Chapter 45.

As soon as the commandment was given, the devil began to have a pretext by means of the commandment to produce lust in me, arousing and persuading me by cunning to fall into the desire for the forbidden. For without the law sin is dead (Romans 7:8), that is, as long as the commandment was not given and did not yet exist, sin was not effective, and before the commandment I lived blamelessly, since I did not have a definite law and commandment according to which I had to live, and which, if I had broken, I would have sinned. But when the commandment came, sin came to life, and I died: and thus the commandment given for life served me unto death (Romans 7:9-10); for after God had laid down the law and determined what should be done and what should not be done, the devil produced lust in me. Thus this will of God and the command given to me for life and immortality, so that, in obedience to it and living in accordance with it, I may have joy and a life without sorrow and eternally blessed, and always blossoming with immortality, after my violation of it, it may turn into death and condemnation; for the devil, whom the Apostle now called sin, because he is the author and inventor of sin, through the commandment, having received an opportunity, deceived me to disobey and, having deceived me, put me to death, as one who was to be sentenced: for in the day that you eat of him you will die (Gen. 2:17). "Therefore the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, and righteous, and good" (Romans 7:12); for it is not given for harm, but for salvation: for we should not think that God does anything useless or harmful. And so did the good become death for me, that is, the law given in order to be for me the guilt of the greatest good? Let it not be! For the commandment of God was given not in order to enslave me to corruption and to put upon me the seal of death, the author of perdition, but in order that the devil might be revealed, who had done evil to me by means of good, so that he might be found and exposed, as a sinner par excellence, the inventor and organizer of sin, and so that he might be excommunicated from all good, as having arranged contrary to the commandment of God. For we know that the law is spiritual, therefore it cannot be the cause of harm to anyone and in anything; for spiritual things dwell far from foolish lust and sin; but I am carnal, sold to sin (Rom. 7:14), i.e., I, being carnal, and placed in the midst of evil and good, as autocratic, that I might choose what I will, (for God says, I have set before thee life and good, death and evil, Deuteronomy 30:15), when I have deviated to disobey the spiritual law, that is, the commandment, and have obeyed the carnal counsel, that is, the counsel of the serpent: then, because of this choice, I have fallen into sin, I was sold to the devil. Hence evil, having besieged me, sits upon me, and dwells in my flesh, like a drone in a honeycomb, often flying and buzzing around it. Since the punishment for breaking the commandment is imposed on me – to be sold to evil, I do not understand what I am doing, thinking about what I do not want. For the words, "Because I do not what I will, but what I hate, I do" (Romans 7:15), should not be taken in relation to doing and doing evil, but only in relation to thought, since extraneous thoughts often come to us and incline us to what we do not want, and the soul is carried away by thoughts to many things.

Chapter 46.

For it is not at all in our will to have or not to have a thought about something unsuitable, but to follow or not to follow thoughts depends on us. We cannot forbid that the thoughts brought for our temptation from the outside should not enter us; but we can disobey or not follow them. Otherwise, how could the Apostle have done so much more evil, and less good, which he did not like, if he had not spoken here of extraneous thoughts, which sometimes come to us against our will, and for no unknown reason? However, these thoughts must be destroyed and restrained, so that, expanding beyond the limits, they do not take possession of the neck, and when they are engaged, good cannot arise in us. For this reason the Apostle rightly said: for I do not understand what I do: for I do not what I will, but what I hate, I do. We want not to think about what is unseemly and lawless, because the perfect good consists in refraining not only from doing evil, but even from thinking about it: but the good that we want is not done, but the evil that we do not desire is done. For often, against our will, innumerable thoughts come into our hearts about innumerable things, filling us with care and irrational care. Therefore, it is in our will not to wish not to think about such things, but to do so that these thoughts do not come to our minds again, so that they do not come to our minds again; Because, as I said, it is not in our power, but in our power only to follow them or not to follow them. Therefore, the meaning of this saying, "What I want good, I do not do," is as follows: I want not even to think about what harms me, for that good is irreproachable, which, as they say, "is made irreproachably and perfectly, both hand and mind"[17]: "but I do not what I want, but what I hate, I do; I don't want to think, and I think what I don't want to think. And see if it is not for this reason that David himself, being grieved over the fact that he thinks about what he himself would not like to do, asked God: "Cleanse me from my secrets, and keep Thy servant from those who are deliberate, so that they may not prevail over me; then I will be blameless and pure from great corruption (Psalm 18:13,14); and the Apostle himself says in another place: "We overthrow schemes and every arrogance that rises up against the knowledge of God, and we take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ" (2 Cor. 10:5).

Chapter 47.

But if anyone, daring to go contrary to these words, objects that the Apostle teaches that it is not only in thought that we do evil, which we hate and which we do not desire, but in the very act and doing it, because the Apostle said: "The good which I will I do not do, and the evil which I do not desire, I do" (Romans 7:19), then if he who speaks this speaks the truth, we will ask him to explain: what is this evil that the Apostle hated and did not want to do, but did, and what is this good that he wanted to do, and yet did not do; but on the contrary, how many times did he want to do good, how many times did he not do the good that he wanted, but the evil that he did not want? Is it that he, not wishing to serve idols, but to serve God, could not serve God as he wanted; but could he serve idols, what did he not want? Or is it that, wishing to be chaste, he did not do so, but on the contrary gave himself up to intemperance, which he abhorred? To put it briefly: drunkenness, debauchery, anger, unrighteousness, and other evil deeds, which he did not want to do; but did he not do the righteousness and holiness which he desired? However, he himself, strongly urging all in the Church to shun iniquity, and trying to develop in us righteousness without the admixture of sin, inspires that not only those who do unseemly deeds and engage in them, but also those who deign to do them in this (Romans 1:32), are kept for destruction and wrath. Since every sin and intention is fulfilled through the flesh, then, clearly teaching us to abhor and hate all these things, he often says in his epistles: "Do not be deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor slanderers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God" (1 Cor. 6:9-10). And, most importantly, urging us in every way to completely shun and abhor sin, He says: "Be ye imitators of me, as I am of Christ" (1 Cor. 11:1). Thus he said the above words, not in the sense that he was doing what he did not want to do, but in that he was only thinking; otherwise, how would he be a strict imitator of Christ? And now, when animal thoughts often attack us, filling us with these and other desires and irrational lusts, "like thick swarms of innumerable flies" [18]; therefore he said, "I do not what I will" (Romans 7:15). "We must boldly banish these thoughts from our souls, in no way agreeing to do what they inspire. For this is why our mind is subjected to confusion from many thoughts, so that we, having experienced all pleasures and sorrows, may inherit the kingdom of heaven, if we do not change for the worse, but on the contrary, tempted in every way, like pure gold by fire, we do not depart from our virtue. Therefore we must bravely resist thoughts, like brave soldiers, who, when they learn that they are besieged by the enemy, pay no attention to the arrows and their various spears, but cheerfully rush at them to save the city, and do not weaken in their zeal in the least, until, having put their horde to flight, they drive them out of their borders. You see how thoughts, because of the sin that dwells in us, rise up against us from without, like mad dogs, or fierce and insolent robbers, who are always directed against us by the cruel ruler and prince of iniquity, and who test us whether we have the strength to resist and resist them.

Chapter 48.

And so take heed, O soul, that if you succumb to him, you will not be drawn into his power; then we will not be able to ransom for you. For what ransom shall a man give in exchange for his soul? (Matt. 16:26) It would be good and gratifying if we did not have those who oppose us and fight with us. But since this is impossible, and we cannot attain what we desire (for we desire not to have those who carry us away in passions; then we could be saved without difficulty; but what we desire is not done, but what we do not want happens; because, as I said, we need a test), therefore let us not yield, O soul, let us not yield to the evil one, but let us put on the whole armor of God, which protects us and prepares us for the struggle, let us put on the breastplate of righteousness, and let us shod our feet with the readiness to preach the gospel of peace; and above all, let us take up the shield of faith, with which we will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the devil; and let us take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, that we may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil (Eph. 6:11-17), and to cast down every arrogance that rises up against the knowledge of God (2 Cor. 10:5); for our wrestling is not against flesh and blood (Eph. 6:12). I say this because this is the nature of the writings of the Apostle. For much can be said about each utterance in this epistle, how correctly and strictly it is expressed; but it would be long to consider each of them in this way. I now intended to show only the nature and purpose of his speech. He justly says: for I do not what I will, but what I hate, I do; I agree with the law that he is good; and therefore it is no longer I who do this, but the sin that dwells in me. For I know that good does not dwell in me, that is, in my flesh (Romans 7:15-18). However, you remember that we have set limits for ourselves above, and if I, with all my haste, wishing to explain everything quickly, slow down too much, and the length of my speech has become longer than I expected, then it is necessary to try to end it; otherwise we shall never reach the end of the argument proposed.

Chapter 49.

And so we have said, if you remember that from the time that a man was deceived and broke the commandment, the sin that beginning with that disobedience entered into him. Thus at first there was an indignation, and we were filled with the desires and thoughts of strangers, having been deprived of the Spirit (εμθυσήματος) of God and filled with carnal lust, which the most cunning serpent had placed in us when we left the circle of God's command in a short time. Therefore, for the destruction of sin, God invented death for us; otherwise, in us immortals, he himself, as I said, would be immortal. Thus, by saying, "I know that good does not dwell in me, that is, in my flesh," the Apostle wants to show that as a result of transgression, by means of desire, sin has entered into us, from which, like young offspring and shoots, voluptuous thoughts always arise in us. For there are two kinds of thoughts in us: one arises from lust that has crept into the body, which, as I have said, has come from the influence of the carnal (υλαια) spirit; others are derived from the law of the commandment, which we have received as an innate and natural law, stirring us up to good, and correcting our thoughts. That is why according to the mind we conform to the law of God (this is the inner man), and according to the lust that dwells in the flesh we conform to the law of the devil; — this is the law that opposes and opposes the law of God, i.e. the striving of the mind for good, the same law that always produces in us passionate and carnal inclinations to iniquity, completely drawing us to voluptuousness.

Chapter 50.

It seems to me that Paul evidently presupposes here three laws, one of which corresponds to the good innate in us, which he clearly called the law of the mind; another comes from the admixture of the evil one, and often draws the soul into passionate notions, which he called warring against the law of the mind; the third, which took root in the flesh as a result of sin from lust, and which he called the law of sin, which dwells in the members (Romans 7:23). Establishing himself on this law and governing it, the evil one often takes up arms against us, forcing us to unrighteousness and evil deeds. The law inspired by the evil one from without, and through the senses, like asphalt lava, pouring inward into the very soul, it is supported by the law that is in the flesh as a result of lust. It seems that in ourselves there is one principle that is better, and another that is worse. When the best by nature is stronger than the worst, then the whole mind is directed towards the good: and when the worst, having intensified, suppresses the best, which is called a war against the good put into us, then, on the contrary, man is again attracted to all sorts of dreams and evil thoughts.

Chapter 51.

For this reason the Apostle desires to get rid of this, considering it death and destruction, as the prophet also says: "Cleanse me from my secrets" (Psalm 18:13). This is also expressed in the following words: for according to the inner man I find pleasure in the law of God: but in my members I see another law, which is opposed to the law of my mind, and makes me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members. Poor man I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? (Romans 7:22-24) He does not call the body death, but the law of sin, which, as a result of transgression, is hidden in our members and, always deceiving the soul, leads it to sinful death. Wherefore, considering from what death he wished to be delivered, and who would deliver him, he immediately adds, I thank God through Jesus Christ, v. 25. It is necessary, Aglaophon, to pay attention to the fact that if the Apostle had called this body death, as you think, he would not have mentioned Christ as finally delivering him from such evil. For what is special or what advantage have we received in this respect from the coming of Christ? And why does the Apostle say in general that as a result of the coming of Christ he can be delivered by God from death, when everyone had to die even before the coming of Christ into the world? For all, when they were separated from their bodies at their departure from this life, were delivered (from them); even alike all the souls of both the faithful and the unfaithful were separated from their bodies on the day of death. What more did the Apostle try to obtain in comparison with others who had spent their lives in unbelief? Or if he considered the body to be the death of the soul, why did he wish to get rid of the body, when this would certainly have happened to him even without his desire, since all are destined to die and their souls to be separated from their bodies? And so it is not this body, Aglaophon, that he calls death, but the sin that has settled in the body through lust, from which God has delivered man by the coming of Christ. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set us free from the law of sin and death (Rom. 8:2), so that He who raised Christ from the dead might also revive our mortal bodies by His Spirit which dwelleth in us (v. 11), after condemning the sin which is in the body to destruction, that the demand of the law of nature might be manifested in its former power, according to the commandment which draweth us to good,  — a demand which, because of the predominance of sin over the flesh before the coming of Christ, having become powerless, was suppressed by earthly concerns. For God strengthened the weakness of the goodness that is natural in us, weakened by the predominance of lust in the body, by sending His Son, Who took on flesh like sinful flesh (for what appeared was the truth, and not a phantom), so that after the condemnation of sin to destruction, so that it no longer bore fruit in the flesh, the justification of the natural law would be fulfilled and increased by obedience in those, who walk not according to the lust of the flesh, but according to the desire and instruction of the Spirit (Romans 8:3,4). For the law of the Spirit of life, that is, the gospel, being distinct from the above-mentioned laws, offered by preaching for obedience and for the forgiveness of sins, has freed us from the law of sin and death (v. 2), having utterly overcome the sin that reigns in the flesh. "And so, Theophilus, what they object to and what they misinterpret from the words of the Apostle, I have explained and expounded. Now I will turn to another, if we find ourselves an assistant in the presentation of speech; for what follows is confused and not quite convenient for refutation; Wherefore I am not so willing to proceed to this, seeing how long and difficult their proofs will be, unless a whiff of wisdom suddenly blows from heaven and leads us, as it were, sailing in the midst of the sea, to an unstormed harbor and to the surest proofs.