Глава XVI

God commands what we ourselves cannot do, so that we recognize the need to ask Him for it 32. The Pelagians think they know something great, saying, “God would not have commanded that which He knew could not be done by man.” Who doesn't know this? But God commands something for this purpose that we cannot do, so that we may know what we should ask of Him. For faith itself in prayer asks for what the law commands. Here is the one who says: If you want, you will fulfill the commandments, in the same book Ecclesiasticus 162 a little lower says this: Who will give me a guard in my mouth, and put a cunning seal on my lips, lest I fall away from Him, and lest my tongue destroy me? 163 Truly, he has already received the commandment: Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit 164 . So, if what is said is true: If you want, you will keep the commandments, then why does he ask to give him a guard over his mouth, just like the one who says in the psalm: Set a guard over my mouth, O Lord? 165 Why is the commandment of God and his own will not enough for him, because if he wanted, he would have kept the commandments? How numerous are God's commandments against pride; he already knows them; if he wants, he will observe them. So, why does he say a little lower: Lord, Father and God of my life, do not give me the elevation of my eyes? 166 The Law had already told him: Thou shalt not covet 167 ; So, let him have the will and do what is commanded, because if he wants, he will keep the commandments. Why does he further say: Turn away lust from me? 168 God has commanded so much against luxury; let him do it, for if he wants, he will keep the commandments. Why then does he cry out to God: May the desires of the womb and voluptuousness not possess me 169? If we had told him all this personally, he would quite rightly object to us and answer: “From this very prayer of mine, in which I ask all this from the Lord, understand in what sense I said: If you want, you will keep the commandments.” For truly, if we desire, we keep the commandments, but since the will is prepared in advance from the Lord, 170 we must ask Him that we desire to the extent that this will be enough to accomplish what we want. Truly, it is we ourselves who desire when we desire, but He makes it so that we desire good, about Whom it is said: The will is prepared in advance from the Lord (I already cited this a little earlier), about Whom it is said: From the Lord the steps of man are directed, and he desires His way 171 , about Whom it is said: God works in you also the desire 172 . Truly, we ourselves act when we act, but He acts so that we begin to act, providing the most effective forces to our will, Who said: I will cause you to walk in My justifications, and you will observe and fulfill My judgments 173 . When He says: I will cause you to observe, what else does he say but this: “I will remove from you the heart of stone, because of which you did not observe, and will give you a heart of flesh, because of which you will observe?” And what does this mean, if not: “I will remove the hard heart, because of which you did not do [good], and I will give you a submissive heart, thanks to which you will do [good]”? He makes us do it. To whom a man says: Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth 174. After all, this is the same as saying: “Make sure that I put a guard over my mouth,” and the one who said: “I put a guard over my mouth” has already been awarded this blessing 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. Those. in the book of the Wisdom of Jesus, son of Sirach. See above: blessed. Augustine. About grace and free decision..P.3, pr.6. Proverbs 8 (according to LXX). To the Synod. trans.: And he will receive grace from the Lord. Eze 36:27. To the Synod. Transl.: I will put My spirit within you and cause you to walk in My commandments and keep My statutes and do them.