Fragments on Romans
Fragmenta in Epistolam ad Romanos
The nature of the flesh in Romans 7§1
1The divine apostle, a tireless model for those following him, for whose sake he cried out: 'become imitators of me, even as I of Christ' (Rom 7:15-17). Truly, what he said is not his own according to the literal word; but I know that the good does not dwell in my flesh, nor is the wretched man I am able to rescue myself from this body of death (Rom 7:18-24).
But he says these things and such things while acting in a parenthetical persona for the purpose of rebuking those who love sin. Just as the divine Scripture knows how to call men by various names—carnal, spiritual, pneumatic, and myriads of others—based on their fleshly deeds, so also it knows how to call the devil not only Satan, adversary, accuser, serpent, and lion, but also Beelzebub, but also flesh, law, sin, and death; for through disobedience we served these, and not Christ.
For this reason 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 slandering the flesh in which we are surrounded, but the flesh so named in common, from which we have been set free because we died in Christ through being buried with him through baptism.
Truly we have been freed from this flesh; for he says: 'but now we have been released from the law of sin, having died in that in which we were held, so that we might serve in the newness of the spirit and not in the oldness of the letter' (Rom 7:6).
If he began again by assuming a persona, starting from the point of 'What then shall we say? Is the law sin? By no means!' (Rom 7:7) until 'how shall I be rescued from this body of death?' setting an unshakeable foundation in a prologue for his own defense, saying thus: 'What then? Is the law sin? By no means, but 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 sinners, for which reason he also judged him to be holy, and just, and good.
If he then began again to resolve following what he said above, having prepared a gracious introduction thus: 'I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord.' Then, for the condemnation of such things being formed and reviled which we surround with flesh, he says interrogatively: 'Am I then I myself serving God by law with my mind, but serving sin by law with my flesh?' (Rom 7:22) 'Am I also Paul, divided, in one way serving the law of God, in another way serving the law of sin?' 'Do I have Christ and Beelzebub together in myself at the same time?' 'Am I he who says: But I no longer live, but Christ lives in me (Gal 2:20), having lied that I have the living sin in myself?'
Addressing others: 'Do you not know that your bodies are a temple of the Holy Spirit in you (1 Cor 6:19), and glorify God in your members?' 'Am I myself having nothing good in the body?' But he is not such a person, he is not; by no means; for he was before a child of wrath and a vessel of wrath, having changed his manner and not his nature, and became a vessel of election, precious.
Since therefore the personified words suit neither the divinely-inspired Paul, nor even certainly 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 (Rom 5:12), sin no longer reigns over them, nor death through sin; for they joined the life of Christ through obedience to 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
The Law, Sin, and the Deceiver§2
2Having abolished the death that happened to us through his own voluntary death, for he willingly submitted to the law of disobediencethat he might ransom us who are under the law of condemnation (Rom 6:14). For this reason he said, all are redeemed (Rom 6:23); thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord; for the impossibility of the law, in which he was weak through the flesh, God, having sent his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, condemned sin in the flesh (Rom 8:3).
Since this is so well perceived, the divine apostle brings it forth, saying: there is therefore no condemnation to those in Christ Jesus (Rom 8:1); for the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set me free from the law of sin and death, and from the things of these (Rom 8:2). I will indeed test through brief words and by speaking the words spoken by way of personification, beginning from the [...] and sin, having taken its occasion through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me (Rom 7:7).
The name of sin does not indicate a substance existing, but a manner and a way of having sinned by someone against what is according to reason and right in a matter; for sin is a most general name, being accused according to many and diverse things. And every sin happens neither by word nor by a commanding law; for if it happened according to law and word rightly, it would no longer be defined as sin and having the reason of its generation.
Since, however, the divine apostle remembers not simply sins, but a sin having a most general disposition, having a law, being able to act craftily, providing occasions for the construction of evil, he names no other sin more generally than the deceiver himself, the beginning and father of sins. For the sake of whom the apostle declared that sin reigns: let not sin reign in your mortal body (Rom 6:14). Just as we call men by the art from which they practice, so also he calls the deceiver himself sin, having become first the inventor of sin. Since, therefore, through the commandment given to Adam he deceived man, and through it Adam, providing occasions through the commandment. And this is it: why is it, he says, that God said: from every tree of that in the paradise you shall not eat for food? (Gen 2:16-17). And on whatever day you eat of it, your eyes shall be opened, and you shall be like gods, knowing good and evil (Gen 3:5). But he acts craftily toward them with a greater promise to suppress the deception, promising the more, so that he might turn the keepers of the commandment from the steps of virtue by a fall similar to their own; for having diverted man to want to become equal to God, he provided the occasion for the fellowship of deception from the commandment provided. For this reason Paul said: and sin, having taken its occasion through the commandment, deceived me (Rom 7:7). In order that some might not blame the commandment or the God who gave it, he also used a similar expression, saying: we know that the law is holy and the commandment is holy and just and (Rom 7:13).
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 Law§3
3It is good. Since, therefore, sin itself—that is, the devil—is sin by nature and by essence, he proffers this: that through the commandment, sin becomes a sin in excess. For that which is by essence cannot receive more or less; for it is what it is, always being what it is essentially. For whatever is added or increased, whether a little or in excess, is of a different essence from the things to which it is added; for 'how much' is not essence, but is about essence, not being essence. Thus, the so-called sin by the apostle, which is received to sin in excess, is so that sin becomes a sin in excess. Thus, even the being of sin, in which it is sin, took its beginning, not being in excess in the beginning, according to the sinning of sin.
Therefore, regarding the penalty of becoming a sin in excess in the time to come, he signifies this by saying: 'that sin may become a sin in excess through the commandment.' If they were to say: 'And how could it be good and just? And how is the commandment and the law holy, when through their occasion sin became a sin in excess?' Let them listen to this: that if something is being harmed, the occasion through which it is harmed is already bad and evil. Just as we do not say the sun is evil just because those who gaze at it without end and without measure are harmed in their eyes. Nor do we say the Son of God is bad and evil just because the devil has become a sin in excess by opposing the Son of God.
I know that the good does not dwell in me, that is, in my flesh (Rom 7:21). This is explained through the person of Adam. And that, having been deprived of God to have within himself, he exchanged true life for death—for death did not hold only the common members of it, 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 7:15). If the willing alone is in us, but the doing of the thing 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 they love and what is with them, but only they will; perhaps even that willing is not, for it is unclear. If this is true, I will say according to the impious: then the good was not and will not be in life, nor did anyone ever act 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§4
4I do it. But where, even in the life of men, have the names of virtues been found? If they are indeed active in doing what is good, even if those doing this were few, will not all say so? Yet we know that good does not dwell in us; for whatever they desired to be good, this is what they practice. But if those who do good exist in the flesh, and those who do not do this but are in the flesh doing evil, 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 if to those desiring to do the good, evil is a neighbor, and likewise to those desiring to do evil, good is not a guest, yet having foreseen and having intended, they arrive at such great activities, is it not that our bodies are not evil in nature and essence? For of our practical actions, counsel and will go before, the soul having this faculty of mind, being able to flow toward the actions it wills. Now I no longer work this, but the sin dwelling in me. He explained through this logical point that the flesh is not naturally evil; for it is not the flesh in which we are surrounded that dwells in us, but the devil dwelling in lawlessness. For that which I say is: Christ dwells in every righteous person working the good, while I think the same manner of way the devil dwells 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 especially in the soul that the devil dwells in, according to how Satan entered into the heart of Judas (John 13:2), and according to Ananias, 'Why has Satan filled your heart?' (Acts 5:3). And it is indeed good to say, 'I no longer work this, but the sin dwelling in me'; for the preparation goes before the work much like, so to speak, the preparation of a house or a temple; and the preparation is that which is the groundwork of the matter. Thus, the sin dwelling in those who sin—that is, the devil—concedes in our thoughts that he prepares beforehand the idea of the evil to come, the construction, of the soul cooperating with him in the wickedness, just as the womb of a female prepares for the sowing to be brought to completion.
And since evil thoughts come out of the heart (Matthew 12:34), from the seizure occurring of the devil, the divine word has cried out: taking thoughts captive and lifting up every height against the knowledge of God (2 Corinthians 10:5). Just as for the well-disposed souls the Holy Spirit is said to toil together, according to the saying, 'I have labored more than all,' not I, but the grace of God with me, so also, if a yielding soul is persuaded by the incitements of the devil, it has a co-worker in the evil, the devil himself; for he also prepared beforehand in it the pattern of the coming sin. For this reason it is said, 'I no longer work this, but the sin dwelling in me.'
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