Глава XVIII

37. All these commandments of affection and love are so numerous and so great that everything that seems to a person to be done well, if done without love, cannot in any way be done well; So, these commandments of love would have been given in vain to people deprived of the free decision of the will, but since they are taught through the Old or New law (despite the fact that in the New the grace promised in the Old appeared, and the law without grace is a killing letter, while in grace there is a life-giving spirit), then where does love for God and neighbor come from in people, if not from God Himself? For if it is not from God, but from people, the Pelagians win, but if it is from God, we defeat the Pelagians. So, let the Apostle John sit among us as a judge and let him say to us: Beloved! let's love each other. And when, based on these words of John, they begin to become arrogant and say: “Why are we given this commandment? Is it because we ourselves can have mutual love?” let the same John continue immediately, putting them to shame and saying: Because love is from God 204 . So, love does not come from us, but from God. Why then is it said: Let us love each other, because love is from God? Is it not so that the commandment might motivate the free decision to seek the gift of God? But it would move forward without any fruit if it had not first received a certain part of love, in order to then seek an addition of that through which it could fulfill what was commanded. When it is said: Let us love one another, this is the law; when it is said: Because love is from God, it is grace. After all, the wisdom of God carries law and mercy on its tongue 205. That is why it is written in the psalm: For He who gave the law will give blessing 206. We would not love God if He did not love us first 38. So, let no one deceive you, my brethren: we would not love God if He had not first loved us. The same John shows this quite clearly, saying: Let us love Him, because He first loved us 207. Grace makes us lovers of the law, but the law itself without grace makes us only criminals. The Lord shows us the same thing when he says to his disciples: You did not choose Me, but I chose you 208. After all, if we first loved Him, so that for this merit He loved us, then we chose Him first, in order to be worthy of election from Him. But the Truth Itself speaks differently, clearly objecting to this vanity of people: You did not choose Me. And if you did not choose [first], then undoubtedly you did not love, for how could they choose Him whom they had not yet loved? But I,” He says, “have chosen you.” Didn’t they also choose Him later, didn’t they abandon all the blessings of this age? But they chose because they were chosen, and they were not chosen because they chose. There is no merit in the people who are chosen unless the grace of the electing God precedes them. Therefore, the Apostle Paul, blessing the Thessalonians, says: And may the Lord fill you and fill you with love for each other and for everyone 209 . This blessing by which we love one another was given by Him who first gave the law that we should love one another. Also in another place he says to them (undoubtedly, some of them already had what he above wants to have in them): Always in justice we should thank God for you, brothers, because your faith increases and the love of each one for each other increases between you all 210. He said this so that they would not become arrogant because of the good that they had from God, believing that they had it from themselves. “Therefore, since your faith increases and the love of each one for another increases among you all, we must,” he says, thank God for you, and not praise you as if you had it from yourselves. Love, peace, faith are great gifts from God 39. And in the Epistle to Timothy [the apostle] says: For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and love and a sound mind 211 . Reading this apostolic testimony, we must certainly beware lest we think that we do not receive the spirit of the fear of God, which, undoubtedly, is the great gift of God, as the prophet Isaiah says: And the spirit of wisdom and understanding rests on him, the spirit of counsel and strength, the spirit of knowledge and piety, the spirit of the fear of the Lord 212. We must understand here not the fear by which Peter denied Christ, but the fear about which Christ Himself says: Fear him who can cast both soul and body into hell; Yes, I tell you, fear him 213. He said this so that we would not deny Him because of the fear with which Peter was embarrassed. For He wants to remove such fear from us when He says above: Do not be afraid of those who kill the body and then are unable to do anything more 214. So, we did not receive the spirit of this fear, but we received the spirit of power and love and chastity. The apostle also speaks about this spirit in the Epistle to the Romans: We also glory in suffering, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces experience, experience produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us 215 . So, not according to our strength, but according to the action of the Holy Spirit given to us, thanks to that very love, which the Apostle clearly calls the gift of God, it happens that suffering does not destroy patience, but rather produces it. He also says in Ephesians: Peace to the brothers and love with faith. These are great blessings, but let him tell you where they come from? From God the Father, he says, and the Lord Jesus Christ 216. I1 so, these great blessings are nothing other than the gifts of God. De gratia et libero arbitrio (CPL 352). Translation based on the publication: Patrologiae Cursus Completus. Series Latina. Accurante J.-P. Migne. Paris, 1845. T. 44, Col. 881–912. Proverbs 3 (according to LXX). To the Synod. trans.: as in the Hebrew original, this part of the verse is missing. Ps 83 (according to LXX). To the Synod. trans.: ...and the rain covers her with blessing.