Fragments on Romans
Fragmenta in Romanos
The Law and the Flesh§1
1Regarding the letter to the Romans, chapter 7: The divine apostle, a doer of good, became an unquenchable image for those being discipled, for whose sake he also said, 'become imitators of me, even as I am of Christ' (Rom 7:6).
Therefore, strictly speaking, what he said does not belong to himself; but I know that the good does not dwell in my flesh, nor am I that wretched man, 'who will rescue me from this body of death?' (Rom 7:24); but these things and such things he says, pretending in a parenthetical persona, for the purpose of rebuking those who love sin.
Just as the divine Scripture knows how to call men from their fleshly, psychic, and spiritual deeds and by myriad other names, so also it knows how to call the devil not only Satan, the adversary, the accuser, the serpent, and the lion, but also Beelzebub, but also the flesh, the law, sin, and death; for through disobedience we served these, and not Christ.
For whose sake he says: 'when we were in the flesh' (Rom 7:7), indicating that they are no longer in the flesh, even though they are in the flesh, so that he is not condemning the flesh in which we are surrounded, but the flesh so named homonymously, from which we have been set free because we died in Christ through being buried with him through baptism (Rom 6:6).
Truly we have been freed from this flesh; for he brings forth, saying: 'but now we have been made free from the law of sin, having died in that in which we were held, so as to serve in the newness of the spirit and not in the oldness of the letter' (Rom 7:25).
If he thus began again through the hypothetical personification, beginning from 'what shall we say then?' (Rom 7:7); 'is the law sin?' 'May it never be!'; until 'the wretched man am I, who will rescue me from this body of death?' (Rom 7:24);...
He says thus: What then? Is the law sin? May it never be, and he asserts that the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, and just, and good. Here he speaks of law, not the one opposing the law of our mind, but the exhortatory one, the one punishing those sinning. For this reason he also judged him as holy and just and good.
If he began to resolve again following what he said above, having prepared a gracious word thus: I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Then, for the condemnation of such things being formed and reviled which surround us in the flesh, he says interrogatively: Am I then, myself, serving with the mind the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin? Am I also, Paul, divided, one way serving the law of God, another way the law of sin? Do I have Christ and Beelzebub together in myself in the same way? Am I he who says: 'It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me' (Gal 2:20), having lied, that I have the living sin in myself? Having called out to the others: Do you not know that your bodies are a temple of the Holy Spirit in you (1 Cor 6:19), and that you should glorify God in your members (1 Cor 6:20), while I myself have nothing good in the body? But it is not such a thing, it is not; may it never be; for he was before a child of wrath and a vessel of wrath, having changed the manner, not the nature, and became a vessel of election, precious.
Since the personified words do not fit either the law-giving Paul, nor indeed everyone united to Christ through baptism, because they were freed from the so-called flesh; for such as these shall no longer be condemned because of the disobedience of Adam, sin no longer reigns over them, nor death through sin; for they joined the life of Christ through obedience, overcoming the disobedience.
Greek · §1
Fragmenta in epistulam ad Romanos Rom 7 Ἀγαθοεργῶν ὁ θεῖος ἀπόστολος εἰκὼν ἀκηλίδωτος ἐγίνετο τῶν μαθητευομένων, ὅτου χάριν καὶ ἐκέκραξεν· μιμηταί μου γίνεσθε, καθὼς καὶ ἐγὼ Χριστοῦ. τοιγαροῦν οὐκ αὐτοῦ ἐστι κατὰ κυριολεξίαν ὃ ἔφη· οἶδα δὲ ὅτι οὐκ οἰκεῖ ἐν τῇ σαρκί μου τὸ ἀγαθόν, ἀλλ' οὐδὲ τὸ ταλαίπωρος ἐγὼ ἄνθρωπος, τίς με ῥύσεται ἐκ τοῦ σώματος τοῦ θανάτου τούτου; ἀλλὰ ταῦτα καὶ ὅσα τοιαῦτα ἐν παρενθέτῳ προσώπῳ ὑποκρινόμενος λέγει πρὸς ἔλεγχον τῶν φιλαμαρτημόνων. ὥσπερ δὲ τοὺς ἀνθρώπους ἀπὸ τῶν σφῶν πράξεων σαρκικούς, ψυχικούς, πνευματικοὺς καὶ ἑτέροις μυρίοις ὀνόμασι καλεῖν οἶδεν ἡ θεία γραφή, οὕτω δὴ καὶ τὸν διάβολον οὐ μόνον σατανᾶν καὶ ἀντικείμενον καὶ διάβολον καὶ ὄφιν καὶ λέοντα καλεῖν οἶδεν καὶ Βελίαρ, ἀλλὰ γὰρ καὶ σάρκα καὶ νόμον καὶ ἁμαρτίαν καὶ θάνατον· τούτοις γὰρ ἐδουλεύσαμεν διὰ τῆς παρακοῆς καὶ οὐ τῷ Χριστῷ. ὅτου χάριν λέγει· ὅτε ἦμεν ἐν τῇ σαρκί, δηλῶν ὡς νυνὶ οὐκέτι ὄντων αὐτῶν ἐν σαρκί, καίπερ ὄντων ἐν σαρκί, ὡς οὐκ ἄρα τὴν σάρκα ἣν περικείμεθα διαβάλλων, ἀλλὰ τὴν ὁμωνύμως αὐτῇ λεγομένην σάρκα, ἧς καὶ ἀπηλλάγημεν διὰ τὸ ἀποθανεῖν ἡμᾶς ἐν Χριστῷ διὰ τοῦ συνταφῆναι αὐτῷ διὰ τοῦ βαπτίσματος. ὄντως ταύτης ἠλευθερώθημεν τῆς σαρκός· ἐπιφέρει γὰρ λέγων· νυνὶ δὲ κατηργήθημεν ἀπὸ τοῦ νόμου τῆς ἁμαρτίας, ἀποθανόντες ἐν ᾧ κατειχόμεθα, ὥστε δουλεύειν ἡμᾶς ἐν καινότητι πνεύματος καὶ οὐ παλαιότητι γράμματος. εἰθ' οὕτως ἤρξατο πάλιν τῆς καθ' ὑπόθεσιν προσωποποιΐας, ἀρξάμενος ἀπὸ τοῦ τί οὖν ἐροῦμεν; ὁ νόμος ἁμαρτία; μὴ γένοιτο· ἕως τοῦ ταλαίπωρος ἐγὼ ἄνθρωπος, τίς με ῥύσεται ἐκ τοῦ σώματος τοῦ θανάτου τούτου; ἄσειστον θεμέλιον προθέμενος ἐν προλόγῳ τὴν ἑαυτοῦ ἀπολογίαν οὕτω λέγων· τί οὖν; ὁ νόμος ἁμαρτία; μὴ γένοιτο, καὶ ὅτι ὁ μὲν 2 νόμος ἅγιος, καὶ ἡ ἐντολὴ ἁγία καὶ δικαία καὶ ἀγαθή. ἐνταῦθα νόμον λέγει οὐ τὸν ἀντιστρατευόμενον τῷ νόμῳ τοῦ νοὸς ἡμῶν, ἀλλὰ τὸν προπαραινετικόν, τὸν τοὺς ἁμαρτάνοντας κολάζοντα. ὅτου χάριν καὶ συνεψηφίσατο αὐτῷ ὡς ὁσίῳ καὶ δικαίῳ καὶ ἀγαθῷ. εἰθ' οὕτως ἤρξατο πάλιν ἐπιλύειν ἀκολούθως οἷς ἀνωτέρω προεῖπεν, λόγον εὐχάριστον προοιμιασάμενος οὕτως· εὐχαριστῶ τῷ θεῷ διὰ Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν. εἶτα πρὸς κατάκρισιν τῶν τοιάδε ἀφορμαζομένων καὶ κακιζόντων ἃς περικείμεθα σάρκας, λέγει ἐπερωτηματικῶς ἆρα οὖν αὐτὸς ἐγὼ τῷ μὲν νοῒ δουλεύω νόμῳ θεοῦ, τῇ δὲ σαρκὶ νόμῳ ἁμαρτίας; ἆρα κἀγὼ Παῦλος μεμέρισμαι, πῆ μὲν δουλεύων νόμῳ θεοῦ, πῆ δὲ νόμῳ ἁμαρτίας; ἆρα τὸν Χριστὸν καὶ τὸν Βελίαρ ἅμα καὶ κατὰ τὸ αὐτὸ ἔχω ἐν ἐμαυτῷ; ἆρα ἐγὼ ὁ λέγων· ζῶ δὲ οὐκέτι ἐγώ, ζῇ δὲ ἐν ἐμοὶ Χριστός, ψευσάμενος τὴν ἁμαρτίαν ζῶσαν ἔχω ἐν ἐμαυτῷ; ὁ ἄλλοις προσφωνήσας· οὐκ οἴδατε ὅτι τὰ σώματα ὑμῶν ναὸς τοῦ ἐν ὑμῖν ἁγίου πνεύματός ἐστιν, καὶ δοξάσατε τὸν θεὸν ἐν τοῖς μέλεσιν ὑμῶν, αὐτὸς ἐγὼ ἐν τῷ σώματι οὐδὲν ἔχων ἀγαθόν; ἀλλ' οὐκ ἔστι τοιοῦτος, οὐκ ἔστιν· μὴ γένοιτο· τέκνον γὰρ ὀργῆς καὶ σκεῦος ὀργῆς πρίν, μεταβαλὼν τὸν τρόπον οὐ τὴν φύσιν, ἐγένετο τίμιον ἐκλογῆς σκεῦος. ἐπεὶ οὖν τὰ προσωποποιηθέντα ῥήματα οὔτε τῷ θεσπεσίῳ Παύλῳ ἁρμόζει, οὔτε μὴν παντὶ τῷ συνταφέντι Χριστῷ διὰ τοῦ βαπτίσματος, διότι τῆς ὀνομαζομένης σαρκὸς ἠλευθερώθησαν· οὐ γὰρ ἔτι κατακριθήσονται οἱ τοιοῦτοι διὰ τὴν τοῦ Ἀδὰμ παρακοήν, οὐκέτι βασιλεύει αὐτῶν ἡ ἁμαρτία, οὐχ ὁ θάνατος ὁ διὰ τῆς ἁμαρτίας· συνετάφησαν γὰρ τῇ ζωῇ τοῦ Χριστοῦ διὰ τῆς ὑπακοῆς τὴν παρακοὴν
Unit 1 rem early§2
2the death that fell upon us from it
Greek · §2
ἐξαφανίσαντος, καὶ τῷ ἑκουσίῳ ἑαυτοῦ θανάτῳ τὸν ἐξ αὐτῆς ἐπισυμβάντα ἡμῖν θάνατον ἐκκρουσαμένῳ· γέγονε γὰρ ἑκὼν ὑπὸ νόμον τὸν τῆς παρακοῆς, ἵνα ἡμᾶς 1 τοὺς ὑπὸ νόμον τὸν τῆς κατακρίσεως ἐξαγοράσῃ. διὰ τοῦτο ἔφη πᾶς λελυτρωμένος· χάρις δὲ τῷ θεῷ διὰ Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν· τὸ γὰρ ἀδύνατον τοῦ νόμου, ἐν ᾧ ἠσθένει διὰ τῆς σαρκός, ὁ θεὸς τὸν ἑαυτοῦ υἱὸν πέμψας ἐν ὁμοιώματι σαρκὸς ἁμαρτίας, κατέκρινε τὴν ἁμαρτίαν ἐν τῇ σαρκί. ὅτι δὲ ταῦθ' οὕτω καλῶς τεθεώρηται, ἐπιφέρει λέγων ὁ θεῖος ἀπόστολος· οὐδὲν ἄρα κατάκριμα τοῖς ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ· ὁ γὰρ νόμος τοῦ πνεύματος τῆς ζωῆς ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ ἠλευθέρωσέν με ἀπὸ τοῦ νόμου τῆς ἁμαρτίας καὶ τοῦ θανάτου, καὶ τὰ τούτων ἑξῆς. 3 Πειράσω δὴ διὰ βραχέων καὶ εἰς αὐτὰ τὰ ῥήματα τὰ κατὰ προσωποποιΐαν εἰρημένα παρατρεχόντως εἰπεῖν, ἀρξάμενος ἀπὸ τοῦ ἀφορμὴν δὲ λαβοῦσα ἡ ἁμαρτία διὰ τῆς ἐντολῆς ἐξηπάτησεν με καὶ δι' αὐτῆς ἀπέκτεινεν. Τὸ ἁμαρτίας ὄνομα οὐκ οὐσίαν ὑφεστῶσαν δηλοῖ, ἀλλὰ τρόπον καὶ βίον τοῦ διημαρτηκέναι τινὰ τοῦ κατὰ λόγον καὶ ὀρθῶς ἔχοντος πράγματος· ὥσπερ γὰρ γενικώτατόν ἐστιν ὄνομα ἡ ἁμαρτία, κατὰ πολλῶν καὶ διαφόρων πραγμάτων κατηγορουμένη. πᾶν δὲ ἁμάρτημα οὔτε λόγῳ οὔτε νόμῳ προστακτικῷ γίνεται· εἰ γὰρ κατὰ νόμον καὶ λόγον ἐγίνετο ὀρθόν, οὐκέτι ἂν ἦν ἁμάρτημα ὡρισμένον καὶ τεταγμένον ἔχον τὸν τῆς γενέσεως λόγον. ἐπειδὴ δὲ ὁ θεῖος ἀπόστολος οὐχ ἁπλῶς ἁμαρτημάτων, ἀλλ' ἁμαρτίας γενικωτάτης ἐχούσης φρόνημα, ἐχούσης νόμον, δυναμένης σοφίσασθαι, ἀφορμὰς πορίσασθαι πρὸς τὴν τοῦ κακοῦ κατασκευὴν μνημονεύει, οὐκ ἄλλον τινὰ γενικωτάτως ἁμαρτίαν ὀνομάζει, ἀλλ' ἢ αὐτὸν τὸν τῶν ἁμαρτημάτων ἀρχηγέτην καὶ πατέρα διάβολον. ὅτου χάριν καὶ βασιλεύειν τῶν ἁμαρτημάτων αὐτὸν ὁ ἀπόστολος ἀπεφήνατο· μὴ οὖν βασιλευέτω ἡ ἁμαρτία ἐν τῷ θνητῷ ὑμῶν σώματι. ὡς γὰρ τοὺς ἀνθρώπους ἀφ' ἧς ἐπιτηδεύουσι τέχνης καλοῦμεν, οὕτω δὴ καὶ αὐτὸν τὸν διάβολον ὡς πρώτως ἐφευρετὴν γενόμενον τῆς ἁμαρτίας, ἁμαρτίαν καλεῖ. Ἐπειδὴ τοίνυν διὰ τῆς δοθείσης τῷ Ἀδὰμ ἐντολῆς τὸν ἄνθρωπον ἠπάτησεν, καὶ δι' αὐτῆς τὸν Ἀδάμ, ἀφορμὰς πορισάμενος διὰ τῆς ἐντολῆς. ἔστι δὲ αὕτη· τί ὅτι, φησίν, εἶπεν ὁ θεός· ἀπὸ παντὸς ξύλου τοῦ ἐν τῷ παραδείσῳ οὐ φάγεσθε βρώσει; καὶ ᾗ δ' ἂν ἡμέρᾳ φάγησθε ἀπ' αὐτοῦ, διανοιχθήσονται ὑμῶν οἱ ὀφθαλμοί, καὶ ἔσεσθε ὡς θεοί, γινώσκοντες καλὸν καὶ πονηρόν. σοφίζεται δὲ αὐτοὺς μείζονι ἐπαγγελίᾳ κατακρύψαι τὴν ἀπάτην, ὑπισχνεῖται τὸ πλέον, ἵνα τοὺς τῆς ἐντολῆς φύλακας τῶν τῆς ἀρετῆς βάθρων τῷ ὁμοίῳ αὐτοὺς πτώματι καταστρέψῃ· τὸν γὰρ ἄνθρωπον ἐξοιστρήσας ἴσα θεῷ ἐθέλειν γενέσθαι, τῆς κατ' ἀπάτην ὁμιλίας τὴν ἀφορμὴν ἐπορίζετο ἐκ τῆς παρασχεθείσης ἐντολῆς. ὅτου χάριν ὁ Παῦλος ἔφη· ἀφορμὴν δὲ λαβοῦσα ἡ ἁμαρτία διὰ τῆς ἐντολῆς ἐξηπάτησέν με. ἵνα δὲ μὴ τὴν ἐντολὴν ἢ τὸν ταύτην δεδωκότα θεὸν αἰτιάσωνταί τινες, γείτονι καὶ ὁμοσπόρῳ ἐχρήσατο ῥήματι τοιάδε φάσκων· οἴδαμεν δὲ ὅτι ὁ νόμος ἅγιος καὶ ἡ ἐντολὴ ἁγία καὶ δικαία καὶ
The Essence of Sin and the Will§3
3Good. Since sin itself, that is the devil, is sin by nature and essence, he says so that sin might become a sinner in excess through the commandment. For that which is by essence does not receive more or less; for it is what it is, always being so in essence. For that which is becoming or being added to, whether a little or in excess, is different in essence from those things being added to it; for 'how much' is not essence, but is about essence, not being essence.
Therefore, the sin called by the apostle, which is receiving more, is to sin so that sin might become a sinner in excess. Thus also the being of sin, in which it is sin, took its beginning, not being in excess in the beginning, according to the sin having sinned as a sinner. Therefore also, regarding the opportunity for becoming a sinner in excess in the time allotted, he signifies this by saying: that sin might become a sinner in excess through the commandment.
But if they were to say: 'And how could it be good and just? How is the commandment and the law holy, when through their occasion sin became a sinner in excess?' To these, let them hear: that not, if something is being harmed, is the occasion through which it is harmed already bad and evil; for just as not because those staring at the sun unceasingly and without measure harm their eyes, we say the sun itself is evil; nor because the devil has become a sinner in excess through waging war against the Son of God, do we say the Son of God is bad and evil.
'I know that good does not dwell in me,' (Rom 7:18) that is, in my flesh. Now this is explained in the person of Adam. And that, having been deprived of having God within himself, having exchanged true life for death—for death was not the only common thing of its members, but also the disobedience invading his soul; for above all, death ruled before the arrival of Christ, having disobedience as the law and scepter of its own kingdom. But the kingdom of death is not without a ruler or unbegotten; for to die happens from the living, and to disobey happens from the obedience of subjects.
For the willing is possible for me, but the doing of the good is not; for what I want as good, this I do not do, but what I hate, this I practice (Rom 7:21). If the willing alone is in us, but the doing of that which is willed as good is not in us, then the good God sent his consubstantial souls into bodies in vain; for they do not practice what is friendly to him and to them, they do not work it, but only will it; and perhaps not even that, for it is unclear. But if this is true, I will say according to the impious: then the good was not, nor will it be, in life, nor did anyone ever work it, if they take as a refutation of the good and the beautiful against every man, that 'what I want as good, this I do not do, but what I hate, this I do.'
Greek · §3
ἀγαθή. Ἐπεὶ οὖν οὐδ' αὐτὴ ἡ ἁμαρτία, τοῦτ' ἔστιν ὁ διάβολος, φύσει καὶ οὐσίᾳ ἁμαρτία ἐστίν, ἐπιφέρει λέγων· ἵνα γένηται καθ' ὑπερ 4 βολὴν ἁμαρτωλὸς ἡ ἁμαρτία διὰ τῆς ἐντολῆς. τὸ γὰρ κατ' οὐσίαν τὶ ὂν τὸ πλέον καὶ τὸ ἔλαττον οὐκ ἐπιδέξεται· ἔστιν γὰρ ὅπερ ἐστίν, ἀεὶ τοῦτο ὂν ὅπερ ἐστὶν οὐσιωδῶς. τῷ γὰρ γινομένῳ καὶ ἐπιγινομένῳ τι, εἴτε ὀλίγον εἴτε καθ' ὑπερβολήν, ἕτερός ἐστι κατ' οὐσίαν τῶν αὐτῷ ἐπιγινομένων· τὸ γὰρ πόσον οὐκ οὐσία ἀλλὰ περὶ τὴν οὐσίαν ἐστίν, οὐκ ὂν οὐσία. ἡ ἄρα τοίνυν καλουμένη ὑπὸ τοῦ ἀποστόλου ἁμαρτία τὸ πλέον ἐπιδεχομένη ἁμαρτήσειν, ἵνα γένηται καθ' ὑπερβολὴν ἁμαρτωλὸς ἡ ἁμαρτία. ἄρα καὶ τοῦ εἶναι ἁμαρτία, ᾗ ἁμαρτία ἐστίν, ἀρχὴν ἔλαβεν, οὐκ οὖσα καθ' ὑπερβολὴν ἐν ἀρχῇ κατὰ τὸ ἡμαρτηκέναι ἁμαρτωλὸς ἡ ἁμαρτία. διὸ δὴ καὶ τὴν ἐπίτασιν τοῦ γενέσθαι καθ' ὑπερβολὴν ἁμαρτωλὸν ἐσομένῳ χρόνῳ σημαίνει οὕτω λέγων· ἵνα γένηται καθ' ὑπερβολὴν ἁμαρτωλὸς ἡ ἁμαρτία διὰ τῆς ἐντολῆς. εἰ δὲ λέγοιεν· καὶ πῶς ἂν εἴη ἀγαθὴ καὶ δικαία; πῶς δὲ ἁγία ἡ ἐντολὴ καὶ ὁ νόμος, ὁπότε διὰ τῆς ἀφορμῆς αὐτῶν 2 ἁμαρτωλὸς καθ' ὑπερβολὴν ἐγένετο ἁμαρτωλὸς ἡ ἁμαρτία; πρὸς ταῦτα ἀκουέτωσαν ὅτι οὐκ, εἴ τι καταβλάπτεται, ἤδη καὶ ἡ ἀφορμὴ δι' ἣν βλάπτεται φαύλη ἐστὶ καὶ πονηρά· οὐδὲ γὰρ ὅτι οἱ ἀνόδως καὶ ἀμέτρως ἐνατενίζοντες τῷ ἡλίῳ βλάπτονται τὰς ὄψεις, ἤδη καὶ τὸν ἥλιόν φαμεν πονηρόν· οὐδ' ὅτι καθ' ὑπερβολὴν ὁ διάβολος ἁμαρτωλὸς γέγονε τῷ ἐπικεχειρηκέναι κατὰ τοῦ υἱοῦ τοῦ θεοῦ, ἤδη καὶ τὸν υἱὸν τοῦ θεοῦ φαῦλον καὶ πονηρὸν εἶναι λέγομεν. Οἶδα δὲ ὅτι οὐκ οἰκεῖ ἐν ἐμοί, τοῦτ' ἔστιν ἐν τῇ σαρκί μου, ἀγαθόν. νῦν εἰς τὸ τοῦ Ἀδὰμ πρόσωπον ἐξηγεῖται. καὶ ὅτι στερηθεὶς τὸν θεὸν ἔχειν ἐν ἑαυτῷ, ἀντὶ τῆς ὄντως ζωῆς θάνατον καταλλαξάμενος–καὶ γὰρ θάνατος οὐχ ὁ κοινὸς μόνος τῶν μελῶν αὐτοῦ ἐκράτησεν, ἀλλὰ καὶ ὁ τῆς παρακοῆς κατὰ τῆς ψυχῆς αὐτοῦ εἰσβαλών· μάλιστα γὰρ ὁ κρατῶν θάνατος πρὸ τῆς τοῦ Χριστοῦ ἐπιδημίας ἐβασίλευσε, κατὰ πάντων νόμον καὶ σκῆπτρον τῆς ἑαυτοῦ βασιλείας ἔχων τὴν παρακοήν. ἀλλ' οὐκ ἄναρχος ἢ ἀγέννητος ἡ τοῦ θανάτου βασιλεία· ἐκ γὰρ τῶν ζώντων τὸ τεθνάναι συμβαίνει, καὶ ἐκ τῆς τῶν ὑπηκόων ὑπακοῆς τὸ παρακοῦσαί τινα. τὸ γὰρ θέλειν παράκειταί μοι, τὸ δὲ κατεργάζεσθαι τὸ καλὸν οὔ· ὃ γὰρ θέλω ἀγαθὸν τοῦτο οὐ ποιῶ, ἀλλ' ὃ μισῶ τοῦτο πράσσω. εἰ τὸ θέλειν μόνον ἐν ἡμῖν ἔστιν, τὸ δὲ κατεργάζεσθαι τὸ θεληθὲν καλὸν οὐκ ἔστιν ἐν ἡμῖν, εἰς μάτην ὁ ἀγαθὸς θεὸς τὰς ὁμοουσίας ἑαυτοῦ ψυχὰς ἐν τοῖς σώμασι κατέπεμψεν· τὸ γὰρ αὐτῷ καὶ αὐταῖς φίλον οὐ πράττουσιν, οὐκ ἐνεργοῦσιν, ἀλλὰ μόνον θέλουσιν· τάχα δὲ οὐδ' αὐτό, ἄδηλον γάρ. εἰ δὲ τοῦτο ἀληθές ἐστιν, κατὰ τοὺς ἀσεβεῖς ἐρῶ· ἄρα οὐκ ἦν οὐδ' ἔσται ἐν βίῳ τὸ καλόν, οὔτε τίς ποτ' αὐτὸ ἐνήργησεν, εἴγε κατ' ἀναίρεσιν τοῦ καλοῦ καὶ ἀγαθοῦ ἐπὶ παντὸς ἀνθρώπου ἐκλαμβάνωσιν, ὅτι ὃ θέλω ἀγαθόν, τοῦτο οὐ ποιῶ, ἀλλ' ὃ μισῶ τοῦτο
The dwelling of sin and the devil§4
4Wherein could the names of five virtues even be found in the life of men? If they are indeed working the good, even if those doing this were few, will not all say so? But we know that the good does not dwell in us; for whatever they desired to be good, this is what they practice. If those who do good are living in the flesh while doing this, and those not doing this but the evil are in the flesh, is it not the flesh that is the cause of the good not happening by turning away, but rather the softness of their soul? For to those desiring to do the good, the evil is a neighbor, and likewise to those desiring to do evil, the good is not a neighbor; but having forethought and having intended, they arrive at so much activity; for our bodies are not vile in nature or essence. For of our actions, counsel and will precede, the soul, which has this faculty of self-control, can flow toward the actions it wills. Now I no longer do it, but the sin dwelling in me (Gal 2:20). He excused himself through this saying, that the flesh is not vile by nature; for it is not the flesh in which we are surrounded that dwells in us, but the devil dwelling in lawlessness. For that is why I say: Christ dwells in every righteous man working the good, and I think the same manner dwells the devil in every evildoer. Therefore, it is not that we are evil because we have flesh, but the sin dwelling in us, being something else besides the flesh and the soul of the man; for it is said that the devil settles in the soul especially, just as Satan entered into the heart of Judas (Luke 22:3), and just as with Ananias, 'Why has Satan filled your heart?' (Acts 5:3). And it is also good to say, 'It is no longer I who do it, but the sin dwelling in me' (Gal 2:20); for the preparation is much in the work and the doing, because the preparation precedes the work, so to speak, like a house or a temple; and the preparation is this: the groundwork of the matter. Thus, the sin dwelling in those who sin—that is, the devil—concedes in our thoughts, preparing beforehand the idea of the coming evil, the construction, of the soul cooperating with him in the wickedness, just as the womb of a woman prepares the seed so that it may be completed. And since evil thoughts come forth from the heart, from the seizure occurring of the devil, the divine word has cried out: 'demolishing arguments and every exaltation raised up against the knowledge of God' (2 Cor 10:5). Just as for the well-pleasing souls the Holy Spirit is said to be gathered, 'I have labored more than all of you, yet not I, but the grace of God with me' (2 Cor 12:15), so also, if a soul is easily swayed by the enticements of the devil, it has a collaborator in the evil, the devil himself; for he himself has also prepared beforehand in it the pattern of the coming sin. For this reason it is said, 'It is no longer I who do it, but the sin dwelling in me' (Gal 2:20).
Greek · §4
πράσσω. πόθεν δὲ καὶ ἐν τῷ τῶν ἀνθρώπων βίῳ 5 ἀρετῶν ὀνόματα εὑρέθη; εἰ δέ εἰσιν ἐνεργοῦντες τὸ καλόν, κἂν ὀλίγοι εἶεν οἱ τοῦτο δρῶντες, ἄρ' οὐχ οἱ πάντες φήσουσιν· οἴδαμεν δὲ ὅτι οὐκ οἰκεῖ ἐν ἡμῖν ἀγαθόν· ὃ γὰρ ἠθέλησαν ἀγαθόν, τοῦτο πράττουσιν. εἰ δὲ οἱ τὸ ἀγαθὸν ἐνεργοῦντες ἐν σαρκὶ ὑπάρχοντες τοῦτο ἐνεργοῦσιν, καὶ οἱ τοῦτο μὴ ποιοῦντες ἀλλὰ τὸ κακὸν ἐν σαρκί εἰσίν, ἄρ' οὐ τῇ σαρκὶ τὸ αἴτιον τοῦ μὴ γίνεσθαι τὸ ἀγαθὸν περιαπτέον, ἀλλὰ τῇ τούτων μαλακοψυχίᾳ. εἰ γὰρ τοῖς ἐθέλουσι τὸ καλὸν ποιῆσαι παροικεῖται τὸ κακόν, ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ τοῖς ἐθέλουσι κακοεργεῖν οὐ καλὸν παράκειται, προνοήσαντες δὲ καὶ προθελήσαντες ἐπὶ τοσοῦτον ἐνεργείας ἔρχονται, ἄρ' οὐ φύσει καὶ οὐσίᾳ τὰ σώματα ἡμῶν ἐστι φαῦλα· τῶν γὰρ πρακτέων ἡμῶν προηγεῖται βουλὴ καὶ θέλησις, ψυχῆς δὲ ταῦτα φρόνημα ἐχούσης αὐτεξούσιον, ῥέψαι δυναμένης πρὸς ἃς βούλεται πράξεις. Νυνὶ δὲ οὐκέτι ἐγὼ κατεργάζομαι αὐτό, ἀλλ' ἡ οἰκοῦσα ἐν ἐμοὶ ἁμαρτία. ἀπελογήσατο διὰ τούτου τοῦ λογίου, ὅτι περ οὐ φαύλη κατὰ φύσιν ἡ σάρξ· οὐ γὰρ ἡ σὰρξ ἣν περικείμεθα οἰκεῖ ἐν ἡμῖν, ἀλλ' ὁ ἐν τοῖς παρανόμοις οἰκῶν διάβολος. ᾧ γὰρ λέγω· Χριστὸς οἰκεῖ ἐν παντὶ δικαίῳ τὸ ἀγαθὸν ἐργαζομένῳ, τὸν αὐτὸν οἶμαι τρόπον οἰκεῖν τὸν διάβολον ἐν παντὶ κακοποιῷ. οὐκοῦν οὐχ ἡμεῖς ἐσμεν καθὸ σάρκα ἔχομεν πονηροί, ἀλλ' ἡ οἰκοῦσα ἐν ἡμῖν ἁμαρτία, ἄλλη τις οὖσα παρὰ τὴν σάρκα καὶ τὴν ψυχὴν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου· καὶ γὰρ ἐν ψυχῇ μάλιστα λέγεται ἐπιχωριάζειν ὁ διάβολος κατὰ τὸ εἰσῆλθεν ὁ σατανᾶς εἰς τὴν καρδίαν Ἰούδα, καὶ κατὰ τὸ Ἀνανία, ἵνα τί ἐπλήρωσεν ὁ σατανᾶς τὴν καρδίαν σου; εὖ δὲ καὶ τὸ εἰπεῖν οὐκέτι ἐγὼ κατεργάζομαι αὐτὸ ἀλλ' ἡ οἰκοῦσα ἐν ἐμοὶ ἁμαρτία· ἔργου γὰρ καὶ κατέργου πολὺ τὸ μέσον, διότι τοῦ ἔργου προηγεῖται τὸ κάτεργον ὡς φέρε εἰπεῖν οἰκίας ἢ νηός· τὸ δὲ κάτεργον, τοῦτ' ἔστι τῆς ὕλης ἡ προπαρασκευή. ἡ τοίνυν οἰκοῦσα ἐν τοῖς ἁμαρτάνουσιν ἁμαρτία, τοῦτ' ἔστιν ὁ σατανᾶς, ὁμολογουμένως ἐν τοῖς λογισμοῖς ἡμῶν προκατεργάζεται τοῦ ἐσομένου κακοῦ τῆς ἰδέας, τὴν κατασκευήν, τῆς ὑποδεξαμένης αὐτὸν ψυχῆς συμπραττούσης αὐτῷ τῆς κακίας καθάπερ τοῖς σπείρουσιν ἡ τῆς θήλεος μήτρα πρὸς τὸ 3 τελεσφορηθῆναι τὸ σπαρέν. καὶ ἐπειδήπερ ἐκ τῆς καρδίας ἐκπορεύονται λογισμοὶ πονηροί, ἐκ τῆς γενομένης τοῦ διαβόλου συλλήψεως, κέκραγε τὸ θεῖον λόγιον· λογισμοὺς καθαιροῦντες καὶ πᾶν ὕψωμα ἐπαιρόμενον κατὰ τῆς γνώσεως τοῦ θεοῦ. ὥσπερ τοίνυν ταῖς φιλαρέτοις ψυχαῖς τὸ ἅγιον πνεῦμα συγκοπιᾶν λέγεται κατὰ τὸ περισσότερον πάντων ἐκοπίασα, οὐκ ἐγὼ δὲ ἀλλ' ἡ χάρις τοῦ θεοῦ ἡ σὺν ἐμοί, οὕτω δὴ ἐπὰν ῥᾴθυμος ψυχὴ ταῖς 6 τοῦ διαβόλου προτροπαῖς πεισθῇ, συνεργὸν ἔχει πρὸς τὸ κακὸν αὐτὸν τὸν διάβολον· αὐτὸς γὰρ καὶ τὸν τύπον τῆς ἐσομένης ἁμαρτίας προκατειργάσατο ἐν αὐτῇ. ὅτου χάριν εἴρηται οὐκέτι ἐγὼ κατεργάζομαι αὐτό, ἀλλ' ἡ οἰκοῦσα ἐν ἐμοὶ ἁμαρτία. 4