Bellarmine · De Controversiis · On Grace and Free Choice · Book II: On Predestination and Sufficient Grace
Chapter 12: The same is proved by reasons drawn from Scripture and tradition
Our translation, from the Latin of the Opera Omnia (Paris: Vivès, 1870–74), vol. V, De Gratia et Libero Arbitrio, Book II. The Latin source text is public domain; this English rendering is released with the site. Scripture quotations follow Bellarmine's Vulgate citations, rendered in Douay-Rheims wording where he quotes exactly. Click “Show the Latin” for the original (raw OCR of the scan; scanning errors remain — the scan itself is the authority).
Let us set forth in the last place reasons derived not from our speculation alone, but from the very fountains of the sacred writings and of ecclesiastical tradition.
The first reason. Without faith no one can be saved: he that believeth not shall be condemned, Mark, last chapter. But faith is the gift of God, which is not given to all, but only to those to whom God has willed to give it: For unto you (says the Apostle, Philippians 1) it is given for Christ, not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him. Therefore they alone are saved whom God has decreed gratuitously to save. Now God foreknew before the foundation of the world to whom he would gratuitously give salvation, and this very thing he decreed and preordained from eternity itself, since the knowledge and purpose of God are eternal and immutable. Therefore the judgment of St. Augustine concerning gratuitous foreknowledge and divine predestination is true. To this reason answer is wont to be made in two ways — yet so that both ways are repugnant to the Scriptures, and do not depart from the Pelagian heresy. First, then, some answer that faith is the gift of God, but that this gift is given to all those whom God foresaw would be disposed, through the good use of free choice, to receive that gift — that is, who first did what lay in them from the powers of nature. This answer manifestly falls into that condemned judgment of the Pelagians, that grace is given according to our merits, as we shall treat copiously in book 6, chapters 4, 5, and 6; for the Fathers in this question call merit any good work by reason of which grace, or help, is given to a man, as is evident from Augustine, book 2 to Boniface, chapter 8, and from Prosper, book against the Conferrer, chapter 6 [al. 2]. And besides other arguments, this solution is refuted from the prayers of the Church, which are poured out for unbelievers and persecutors: for if God ordinarily gave faith to those whom he saw disposed by the good use of free choice, in vain would prayer be made for unbelievers, above all the obstinate and persecutors. Moreover, if the matter so stood, the beginning of salvation would be from us; and to the Apostle asking, Who distinguisheth thee? What hast thou that thou hast not received? 1 Corinthians 4, it could be answered: the good use of free choice distinguishes me — and in this manner grace would not be altogether unowed, and thereby would not altogether be grace. Others therefore say that faith is the gift of God, but is not given to all because not all will to receive it (for God calls all, and furnishes to all sufficient help by which they can believe if they will); hence that predestination depends on the foreseeing of the good use of sufficient grace: that those are predestinated whom God foresaw would cooperate with sufficient grace and thence believe; those reprobated whom he foresaw would not cooperate with sufficient grace and thence not believe. But this solution is openly repugnant to the sacred writings. For though we piously believe that to all is given, according to place and time, sufficient help by which they can believe, yet Scripture teaches that in fact none believe save those who have the efficacious help — by which it comes about that a man not only can believe, but believes — and that this help is not given to all. For first, John 6, the Lord says: Every one that hath heard of the Father, and hath learned, cometh to me. And in the same place: All that the Father giveth to me shall come to me. And John 10: you do not believe, because you are not of my sheep. Where we see the cause given why those Jews did not believe — not because they had not help by which they could believe (for to what end would the Lord preach to them, do signs before them, exhort them to faith, reprehend them, and call them inexcusable, if he had not given them help by which they could believe?), but because they had not that grace which so counsels that it persuades; and they had not that grace because they were not of the elect sheep, nor had the Father given them to the Son; and therefore in the same place he added: No man can come to me — that is, without doubt none will come — except the Father… draw him. For (as we have said) they could come absolutely, but are said not to be able because it was certain and infallible that they would not come. Wherefore in the same place the Lord, citing Isaias, says: It is written in the prophets: And they shall all be taught of God. Of which words this is the sense: all who believe are taught by God; hence no one believes save he that is taught by God — that is, drawn and persuaded by the Father. Next, Matthew 11, the same Lord says: I confess to thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them to little ones. Yea, Father; for so hath it seemed good in thy sight. And: neither doth any one know the Father, but the Son, and he to whom it shall please the Son to reveal him. Here it is not a question of revelation through external preaching — for in that manner God had revealed the mysteries of the faith to many others, not only to those who then believed, since Christ preached openly in the temple and in the synagogues; but he speaks of that inward revelation which persuades faith, which is not given to all, but to those to whom it has seemed good before God. Of which also it is said, Matthew 16: Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jona: because flesh and blood hath not revealed it to thee, but my Father who is in heaven. Moreover, when blessed Paul preached to many, Acts 16, certainly all could believe — otherwise they had not sinned in not believing; yet only Lydia the seller of purple believed; and giving the cause of this thing St. Luke says: whose heart the Lord opened to attend to those things which were said by Paul. And why did the Lord open her heart and not the others', save because out of that number she alone was preordained to eternal life — as the same Luke says of others who believed, Acts 13? Likewise, when the same Paul so often repeats that faith is the gift of God, and that all men have not faith, as Ephesians 2, Philippians 1, 2 Thessalonians 3, and elsewhere, he does not deny that all can believe if they will to cooperate with preventing and sufficient grace; nor does he say faith is the gift of God because God furnishes sufficient help for believing — for that is a gift common to all, above all according to the adversaries. He signifies, then, nothing else than that the very willing to believe, and the believing in fact, is the gift of God — which none have but they who believe, since to them alone God deigns so to counsel that he persuades. Finally, what the same Apostle says, 1 Corinthians 4, For who distinguisheth thee? Or what hast thou that thou hast not received? proves not only that the believer is not distinguished from the unbeliever by a good use of free choice preceding grace, but also that he is not distinguished principally by the free cooperation with preventing grace — as though that cooperation itself were not the gift of God; for the believer could still be puffed up and say: my cooperation distinguishes me, for I cooperated, and he cooperated not, though we had the same preventing grace. But the Apostle wills to cut off every occasion of being puffed up, and that believers understand that this very thing, that they are believers, is a gift of God given to them gratuitously, and to others by no means given.
The second reason is drawn from the gift of perseverance, in this manner. Without perseverance no one can be saved: he that shall persevere unto the end, he shall be saved, Matthew 10; and Apocalypse 3: hold fast that which thou hast, that no man take thy crown. But perseverance is the gift of God, which is not given from merits, but from grace; and although all the just can persevere if they will, yet they alone persevere who have this gift of persevering even to the end; and thereby salvation, and predestination unto salvation, depends simply on the will of God. The assumption of this argument is proved. First, the Lord, John 13, when he had said, If you know these things, you shall be blessed if you do them, subjoins: I speak not of you all: I know whom I have chosen — where he indicated plainly enough that it is not given to all to do perseveringly, but only to the elect. And chapter 15, speaking to those whom he had chosen: I… have appointed you, that you should go, and should bring forth fruit; and your fruit should remain — which is the same as if he had said: I will give you to work well, and to persevere in good work even to the end. And the Apostle, Romans 9: it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy — where he posits that men will and run, that is, believe and work, and thereby have had the grace of believing and working; and yet, because he saw that none would arrive at the prize save they who out of a peculiar mercy should have perseverance, therefore he said: it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy. And certainly, if perseverance were said to depend on the mercy of God only because without the help of God man could not persevere — and not because that mercy itself makes a man infallibly persevere, who otherwise would not persevere — then, as it is said, “it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy,” so contrariwise it could be said: it is not of God showing mercy, but of the man willing and running — for without the will and action of the man the mercy of God does not accomplish what it intends. But if no one will dare so to invert the divine words, lest he most openly contradict the Holy Spirit, there plainly follows what we said: that it is therefore said to be of God showing mercy, not of the man willing and running, since of the willing and running those alone arrive whom the mercy of God makes perseveringly willing and running. Likewise Philippians 2: with fear and trembling work out your salvation. For it is God who worketh in you, both to will and to accomplish, according to his good will. What kind of consequence is this — work with fear, because it is God who works? The Apostle admonishes, namely, that although we work well, we should not certainly promise ourselves perseverance, but be subject with fear and trembling to God, on whose hand our perseverance hangs; for it is he who, in those who persevere, works to will and to accomplish according to his good will. Finally — to pass over many other divine testimonies — St. John in the first epistle, chapter 2: They went out from us, but they were not of us. For if they had been of us, they would no doubt have remained with us. Which place St. Augustine thus discourses on in the book On the Gift of Perseverance, chapter 8 [al. 9]: “What is, I pray, ‘they were not of us’? Were not both created by God, both from Adam, both made of earth, and had received souls of one and the same nature from him who said, Every breath I have made? Were not, lastly, both called, and followed the caller; both justified from impious, and both renewed through the laver of regeneration? But if he heard this who without doubt knew what he was saying, he could answer and say: These things are true; according to all these they were of us; but nevertheless, according to a certain other distinction, they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would surely have remained with us. What then is that distinction?… they were not of them, because they were not elected in Christ before the foundation of the world.” Thus he. Someone will perhaps say that the Apostle John speaks of a distinction from the foreknowledge of good works, so that the sense is: they were not of us in the foreknowledge of God, because God had foreseen they would not persevere. But this understanding renders the Apostolic sentence too frigid and, as it were, puerile: for “they were not of us in foreknowledge” is the same as “they were not going to persevere”; whence follows that inept consequence: for if they had been going to persevere, they would surely have persevered — a consequence which contains nothing of the hidden or the divine. Another again will say that that “they were not of us” can be understood of the feigning of faith, so that the sense is: they seemed by exterior signs Christians and Catholics, but were already cut off from us in heart — for so the same St. Augustine expounds it, tractate 3 on the epistle of John. I answer: both are true, and cohere excellently between themselves: for they who are not predestinated — and thereby are distinguished, in predestination, from the others in the Church who are elect and predestinated — are often also cut off in heart before they are in body; and it is true that they are not of us even when they seem to be of us, both because they are not of the number of the elect, and also because they are already cut off from us in heart. But that this Apostolic sentence is to be referred chiefly to predestination is agreed from this, that John so securely affirms: If they had been of us, they would surely have remained with us. For that cannot be asserted with certainty of any sincere and true Catholics whatever, unless they be of the number of those of whom the Lord says: no man shall pluck them out of my hand, John 10. To these testimonies, by which the special gift of perseverance is established, can be added two most solid reasons. One is taken from the prayers which we are bidden continually to pour out for the gift of perseverance. For if the gift of perseverance were nothing but the help by which we can persevere, there would be no need of such assiduity of prayers; for that gift they always have who are just — since God deserts not, unless he be first deserted by the man. So too, if the gift of perseverance, once obtained, could not be lost — that is, if it were in very fact obtained before death — there would be no need to ask that gift of the Lord even until death; but we are bidden daily, however much we advance, always to say: Hallowed be thy name; Thy will be done; lead us not into temptation; deliver us from evil — by all which words what else do we ask than, as St. Cyprian speaks in sermon 6, “that we persevere in that which we have begun to be”? And so St. Augustine rightly, book On the Gift of Perseverance, chapter 17 [al. 2]: “There remains perseverance in these goods even unto the end, which is daily asked of the Lord in vain, if the Lord does not work it, through his grace, in him whose prayers he hears.” The other reason is taken from the term and period of human life, which is fixed by none other than the very founder of men: for he has appointed his bounds which cannot be passed, Job 14; he taketh away the spirit of princes, Psalm 75; he, in fine, killeth and maketh alive, 1 Kings 2. Since therefore it is in the hand of God to snatch away the just man before malice deprave him, and to wait for the sinner till he return to health; and contrariwise, to leave the just man in life till he slip again and perish, and to take the sinner out of the way before he be converted — who does not see that perseverance is the gift of God? “See,” says Augustine in the place cited, “how alien it is from the truth to deny that perseverance even to the end of this life is the gift of God — since he himself gives an end to this life when he wills; and if he gives it before an imminent fall, he makes the man persevere even to the end.”
The third reason is drawn from the diversity of little ones, of whom some are snatched away straightway after Baptism, others a little before Baptism; of whom the former pertain to the glory of the predestinated, the latter to the punishment of the reprobate, is not doubtful; nor can any foreseen merits, or any good use of free choice or of grace, here be feigned. And the vain answers which some, with great labor, have at length devised make this argument appear yet much firmer and more solid: “It is wonderful,” says St. Augustine in epistle 105 to Sixtus, “when they are pressed by these straits, into what steeps they hurl themselves, fearing the nets of truth.” Some, then, answered of old that little ones are predestinated according to the works which God had foreseen they would have done, had it befallen them to live longer. But the same Augustine refutes this answer in the book On the Predestination of the Saints, chapter 12, from this: that the Apostle defines, 2 Corinthians 5, that all men are to be judged by Christ according to the proper things of the body — that is, as they have borne themselves in this bodily life; likewise from this, that it would have profited a certain one little to be snatched away lest wickedness should alter his understanding, as is said in Wisdom 4; and contrariwise it would have profited the Tyrians and Sidonians much that they would have believed had they seen the signs of Christ, as is said in Matthew 11 — if we are to be judged according to the works we would have done. Others therefore answer that one is the account of little ones, another of adults: since adults, if they are not saved, perish forever; little ones, if they are not saved, yet perish not, but will have, outside the kingdom of heaven, a certain eternal and blessed life of their own. But that this solution falls into the Pelagian heresy Augustine teaches, book On the Gift of Perseverance, chapters 11 and 12; and we also have discoursed against this error in book 6 On the State of Sin. And certainly it ought to be enough for the faithful that the Apostle, Romans 5, says so openly that by the offense of one all men were sent into condemnation. Others answer last that it comes to pass by chance that of little ones some are baptized, others depart without Baptism — because, namely, some are born among Christians, others among unbelievers; some are weaker from natural causes than to be able to live until Baptism; others have obtained a better constitution of body, and therefore arrive at the laver and regeneration. But this answer seems not worthy of Christians, who have learned the providence of God toward men from the sacred writings and ecclesiastical tradition. For if a sparrow falls not to the ground without our Father who is in heaven, as the Savior affirms, how much more are we of more value with God than they? And if God did not dispose the limits of the life and death of men, how would Psalm 54 say: bloody and deceitful men shall not live out half their days? How would the book of Wisdom, chapter 4, which we have often cited, say: He was taken away lest wickedness should alter his understanding? How would it be so often repeated in the Scripture of the Old Testament that they who seemed slain by chance were delivered by God into the hands of enemies or of wild beasts? How would there be promised, in the divine law itself, to those who honor their parents as they ought, long life upon the earth? God, then, does not indeed change the course of nature, and suffers all things to perform their own motions; yet before the foundation of the world he without doubt saw what would happen from the beginning even to the end, if he disposed the causes of things, and the course and order of the whole of nature, in this way or in that. And since all things were in his hand, and nothing could be done save by his commanding or permitting, beyond doubt he so disposed things that all things should work together unto good to those who according to purpose are called to be saints. That therefore of little ones one is baptized, another snatched away without the grace of Baptism — the proximate cause can be referred to natural causes, as the diligence of parents, the constitution of the body, and other things of that kind; but the primary cause can be no other than the divine will.
The fourth reason is taken from the example of Christ, who is the head and prince of all the elect. For Christ was predestinated the Son of God in power, as the Apostle speaks, Romans 1; and he was predestinated altogether gratuitously, not on account of any foreseen works: for the man Christ could not do any works that he might become the Son of God, since he began to be the Son of God from the moment he began to be man. For that woman full of grace conceived the only Son of God — not some man who afterward, merits accruing, should be assumed to the person of the Son of God. As therefore Christ himself was predestinated altogether gratuitously, so the members of Christ are predestinated gratuitously; for we are predestinated to be made conformable to the image of his Son, as the Apostle says, Romans 8. And so, as that man was predestinated to be the natural Son of God with no preceding merits, so we also are predestinated to be sons of God by adoption with no preceding merits. See this reason elegantly treated by Augustine in the book On the Predestination of the Saints, chapter 15, and On the Gift of Perseverance, last chapter, and On Rebuke and Grace, chapter 11.
The fifth reason is taken from the end of predestination. Predestination has for its end the showing of the riches of the grace of God on the vessels of mercy, and the praise of the glory of his grace, as the Apostle witnesses, Romans 9 and 11, and Ephesians 1. But if God predestinated men on account of a foreseen good use of free choice or of grace, he would show the riches not of grace, but of justice, or of equity. But, say they, this very thing is an immense grace: that God has willed to predestinate men to eternal glory on account of the good use of free choice, or of grace; for God was not bound to do this, but could have left all men in the mass of perdition, and not granted sufficient help to any. But if this alone were the grace of predestination, the Apostle would not say that God willed to show the riches of grace on the vessels of mercy; nor would he say that a remnant is saved according to the election of grace; nor would he say that we were predestinated in Christ unto the praise of the glory of his grace. For to will to predestinate those who will work well is a grace common to the whole human race, not proper to the vessels of mercy; nor can that election be called an election of grace, but of justice, by which they are elected who are foreseen as going to work well — though it can be called grace to have willed to set this prize before the contestants. And so it is not doubtful that the judgment of those who deny the merely gratuitous election of those to be saved is repugnant to the Apostle.
The sixth reason: the Scriptures refer the distinction of the elect from the reprobate among the secrets and the deepest and inscrutable mysteries, as is evident from that of Romans 11: O the depth of the riches of the wisdom and of the knowledge of God! How incomprehensible are his judgments, and how unsearchable his ways! For who hath known the mind of the Lord? Or who hath been his counsellor? Or who hath first given to him, and recompense shall be made him? For what the Apostle so greatly wonders at in that place is that God concluded all in unbelief, that he may have mercy on all — that is, permitted all to become unbelieving, first the gentiles, afterward the Jews, that he might have mercy on all, that is, on gentiles and Jews; and that thence it came to pass that at one time of the gentiles the fewest, and almost none, were saved, and now very many are saved; and contrariwise, of the Jews many were saved at one time, now the fewest are saved, and again at the end of the age many are to be saved. But if the judgment of the adversaries were true, there would be here no mystery, no cause of wonder; for we should say that God in ancient times sent preachers only to the Jews because he saw there were the fewest among the gentiles who would have faith in the preachers; but that now, contrariwise, he sends and has sent them to the gentiles, because he saw there would be very many who at this time would receive the faith. And the same could be said of the Jews. Nor is it any wonder if God decreed not to save but to condemn those whom he foresaw would by no means believe, and would work ill — as no one wonders if he sees the guilty punished by a judge, and the guiltless set free. But the Apostle wonders and exclaims, O the depth of the riches!, because he sees that in the same cause God, who is not an accepter of persons, has mercy on some and has not mercy on others. For, to show that the gentiles at this time are easily converted to the faith because God has mercy on them, and that before they believed not because God had not mercy on them; and that the Jews, who now are unbelieving, will at the end believe, because God now has not mercy on them, but at the end will have mercy — he speaks thus: as you also in times past did not believe God, but now have obtained mercy, through their unbelief; So these also now have not believed, for your mercy, that they also may obtain mercy — that is: as now God suffers the Jews to remain unbelieving, but has mercy on you and converts you to the faith, so at the end of the world he will have mercy on them also, and convert them. And therefore, after that exclamation, O the depth of the riches!, he again adds: who hath first given to him, and recompense shall be made him? For of him, and by him, and in him, are all things — that he may show that God prevents all our merits, and every good use of free choice; and that therefore it is rightly to be wondered at, and to be held among the inscrutable secrets, why God has mercy on this man, and has not mercy on that.
The last reason can be this. If God predestinated on account of a foreseen good use of free choice or of grace, certainly, in the execution of this predestination, he would direct preachers to all those whom he foresees would use the Gospel well, and would will that signs be done among all those whom he foreknows would from those signs be converted and saved. But God says to Ezechiel, chapter 3: if I sent thee to a people of unknown speech, they would hear thee; But the house of Israel will not hearken to thee: because they will not hearken to me. And the Lord, Matthew 11: if in Tyre and Sidon had been wrought the miracles that have been wrought in you, they had long ago done penance in sackcloth and ashes. What, I beseech, can here be answered? If God predestinates from a foreseen good use of free choice or of grace, why did he not predestinate those peoples of unknown speech of whom Ezechiel speaks, and the Tyrians and Sidonians of whom the Lord speaks? For that these would have used free choice and grace well, Truth itself witnesses; and yet it is beyond controversy that these were not predestinated, but left with the other vessels of dishonor in the lost mass. Other reasons could be added, which the scholastic theologians excellently weave; but these have seemed to us the chief.
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CAPUT XII. Idem probatur rationibus ex Scriptura, et traditione dept'omptis. Proponamus ultimo loco rationes, non ex sola speculatione nostra, sed ex ipsis sacra¬ rum litterarum, et traditionis Ecclesiasticae fontibus derivatas. Prima ratio. Sine fide nemo salvari potest : Qui enim non crediderit , condemnabitur , Mare, ult. (1). Fides autem donum Dei est, quod non omnibus datur, sed iis tantum quibus eam Deus donare voluerit : Vobis enim (in¬ quit Apostolus ad Philip, i.) donatum est pro Christo , non solum ut in illum credatis sed e- tiam ut pro illo patiamini (2). Igitur soli illi salvantur, quos Deus gratis salvari decreve¬ rit. Praescivit vero Deus ante mundi consti¬ tutionem, quibus salutem gratis daturus es¬ set, et hoc ipsum ab ipsa aeternitate decre¬ vit, et praeordinavit, cum Dei scientia et pro¬ positum aeterna et immutabilia sint. Igitur vera est sententia S. Augustini de gratuita praescientia et praedestinatione divina. Ad hanc rationem duobus modis respon¬ deri solet, sic tamen ut modus uterque et Scripturis repugnet, et a Pelagiana haeresi non recedat. Primum igitur aliqui respon¬ dent, finem esse donum Dei, sed hoc donum iis omnibus dari, quos Deus praevidit per bonum usum liberi arbitrii dispositos fore ad illud donum recipiendum, hoc est, qui fecerint ante, quod in se est, ex viribus na¬ turae. Haec responsio manifeste incidit in illam damnatam sententiam Pelagianorum, gra¬ tiam secundum merita nostra dari, ut copio¬ se tractabimus in vi. lib. cap. 4. 5. et 6. meritum enim appellant Patres in hac quae¬ stione quodlibet opus bonum, ratione cujus gratia, vel auxilium homini datur, ut patet ex August. in lib. ii. ad Bonifacium cap. 8. et ex prospero lib. contra Collatorem, cap. 6. et praeter alia argumenta, refellitur ista solutio ex orationibus Ecclesiae, quae fundun¬ tur pro infidelibus, et persecutoribus. Si enim Deus ordinarie fidem donaret iis, quos ex bono usu liberi arbitrii dispositos esse videret frustra oraretur pro infidelibus, maxi¬ me obstinatis et persecutoribus. Praeterea si res ita se haberet, initium salutis esset ex nobis, et petenti Apostolo : Quis te discernis? Quid habes quod non accepisti ? I ad Corinth. iv (3). responderi posset : discernit me bonus usus liberi arbitrii, et hoc modo gratia non omnino esset indebita, ac per hoc non om¬ nino esset gratia. Dicunt ergo alii, fidem esse donum Dei, sed non omnibus dari, quia non omnes eam volunt accipere (Deum enim omnes vocare, et auxilium sufficiens omnibus praebere, quo (1) Mare. XVI, 16. — (2) Philip. I, 29. — (3) I Corin. IV, 7. LIBER II. :.r,2 possint credere, si velint (proinde praedesti¬ nationem pendere cx praevisione boni usus gratiae sufficientis. Illos enim esse praedes¬ tinatos, quos Deus praevidit cooperaturos gra¬ tiae sufficienti, et inde credituros ; illos esse reprobatos, quo praevidit gratiae sufficienti non cooperaturos, et inde non credituros. At haec solutio repugnat aperte sacris lit¬ teris. Nam tametsi pie credamus, omnibus dari pro loco et tempore auxilium sufficiens, quo possint credere, tamen Scriptura docet, re ipsa non credere, nisi illos qui habent auxilium efficax, quo fit ut homo non solum possit credere, sed etiam credat, et hoc auxilium non omnibus dari ; nam in primis .loan. vi. Dominus ait : Omnis qui audivit a Patre meo, et didicit , venit ad me. Et ibid. : Omne quod dat mihi Pater , venit ad me. Et Joan. x : Vos non creditis, quia non estis e.v ovibus meis (1). Ubi. videmus causam reddi, cur Judfei isti non crederent, non quia non haberent auxilium, quo possent credere; quorsum enim Dominus illis praedicaret, sig¬ na coram eis faceret, hortaretur eos ad fi¬ dem, reprehenderet, etinexcusables diceret, si non dedisset eis auxilium, quo possent credere? Sed quia, non haberent gratiam illam, quic ita suadet ut persuadeat, et ideo non habuisse gratiam illam, quia non erant de electis ovibus, neque dederat eos Pator filio, et ideo ibidem addidit : Nemo potest, ad me venire, id est, sine dubio nullus veniet, ni¬ si Pater traxerit eum. Nam (ut diximus) ve¬ nire poterant absolute, sed dicuntur non posse, quia certum erat et infallibile, non venturos. Quare ibid. Dominus citans Isaiam ait : Est scriptum in Prophetis ; Et erunt om¬ nes docibiles Dei. Quorum verborum ille est sensus, omnes qui credunt, docentur a Deo, proinde nemo credit, nisi a Deo doctus, id- est, tractus et persuasus a Patre. Deinde Matth. xi. idem Dominus ait : Confiteor tibi. Pater, Domine, cadi ac terree, quia abscondisti h.vc a sapientibus et pruden¬ tibus et revelasti ea parvulis. Jta Pater, quo¬ niam sic placitum fuit ante te. Et : Nemo no¬ vit filium , nisi Pater, neque Patrem quis no¬ vit, nisi filius et cui voluerit filius revelare (2). Ilie vero non agitur de revelatione per ex¬ ternam prajdicationem, nam eo modo reve¬ laverat Deus multis aliis mysteria fidei, non solis iis, qui tunc crediderant, palam enim Christus praedicabat in templo, et in syna¬ gogis : sed loquitur de interna illa revelatio¬ ne, quie persuadet fidem, quee non datur omnibus, sed quibus placitum est ante Deum. De qua etiam dicitur Matth. xvi. Beatus es Simon Bar Jonaquia non revelavit tibi caro et sanguis, sed Pater meus qui in cce.lis est (3). Prreterea cum B. Paulus mullis prrcdica- rct, Act. xvi, certe omnes poterant credere, alioqui non peccasscnt, non credendo : ta¬ men sola credidit I.idia purpuraria, cujus rei causam reddens S. Lucas ait : Aperuit Dominus ejus cor intendere his, qux diceban¬ tur a Paulo (4). Cur autem aperuit Dominus cor ejus et non aliorum, nisi quia ex eo nu¬ mero sola ipsa praiordinata erat ad vitam ®- ternam, ut idem Lucas dicit de aliis, qui crediderunt, Act. xm. Item, cum idem Paulus tam saepe repetit, fidem esse donum Dej, et non omnium esse fidem, ut ad Ephes. iii, Philip, i, II ad Thess. iii. et alibi, non negat, omnes posse credere, si velint cooperari gratiie praeve¬ nienti et sufficienti, neque dicit donum Dei esse fidem, quia Deus preebeat auxilium suf¬ ficiens ad credendum, id enim est donum commune omnibus, ac praesertim secundum adversarios. Nihil igitur significat aliud, ni¬ si donum Dei ipsum velle credere, et re ipsa credere, quod non habent nisi qui credunt ; quoniam eis solis Deus dignatur ita suadere, ut persuadeat. Denique quod ait idem Apostolus I ad Corint. iv. Quis enim te discernit ? quid habes quod nonaccepisti (5) ? non solum probat, non discerni fidelem ab infideli, per bonum usum libeii arbitrii, praecedentem gratiam, sed etiam non discerni principaliter per liberam cooperationem gratia; prrevenientis, quasi ipsa cooperatio non sit donum Dei, nam ad¬ huc posset fidelis inflari, ac dicere, discer¬ nit me cooperatio mea ; ego enim cooperatus sum, ille cooperatus non est, cum eamdem praevenientem gratiam haberemus. Vult au¬ tem Apostolus, amputare omnem inflationis occasionem, et ut fideles intelligant, hoc ip¬ sum quod fideles sunt, donum esse Dei sibi gratis datum, aliis autem minime datum. Altera ratio ducitur a dono perseveranti®, hoc modo. Sine perseverantia nemo salvari potest : Qui enim perseveraverit usque in fi¬ nem, hic salvus erit. Matth. x. et Apoc. iii. (1) Joan. VI, 45, 37; ibid. X, 26. - (2) Matth. XI, 25, 27. -(3) Matth. XVI, 47. - (4) Act. XVI, 14. -- (5) I Corin. IV, 7. caput xn. Tene quod, habes, ne alius accipiat coronam tuam (1). At perseverantia donum est Dei, quod non datur ex meritis, sed ex gratia, et quamvis omnes justi perseverare possint, si velint ; tamen soli illi perseverant, qui ha¬ bent hoc donum perseverandi, usque in fi¬ nem, ac per hoc salus et praedestinatio ad salutem ex voluntate Dei simpliciter pendet. Probatur. asumptio hujus argumenti. Pri¬ mum enim Dominus Joan. xm. cum dixis¬ set : Si haec scitis , beati critis, si feceritis ea, subjungit, non de omnibus vobis dico ; ego scio quos elegerim (2). Ubi satis indicavit, non' omnibus dari, ut perseveranter faciant, sed solum electis, et cap. xv. loquens istis, quos elegerat : Ego posui vos, inquit, ut eatis et fructum afferatis, et fructus vester maneat (3). Quod est idem ac si dixisset, ego dabo vobis bene operari, et perseverare in bono opere, usque in finem. Et Apostolus ad Roman. ix : Non volentis, neque currentis , sed miserentis est Dei\ 4). Ubi ponit homines velle et cur¬ rere, id est credere et operari, ac per hoc habuisse gratiam credendi et operandi, et tamen quia videbat, non perventuros ad bravium, nisi eos, qui ex peculiari miseri¬ cordia haberent perseverantiam ; ideo dixit : Non volentis, neque currentis, sed miserentis est Dei. Et certe, si solum ex Dei misericordia di¬ ceretur pendere perseverantia, quia sine Dei auxilio, non posset homo perseverare, non autem quia faceret hominem ipsa misericor¬ dia infallibiliter perseverare, alioqui non perseveraturum, sicut dicitur : Non volentis, neque currentis, sed miserentis est Dei; ita contra dici posset, non miserentis Dei, sed volentis et currrentis est hominis. Nam sine voluntate et actione hominis non perficit mi¬ sericordia Dei, quod intendit. Quod si nemo audebit ita invertero verba divina, ne Spi¬ ritui sancto apertissime contradicat, plane sequitur id, quod diximus, ut ideo dicatur miserentis esse Dei, non volentis et currentis hominis, quoniam illi soli cx volentibus, et currentibus perveniunt, quos Dei misericor¬ dia perseveranter volentes et currentes facit. Item Philippcn. u : Cum metu, inquit, et tremore salutem vestram operamini. Deus enim est, qui operatur in vobis velle et perficere, pro bona voluntate. Quae est ista consecutio, cum metu operamini, quia Deus est, qui opera¬ tur (5). Nimirum Apostolus monet, ut quam¬ vis bene operemur, non tamen nobis certo perseverantiam promittamus, sed cum metu et tremore Deo subjecti simus, a cujus manu pendet perseverantia nostra. Ipse est enim qui in iis, qui perseverant, operatur velle et perficere pro bona voluntate. Denique ut alia multa testimonia divina praeteream, S. Joan nes in epist. i. cap. ti : Ex nobis , inquit, prodierunt, sed non erant ex nobis ; nam si fuissent, ex nobis, permansissent utique nobiscum (G). Quem locum ita edisse¬ rit S. Augustinus in lib. do bono perseve¬ rantia;, cap. 8. « Quid est quaeso, non erant ex nobis? nonne utrique ex Deo creati, utri¬ que ex Adam, utrique de terra facti erant, et ab eo, qui dixit, omnem flatum ego feci, unius ejusdemque natura; animas accepe¬ rant? nonne postremo utrique vocati fuerant, et vocantem secuti, utrique ex impiis justifi¬ cati, et per lavacrum regenerationis utrique renovati ? Sed si haec audiret ille, qui scie¬ bat proculdubio quod dicebat, respondere posset, et dicere, vera sunt haec ; secundum haec omnia erant ex nobis verumtamen se¬ cundum aliam quamdam discretionem non erant ex nobis ; nam si fuissent ex nobis, mansissent utique nobiscum ; quaenam est ista discretio ? non erant ex eis, quia non erant in Christo electi ante mundi constitu¬ tionem. » Haec ille. Dicet fortasse aliquis, loqui Apostolum Joannem de discretione ex praescientia bo¬ norum operum, ut sensus sit, non erant ex praescientia Dei, quia Deus praeviderat eos non perseveraturos. At haec intelligcntia ni¬ mis frigidam, et quasi puerilem reddit Apo- stolicam sententiam. Idem enim est, non erant ex nobis in praescientia, et non erant, per¬ severaturi. Unde sequitur inepta illa con¬ secutio, nam si fuissent perseveraturi, uti¬ que perseverassent. Quae consecutio nihil ar¬ cani, aut divini continet. » Dicet rursus alius, illud : « Non erant ex nobis », posse intelligi de simulatione fidei, ut sensus sit , videbantur exterioribus signis Christiani atque Catholici, sed jam pra;eisi erant corde a nobis. Ita enim exponit idem S. August. tract. 3. in epist. Joan. Respon¬ deo, utrumque verum esse, et inter sc op¬ time cohaerere ; nam qui praedestinati non sunt, ct per hoc in praedestinatione discreti (1) Matth. X, 22; Apo. III, 11. - (2) Joan. XIII, 17. - (3) ibid. XV, 1G. - (<) Rom IX, 10, - (5) Phil. II, 12. - l6> I Joan. II, 10, 564 LIBER II ab aliis, qui sunt in Ecclesia electi ac prae¬ destinati ; saepe etiam prius corde praecidun¬ tur, quam corpore, et verum est, illos non esse ex nobis, etiam cum videntur esse ex nobis, tum quia non sunt ex numero ele¬ ctorum ; tum etiam quia sunt a nobis jam corde praecisi. Caeterum, hanc Apostolicam sententiam praecipue ad praedestinationem referendam esse, ex eo constat, quod Joan- nes ita secure affirmat : Si fuissent ex nobis , mansissent utique nobiscum. Non enim id cer¬ to asseverari potest de quibuscumque since¬ ris, verisque Catholicis, nisi de numero sint eorum, de quibus Dominus dicit : Non ra¬ piet eos quisquam de manu mea. Joan. x (1). Ad haec testimonia, quibus speciale do¬ num perseverantiae comprobatur, addi pos¬ sunt duae solidissimae rationes ? Altera su¬ mitur ab orationibus, quas jubemur assidue fundere pro dono perseverantiae. Nam si perseverantiae donum nihil esset, nisi auxi¬ lium, quo perseverare possimus, non esset opus tanta precum assiduitate ; id enim do¬ num semper habent qui justi sunt non enim deserit Deus, nisi prius ab homine deseratur. Sic etiamsi donum perseverantiae semel im¬ petratum, amitti non posset, hoc est, si ante mortem revera obtineretur; non esset opus usque ad mortem donum illud a Domino petere : jubemur autem quotidie, quantumvis proficiamus, semper dicere : Sanctificetur nomen tuum , Fiat voluntas tua. Ne nos inducas in tentationem, Libera nos a malo. Quibus om¬ nibus verbis quid aliud petimus, nisi, ut S. Cyprianus loquitur in serm. 6, « ut in eo, quod esse coepimus, perseveremus ? » Itaque recte S. Augustinus in lib. de bono perseve¬ rantiae, cap. 17 : « Restat, inquit, in his bo¬ nis usque in finem perseverantia quae frustra quotidie a Domino petitur, si non eam Do¬ minus per gratiam suam in illo, cujus ora¬ tiones exaudit, operatur. » Altera ratio sumitur a termino, ac periodo vitae humanae, quae non ab alio, quam ab ipso hominum conditore statuitur : Ipse, enim constituit terminos , qui prseteriri non possunt, Job. xiv ; Ipse aufert spiritum principum , Psal. lxxy ; Ipse denique mortificat et vivifi¬ cat , II Reg. ii (2). Cum igitur in manu Dei sit, justum rapere, antequam malitia illum de¬ pravat, et peccatorem expectare, donec ad sanitatem redeat ; et contra, justum in vita relinquere, donec iterum labatur, et pereat et peccatorem, antequam convertatur, de medio tollere, quis non videt perseverantiam donum esse Dei ? « Videte, inquit Augusti- tinus loc. cit. a veritate quam sit alienum, negare donum Dei esse perseverantiam us¬ que in finem hujus vitae, cum vitae huic, quando voluerit ipse, det finem : quem si dat ante imminentem lapsum, facit hominem perseverare usque in finem. » Tertia ratio ducitur a parvulorum diver¬ sitate, quorum aliqui rapiuntur statim a Ba¬ ptismo, alii paulo ante Baptismum ; quorum • priores ad gloriam praedestinatorum, poste¬ riores ad poenam reproborum pertinere non dubium est, nec possunt hic ulla merita prae¬ visa, ullusve bonus usus liberi arbitrii aut gratiae fingi. Faciunt autem hoc argumen¬ tum multo adhuc firmius et solidius appa¬ rere vanae responsiones, quas nonnulli mag¬ no labore tandem repex^erunt : « Mirum est, inquit S. Augustinus in epist. 103. ad Sixtum, cum his coartantur augustiis, in quanta se abrupta praecipitent, metuentes retia veritatis. » Respondebant igitur olim quidam, praede¬ stinatos esse parvulos secundum opera, quae Deus eos facturos fuisse pyaeviderat, si diu¬ tius illis vivere contigisset. Sed refellit hanc responsionem idem August. in lib. de prae- dest. Sanctorum, cap. 12. ex eo, quod Apo¬ stolus definit II ad Corinth. v. omnes homi¬ nes judicandos a Christo secundum propria coi‘poris, id est, prout in hac vita corporali se gesserunt. Item ex eo, quod parum pro¬ fuisset cuidam, rapi antequam malitia im¬ mutaret intellectum ejus, ut dicitur Sapien. iv. et contra multum profuisset Tyriis et Si¬ doniis, fuisse credituros si Christi signa vi¬ dissent, ut dicitur Matth. xi. si judicandi su¬ mus secundum opera, quae facturi eramus. Respondent igitur alii, aliam esse ratio¬ nem parvulorum, aliam adultorum ; quo¬ niam adulti, si non salvantur, in aeternum pereunt ; parvuli, si non salvantur, non ta¬ men pereunt, sed habebunt extra regnum coelorum suam quamdam vitam aeternam, et beatam. Sed hanc solutionem incidere in haeresim Pelagianam, docet August. in lib. de bono perseverantiae, cap. 11. et 12. et nos etiam contra hunc errorem disseruimus • in lib. vi. de statu peccati. Et certe fidelibus satis esse deberet, quod Apostolus ad Ro- man. v. tam aperte dicat, unius delicto om- (t) Joan. X, 28. — (2) Job. XIV, 5; Psal. LXXV, 13; II Reg. II, 6. CAPUT XII. 563 nes homines in condemnationem missos «sse. Respondent alii postremo, casu fieri quod ex parvulis alii baptizentur, alii sine Bapti¬ smo decedant, quia videlicet alii nascuntur apud Christianos, alii apud infideles, alii debiliores sint ex naturalibus causis, quam ut ad Baptismum usque vivere possint ; alii meliorem nacti sint corporis constitutionem, et ideo ad lavacrum, regenerationemque perveniant. Sed haec responsio non videtur digna Christianis, qui providentiam Dei erga homines ex sacris litteris, et ecclesiastica traditione dedicerint. Nam si non cadit pas¬ ser in terram, sine Patre nostro, qui in coelis est, ut Salvator affirmat, quanto magis nos apud Deum pluris sumus illis ? et si non disponeret Deus limites vitae et mortis ho¬ minum, quomodo diceret Psal. uv. : Viri sanguinant, et dolosi non dimidiabunt dies suos? Quomodo, quod saepe citavimus, lib. Sapient, iv. diceret : Raptus est, ne malitia immutaret intellectum ejus (1). Quomodo in Scriptura Testamenti veteris tam saepe repe¬ teretur, qui casu videbantur occisi traditos esse a Deo in manus hostium, aut ferarum ? quomodo in ipsa lege divina promitteretur iis, qui parentes colunt, ut debent, vita diu¬ turna super terram ? Deus igitur non mutat quidem cursum na¬ turae, sinitque res omnes agere motus suos, tamen ante mundi constitutionem sine dubio vidit, quid ab initio usque ad finem accide¬ ret, si hoc aut illo modo rerum causas, to- tiusque naturae cursum, ordinemque dispo¬ neret. Et cum in manu ejus essent omnia, neque aliquid, nisi eo jubente, aut permit¬ tente fieri posset, proculdubio, res ita dispo¬ suit, ut omnia cooperarentur in bonum his, qui secundum propositum vocati sunt sancti. Quod igitur parvulorum alius baptizetur, alius sine Baptismi gratia rapiatur, proxima causa referri poterit in causas naturales, ut parentum diligentiam, corporis complexio¬ nem , aliaque id genus ; primaria tamen causa non alia esse potest, nisi divina volun¬ tas. Quarta ratio sumitur ab exemplo Christi, qui caput est, et princeps omnium electo¬ rum : Christus enim praedestinatus est filius Dei in virtute (2), ut Apostolus loquitur ad Roman. I. et praedestinatus est omnino gra¬ tis, non propter opera aliqua praevisa ; non enim aliqua opera facere potuit homo Chri¬ stus ut filius Dei fieret, cum ex illo coeperit esset filius Dei, ex quo coepit esse homo. Nam filium Dei unicum foemina illa gratia plena concepit, non hominem aliquem, qui postea accedentibus meritis, ad J personam filii Dei assumeretur. Ut igitur Christus ipse gratis omnino prae¬ destinatus est, ita membra Christi gratis prae¬ destinata sunt ; praedestinamur enim nos, ut conformes efficiamur imagin i filii Dei (3), ut ait Apostolus ad Roman. vm. itaque sicut ille homo praedestinatus est, esse filius Dei naturalis, nullis praecedentibus meritis; ita nos etiam praedestinamur, ut simus filii Dei per adoptionem, nullis praecedentibus meri¬ tis. Vide hanc rationem eleganter tractatam ab August. in lib. de praedestinatione San¬ ctorum, cap. 15. et de bono perseverant, cap. ult. et de corrept. et grat. cap. 11. Quinta ratio sumitur a fine praedestinatio¬ nis. Praedestinatio pro fine habet ostensionem divitianim gratiae Dei, in vasa misericordiae , et laudem gloriae gratiae suae (4), ut Apostolus testatur ad Roman. ix. et xi. et ad Ephes. i. at si praedestinai’et homines Deus propter bonum usum liberi arbitrii, gratiaeve praevi¬ sum, non ostenderet divitias gratiae, sed ju¬ stitiae, aut aequitatis. At, inquiunt, haec ipsa ingens est gratia, quod Deus ad aeternam gloriam homines praedestinare voluerit, propter bonum usum liberi arbitrii, vel gratiae; non enim teneba¬ tur Deus hoc facere, sed dimittere poterat omnes homines in massa perditionis, et ne sufficiens quidem auxilium ulli concidere. Sed si haec sola esset gratia praedestinationis, non diceret Apostolus : « Deum ostendere voluisse divitias gratiae in vasa misericor¬ diae ». Nec diceret, « reliquias secundum electionem gratiae salvas fieri. » Nec diceret, « nos in Christo praedestinatos in laudem gloriae gratiae suae. » Nam praedestinare velle eos, qui bene operabuntur, gratia est com¬ munis toti generi humano, non propria va¬ sorum misericordiae, neque dici potest ele¬ ctio gratiae, sed justitiae, illa electio, qua eliguntur qui praevidentur bene operaturi ; quamvis gratia dici possit, bravium hoc de¬ certaturis proponere voluisse. Itaque non (1) Psal. L1V, 24 ; Sap. IV, 11. — (2) Rom. I, 4. - (3) Rom. VIII, 29. - (4) Kom. IX, 23; ibid. XI, 33; Eph. 1, 7. o66 UBER If. dubium est Apostulo repugnare sententiam illorum, qui electionem salvandorum mere gratuitam negant. Sexta ratio, discretionem electorum a re¬ probis Scripturae referunt inter arcana, et Sacramenta altissima et inscrutabilia, ut pa¬ tet ex illo ltoman. xi. (4). 0 altitudo divitia¬ rum scientiiv et sapientia; Dei, quam incompre¬ hensibilia sunt judicia ejus, et investigabiles vix ejus? quis enim cognovit sensum Domini? aut quis consiliarius ejus fuit ? aut quis prior dedit illi, et retribuetur ei? Quod enim eo loco tantopere admiratur Apostolus est, quod Deus omnia concluserit in incredulitatem, ut omnium misereatur, id est, permiserit omnes fieri incredulos, prius gentiles, posterius Ju- daios, ut omnium misereatur, id est, gen¬ tium, et Judaeorum, et inde factum sit, ut aliquando cx gentilibus paucissimi, ac fere nulli salvarentur, nunc plurimi salventur : Et contra, cx Judaeis multi salvarentur ali¬ quando, nunc paucissimi salventur, et rur¬ sus in fine saeculi iterum multi salvandi sint. At si vera esset adversariorum sententia, nullum hic esset mysterium, nulla causa ad¬ mirationis ; diceremus enim Deum antiquis temporibus non misisse praedicatores, nisi ad Judaeos, quoniam videbat paucissimos fuisse inter gentiles, qui praedicatoribus fi¬ dem habituri essent ; nunc autem contra eos mittere ac misisse, quia videbat plurimos futuros qui hoc tempore fidem reciperent. Et idem dici posset de Judicis ; non est au¬ tem mirum, si Deus non salvare, sed dam¬ nare decrevit eos, quos minime credituros, maleque operaturos fuisse praevidit ; sicut nemo miratur, si videat a judice puniri no¬ xios, liberari innoxios. Apostolus autem admiratur et exclamat : 0 altitudo divitiarum, quoniam videt in ea¬ dem causa Deum, qui non est acceptor per¬ sonarum, aliorum misereri, aliorum non mi¬ sereri ; nam ut ostenderet, gentiles hoc tem¬ pore facile converti ad fidem, quia Deus mi¬ seretur eorum, et antea non credidisse, quia Deus eorum non miserebatur ; et Judaeos, qui nunc increduli sunt, in fine credituros, quia Deus eorum nunc non miseretur, sed in line miserebitur, ita ait : Sicut aliquando vos non credidistis Deo, nunc autem misericordiam consecuti estis propter illorum incredulitatem ; ita et isti nunc non credunt in vestram miseri¬ cordiam, ut et ipsi misericordiam consequan tur , id est, sicut nunc Deus patitur Judaeos ma¬ nere incredulos, vestri autem miseretur, eosque convertit ad fidem, sic in fine mundi illorum etiam miserebitur, eosque convertet, et ideo post exclamationem illam : 0 altitudo divitiarum, rursum addit, quis prior dedit ei, et retribuetur illi? quoniam ex ipso, per ipsum et in ipso sunt omnia, ut ostendat, Deum praevenire omnia merita nostra, et omnem bonum usum liberi arbitrii, et propterea ju¬ re mirandum esse, et inter arcana inscruta¬ bilia habendum, cur Deus hujus misereatur, illius non misereatur. Postrema ratio haec esse potest, si Deus praedestinaret propter bonum usum liberi arbitrii, gratkeve praevisum, certe in liujus praedestinationis exeeutionem, praedicatores ad eos omnes dirigeret, quos praevidet bene usuros Evaugelio, atque apud eos omnes sigua fieri vellet, quos ex iis signis converten¬ dos, salvandosque praenoscit : at Deus adEze- chielcm, cap. m. dicit : Si ad populum igno- tx lingux mitterem te, audirent te; domus au¬ tem Israel nolunt audire te, quia nolunt audire me. Et Dominus Mattii, xi. : Si in Tyro et Sidone faetx fuissent virtutes , qux factx sunt in te, olini in cinere et cilicio poenitentiam egis¬ sent (2). Qui hic, obsecro, responderi potest? si praedestinat Deus ex praeviso bono usu liberi arbitrii, vel gratiae, cur non praedestinavit populos illos ignotae linguae, dc quibus lo¬ quitur Ezechiel, et Tyrios ct Sidonios, de quibus loquitur Dominus : istos enim bene usuros fuisse libero arbitrio ct gratia, ventas ipsa testatur, et tamen extra controversiam est, hos non fuisse praedestinatos, sed cum caeteris contumeliae vasis in massa perdita derelictos. Addi possent et aliae rationes, quas Theologi Scholastici egregie texunt. Sed hae potissimae nobis visae sunt.