Homilies on the Gospel of St. Matthew

³ And whence also are there so many good, when evil has such great power? How are they that have an origin stronger than that which is unoriginate?

“But God destroys these things,” he says. When? And how will He destroy what are of equal honor, and of equal strength, and of the same age, as one might say, with Himself?

Oh malice of the devil! How great an evil has he invented! With what blasphemy has he persuaded men to surround God! With what cloak of godliness has he devised another profane account? For desiring to show, that not of Him was the evil, they brought in another evil doctrine, saying, that these things are unoriginate.

“Whence then are evils?” one may say. From willing and not willing. “But the very thing of our willing and not willing, whence is it?” From ourselves. But thou dost the same in asking, as if when you had asked, whence is seeing and not seeing? Then when I said, from closing the eyes or not closing the eyes, thou were to ask again; the very closing the eyes or not, whence is it? Then having heard that it was of ourselves, and our will, thou were to seek again another cause.

For evil is nothing else than disobedience to God. “Whence then,” one may say, “did man find this?” “Why, was it a task to find this? I pray you.” “Nay, neither do I say this, that this thing is difficult; but whence became he desirous to disobey.” “From remissness. For having power for either, he inclined rather to this.”

But if you are perplexed yet and dizzy at hearing this, I will ask you nothing difficult nor involved, but a simple and plain question. Have you become some time bad? And have you become some time also good? What I mean, is like this. Did you prevail some time over passion, and were you taken again by passion? Have you been overtaken by drunkenness, and have you prevailed over drunkenness? Were you once moved to wrath, and again not moved to wrath? Did you overlook a poor man, and not overlook him? Did you commit whoredom once? And did you become chaste again? Whence then are all these things? Tell me, whence? Nay if you yourself do not tell, I will say. Because at one time you restrained yourself and strove, but after that you became remiss and careless. For to those that are desperate, and are continually in wickedness, and are in a state of senselessness, and are mad, and who are not willing so much as to hear what will amend them, I will not even discourse of self restraint; but to them that have been sometimes in the one, and sometimes in the other, I will gladly speak. Did you once take by violence the things that belonged not to you; and after this, subdued by pity, imparted even of your own unto him that was in need? Whence then this change? Is it not quite plain it is from the mind, and the choice of will?

It is quite plain, and there is no one who would not say this. Wherefore I entreat you to be in earnest, and to cleave to virtue, and you will have no need of these questions. For our evils are mere names, if we be willing. Inquire not then whence are evils, neither perplex yourself; but having found that they are from remissness only, flee the evil deeds.

And if any one should say, that these things come not from us; whenever you see him angry with his servants, and provoked with his wife, and blaming a child, and condemning them who injure him, say to him, how then did you say, that evils come not from us? For if they be not from us, wherefore do you find fault? Say again; is it of yourself you revile, and insultest? For if it be not of yourself, let no man be angry with you; but if it be of yourself, of yourself and of your remissness are your evil deeds.

But what? Do you think there are some good men? For if indeed no man is good, whence have you this word? Whence are praises? But if there are good men, it is quite plain that they will also reprove the bad. Yet if no one is voluntarily wicked, nor of himself, the good will be found to be unjustly reproving the bad, and they themselves too will be in this way bad again. For what can be worse than to subject the guiltless to accusations? But if they continue in our estimation good men, though reproving, and this especially is a proof of their goodness, even to the very fools it is hereby plain, that no one is ever by necessity bad.

But if after all this you would still inquire, whence are evils? I would say, from remissness, from idleness, from keeping company with the bad, from contempt of virtue; hence are both the evils themselves, and the fact that some inquire, whence are the evils. Since of them surely who do right no one inquires about these things, of them that are purposed to live equitably and temperately; but they, who dare to commit wicked acts, and wish to devise some foolish comfort to themselves by these discussions, do weave spiders' webs.

But let us tear these in pieces not by our words only, but by our deeds too. For neither are these things of necessity. For if they were of necessity, He would not have said, “Woe to the man, by whom the offense comes.” For those only does he bewail, who are wicked by their choice.

And if He says “by whom,” marvel not. For not as though another were bringing in it by him, does He say this, but viewing him as himself causing the whole. For the Scripture is wont to say, “by whom,” for “of whom;” as when it says, “I have gotten a man by God,” putting not the second cause, but the first; and again, “Is not the interpretation of them by God,” and, “God is faithful, by whom you are called unto the fellowship of His Son.”