but the sword of God is fire, of which they who choose to do wickedly become the fuel. Wherefore He says, “The sword shall devour you: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.” And if He had spoken concerning a sword that cuts and at once despatches, He would not have said, shall devour. And so, too, Plato, when he says, “The blame is his who chooses, and God is blameless,”91    Plato, Rep. x. [On this remarkable passage refer to Biog. Note above. See, also, brilliant note of the sophist De Maistre, Œuvres, ii. p. 105. Ed. Paris, 1853.] took this from the prophet Moses and uttered it. For Moses is more ancient than all the Greek writers. And whatever both philosophers and poets have said concerning the immortality of the soul, or punishments after death, or contemplation of things heavenly, or doctrines of the like kind, they have received such suggestions from the prophets as have enabled them to understand and interpret these things. And hence there seem to be seeds of truth among all men; but they are charged with not accurately understanding [the truth] when they assert contradictories. So that what we say about future events being foretold, we do not say it as if they came about by a fatal necessity; but God foreknowing all that shall be done by all men, and it being His decree that the future actions of men shall all be recompensed according to their several value, He foretells by the Spirit of prophecy that He will bestow meet rewards according to the merit of the actions done, always urging the human race to effort and recollection, showing that He cares and provides for men. But by the agency of the devils death has been decreed against those who read the books of Hystaspes, or of the Sibyl,92    [On the Orphica and Sibyllina, see Bull, Works, vol. vi. pp. 291–298.] or of the prophets, that through fear they may prevent men who read them from receiving the knowledge of the good, and may retain them in slavery to themselves; which, however, they could not always effect. For not only do we fearlessly read them, but, as you see, bring them for your inspection, knowing that their contents will be pleasing to all. And if we persuade even a few, our gain will be very great; for, as good husbandmen, we shall receive the reward from the Master.

[44] Ἐδίδαξε δὲ ἡμᾶς ταῦτα τὸ ἅγιον προφητικὸν πνεῦμα, διὰ Μωυσέως φῆσαν τῷ πρώτῳ πλασθέντι ἀνθρώπῳ εἰρῆσθαι ὑπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ οὕτως: Ἰδοὺ πρὸ προσώπου σου τὸ ἀγαθὸν καὶ τὸ κακόν, ἔκλεξαι τὸ ἀγαθόν. καὶ πάλιν διὰ Ἠσαίου, τοῦ ἑτέρου προφήτου, ὡς ἀπὸ τοῦ πατρὸς τῶν ὅλων καὶ δεσπότου θεοῦ εἰς τοῦτο λεχθῆναι οὕτως: Λούσασθε, καθαροὶ γένεσθε, ἀφέλετε τὰς πονηρίας ἀπὸ τῶν ψυχῶν ὑμῶν, μάθετε καλὸν ποιεῖν, κρίνατε ὀρφανῷ καὶ δικαιώσατε χήραν, καὶ δεῦτε καὶ διαλεχθῶμεν, λέγει κύριος: καὶ ἐὰν ὦσιν αἱ ἁμαρτίαι ὑμῶν ὡς φοινικοῦν, ὡσεὶ ἔριον λευκανῶ, καὶ ἐὰν ὦσιν ὡς κόκκινον, ὡς χιόνα λευκανῶ. καὶ ἐὰν θέλητε καὶ εἰσακούσητέ μου, τὰ ἀγαθὰ τῆς γῆς φάγεσθε, ἐὰν δὲ μὴ εἰσακούσητέ μου, μάχαιρα ὑμᾶς κατέδεται: τὸ γὰρ στόμα κυρίου ἐλάλησε ταῦτα. τὸ δὲ προειρημένον Μάχαιρα ὑμᾶς κατέδεται οὐ λέγει διὰ μαχαιρῶν φονευθήσεσθαι τοὺς παρακούσαντας, ἀλλ' ἡ μάχαιρα τοῦ θεοῦ ἔστι τὸ πῦρ, οὗ βορὰ γίνονται οἱ τὰ φαῦλα πράττειν αἱρούμενοι. διὰ τοῦτο λέγει: Μάχαιρα ὑμᾶς κατέδεται: τὸ γὰρ στόμα κυρίου ἐλάλησεν. εἰ δὲ καὶ περὶ τεμνούσης καὶ αὐτίκα ἀπαλλασσούσης μαχαίρας ἔλεγεν, οὐκ ἂν εἶπε Κατέδεται. ὥστε καὶ Πλάτων εἰπών: Αἰτία ἑλομένου, θεὸς δ' ἀναίτιος, παρὰ Μωυσέως τοῦ προφήτου λαβὼν εἶπε: πρεσβύτερος γὰρ Μωυσῆς καὶ πάντων τῶν ἐν Ἕλλησι συγγραφέων. καὶ πάντα, ὅσα περὶ ἀθανασίας ψυχῆς ἢ τιμωριῶν τῶν μετὰ θάνατον ἢ θεωρίας οὐρανίων ἢ τῶν ὁμοίων δογμάτων καὶ φιλόσοφοι καὶ ποιηταὶ ἔφασαν, παρὰ τῶν προφητῶν τὰς ἀφορμὰς λαβόντες καὶ νοῆσαι δεδύνηται καὶ ἐξηγήσαντο. ὅθεν παρὰ πᾶσι σπέρματα ἀληθείας δοκεῖ εἶναι: ἐλέγχονται δὲ μὴ ἀκριβῶς νοήσαντες, ὅταν ἐναντία αὐτοὶ ἑαυτοῖς λέγωσιν. ὥστε ὅ φαμεν, πεπροφητεῦσθαι τὰ μέλλοντα γίνεσθαι, οὐ διὰ τὸ εἱμαρμένης ἀνάγκῃ πράττεσθαι λέγομεν: ἀλλὰ προγνώστου τοῦ θεοῦ ὄντος τῶν μελλόντων ὑπὸ πάντων ἀνθρώπων πραχθήσεσθαι, καὶ δόγματος ὄντος παρ' αὐτόν, κατ' ἀξίαν τῶν πράξεων ἕκαστον ἀμείψεσθαι μέλλοντα τῶν ἀνθρώπων, καὶ τὰ παρ' αὐτοῦ κατ' ἀξίαν τῶν πραττομένων ἀπαντήσεσθαι, διὰ τοῦ προφητικοῦ πνεύματος προλέγει, εἰς ἐπίστασιν καὶ ἀνάμνησιν ἀεὶ ἄγων τὸ τῶν ἀνθρώπων γένος, δεικνὺς ὅτι καὶ μέλον ἐστὶν αὐτῷ καὶ προνοεῖται αὐτῶν. κατ' ἐνέργειαν δὲ τῶν φαύλων δαιμόνων θάνατος ὡρίσθη κατὰ τῶν τὰς Ὑστάσπου ἢ Σιβύλλης ἢ τῶν προφητῶν βίβλους ἀναγινωσκόντων, ὅπως διὰ τοῦ φόβου ἀποστρέψωσιν ἐντυγχάνοντας τοὺς ἀνθρώπους τῶν καλῶν γνῶσιν λαβεῖν, αὐτοῖς δὲ δουλεύοντας κατέχωσιν: ὅπερ εἰς τέλος οὐκ ἴσχυσαν πρᾶξαι. ἀφόβως μὲν γὰρ οὐ μόνον ἐντυγχάνομεν αὐταῖς, ἀλλὰ καὶ ὑμῖν, ὡς ὁρᾶτε, εἰς ἐπίσκεψιν φέρομεν, ἐπιστάμενοι πᾶσιν εὐάρεστα φανήσεσθαι: κἂν ὀλίγους δὲ πείσωμεν, τὰ μέγιστα κερδήσαντες ἐσόμεθα: ὡς γεωργοὶ γὰρ ἀγαθοὶ παρὰ τοῦ δεσπόζοντος τὴν ἀμοιβὴν ἕξομεν.