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That a person cannot be blamed for what depends on nature, no one will contradict that. Therefore, when you accuse someone, you show that his crime does not depend on nature, but on his own will. If by not accusing others of crimes we show that their crimes depend on nature, then it is obvious that if we blame others for anything, we make it known that their crime depends on freedom. So, do not imagine perverse reasoning and intricacies that are weaker than a cobweb, but answer me again to the question: did God create all people? Certainly. Why is it not the same for everyone to be virtuous and vicious? Where do the kind, the good, the humble come from? Where do the wicked and the wicked come from? If this does not depend on the will, but on nature, then why are some virtuous and others vicious? If everyone is evil by nature, then no one could be good; If by nature everyone is good, then no one can be evil. If all people have the same nature, then they should all be the same - either all good or all evil. If we say that some are good by nature, and others are evil, then these properties should be unchanged, since natural properties do not change. For example, look: we are all mortal, subject to passions, and no one can free ourselves from them, even with a thousand efforts. Meanwhile, we see that many of the good become evil and of the evil - good: some through negligence, others through great care; from which it is especially clear that to be good or evil does not depend on nature. What is given by nature does not change and is not acquired through effort. Just as in order to see or hear, we do not need to work, so in order to acquire virtue we would not need to use effort if it were given in nature itself. Why would God create evil people when he could create everyone good? So where does evil come from? Ask yourself; my business is only to show that it is neither from nature nor from God. So, you say, it appeared by itself? No way. What, or is it unborn? Shut up, oh man! Flee from such madness, and do not give evil the same honor as God, and the highest one at that. After all, if evil is unborn, then it is powerful, and one can neither ward off nor destroy it: everyone knows that the unborn cannot perish. Why are there so many good people when evil has such power? How can the born be stronger than the unborn? You will say: God will one day destroy evil. But how will He destroy evil if, like Him, it is beginningless, powerful and eternal? – will anyone say? Oh, devilish malice! How much evil she invented! What blasphemy she has reduced a person to! Under what pious pretext did she invent a new ungodly doctrine! Wanting to show that evil does not come from God, people introduced a new ungodly teaching, recognizing evil as unborn. So where does evil come from? From wanting and not wanting. But where does desire and unwillingness come from? From ourselves. Proposing such a question means the same as asking: why does a person see and not see? If I answered you: because he opens and closes his eyes, you would ask me again: why does he open and close his eyes? And then, when I told you that it depends on ourselves and on our desire, you would again begin to look for a new reason. Evil is nothing other than disobedience to God. Where, you say, did this disobedience come from in man? But tell me: was it difficult for him to happen? I’m not saying that it’s difficult, I’m only asking why man wanted to disobey God? From carelessness. Having the power to obey and disobey God, he chose the latter. If after this you still doubt and are perplexed, then I will ask you a question that is not difficult or complicated, but simple and clear: has it ever happened to you that sometimes you acted badly, and sometimes well? For example, did you conquer some passion and again be subjected to it, indulge in drunkenness and refrain from it, get angry and subdue your anger, despise the poor and not despise him, commit adultery and again become chaste? So tell me: where does all this come from? Why? If you don’t tell me, then I’ll tell you: it’s because at first you tried [to practice virtue] and were zealous, and then you weakened and became careless. To people who are desperate and completely given over to evil, insensitive and insane, who do not even want to hear about what can correct them, I will not even talk about wisdom; and to those who act one way or another, I will say it with pleasure. You somehow stole property that did not belong to you, and then, prompted by mercy, you gave to the poor from your own goods: where did such a change come from in you? Isn't it obvious that it is from your will and disposition? This is so obvious that anyone can easily agree with it. Therefore, I ask you to be careful and adhere to virtue, and then you will not propose such questions. If we want, evil will exist in only one name. So, do not ask where evil comes from, and do not indulge in doubt; but, having learned that it comes from carelessness alone, move away from it. If someone tells you that evil does not come from us ourselves, then when you see that he is angry with the slave, angry with his wife, blaming his son and condemning those who cause offense to others, tell him: how did you say that evil does not come from ourselves? If it is not from us, then why do you blame others? Ask him also: do you voluntarily reproach and reproach others? If not voluntarily, then no one should be angry with you; if it is voluntary, it means that evil comes from you and from your carelessness. Next: do you believe that there are good people? If there are no good ones, then where did you get this name from? Where do your praises come from? If there are good ones, then it is obvious that they can blame the evil ones. If the evil one does not become evil voluntarily, and not on his own, then the good ones will act unfairly, reproaching the evil ones, and through this they themselves will become evil. In fact, what could be worse than accusing an innocent person? If the good, even reproaching the evil, remain good, and this serves as the strongest proof of their kindness even for foolish people, then from here it is obvious that no one has ever been evil by necessity. If after this you ask where evil comes from, then I will tell you: from carelessness, from idleness, from treating the evil and from contempt for virtue. This is where evil comes from, and that some people ask where evil comes from. Of the virtuous people who love a humble and chaste life, no one asks about this; Only those who dare to do evil and want to introduce some harmful carelessness through this teaching weave cobwebs. But we will break these webs not only with words, but also with deeds themselves. Evil does not exist out of necessity. If it were necessary, then Christ would not have said: “Woe to that man through whom temptation comes” (Matthew 18:7). He calls unfortunate only those who do evil of their own free will (7). It is necessary to use all means to exterminate vices at the very beginning. Do not look at the fact that sin in itself is small, but remember that it can be the root of great evil when people neglect it. Shall I tell you something worthy of surprise? Great sins do not require so much care and labor as, on the contrary, small and insignificant ones. The very nature of sin causes the former to turn away; and the small ones, by the very fact that they are small, dispose us to laziness and do not allow us to courageously rise up to exterminate them. That’s why they soon become great if we sleep. This usually happens with the body. So this great evil was born in Judas. If he had not thought that it was an unimportant thing to steal the property of the poor, then, of course, he would not have fallen into the sin of betrayal. Also, if it had not seemed unimportant to the Jews that they were captivated by vanity, then, of course, they would not have reached the point of killing Christ. And all evil is usually committed this way. After all, no one falls into wickedness quickly and suddenly. In our soul, undoubtedly, there is a certain innate shame of sin and respect for good, and it is impossible for it to suddenly reach such shamelessness as to reject everything at once; on the contrary, it descends to extreme destruction imperceptibly, little by little, when it becomes negligent. This is how idolatry entered the world, when they began to honor people beyond measure, both living and dead. They also began to worship the statues. So, finally, fornication and other vices increased. See also: one laughed untimely, the other reproached; another rejected fear, saying: it’s nothing. What is the importance of laughing? What could happen from this? From this comes empty talk, hence profanity, and then shameful actions. Still another, when he is reproached for slandering his neighbor, mocks and slander, despises this and says that slandering another does not mean anything. In fact, from here comes immeasurable hatred, irreconcilable enmity, endless reproaches, and from reproaches - fights, and from fights often murder (7). You might be interested in: