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17. But the devil was to be overcome, not by the power of God,
but by His righteousness. For what is more powerful than the
Omnipotent? Or what creature is there of which the power can be
compared to the power of the Creator? But since the devil, by the
fault of his own perversity, was made a lover of power, and a forsaker
and assailant of righteousness, for thus also men imitate him so much
the more in proportion as they set their hearts on power, to the
neglect or even hatred of righteousness, and as they either rejoice in
the attainment of power, or are inflamed by the lust of it, it pleased
God, that in order to the rescuing of man from the grasp of the
devil, the devil should be conquered, not by power, but by
righteousness; and that so also men, imitating Christ, should seek
to conquer the devil by righteousness, not by: power. Not that power
is to be shunned as as though it were something evil; but the order
must be preserved, whereby righteousness is before it. For how great
can be the power of mortals? Therefore let mortals cleave to
righteousness; power will be given to immortals. And compared to
this, the power, how great soever, of those men who are called
powerful on earth, is found to be ridiculous weakness, and a pitfall
is dug there for the sinner, where the wicked seem to be most
powerful. And the righteous man says in his song, "Blessed is the
man whom Thou chasteneth, O Lord, and teachest him out of Thy
law: that Thou mayest give him rest from the days of adversity, until
the pit be digged for the wicked. For the Lord will not cast off His
people, neither will He forsake His inheritance, until righteousness
return unto judgment, and all who follow it are upright in heart."
At this present time, then, in which the might of the people of God
is delayed, "the Lord will not cast off His. people, neither will
He forsake His inheritance," how bitter and unworthy things so-ever
it may suffer in its humility and weakness; '' until the
righteousness," which the weakness of the pious now possesses,
"shall return to judgment," that is, shall receive the power of
judging; which is preserved in the end for the righteous when power in
its due order shall have followed after righteousness going before.
For power joined to righteousness, or righteousness added to power,
constitutes a judicial authority. But righteousness belongs to a good
will; whence it was said by the angels when Christ was born: "Glory
to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men of good will," But
power ought to follow righteousness, not to go before it; and
accordingly it is placed in "second," that is, prosperous fortune;
and this is called "second," from "following." For whereas two
things make a man blessed, as we have argued above, to will well, and
to be able to do what one wills, people ought not to be so perverse,
as has been noted in the same discussion, as that a man should choose
from the two things which make him blessed, the being able to do what
he wills, and should neglect to will what he ought; whereas he ought
first to have a good will, but great power afterwards. Further, a
good will must be purged from vices, by which if a man is overcome, he
is in such wise overcome as that he wills evil; and then how will his
will be still good? It is to be wished, then, that power may now be
given, but power against vices, to conquer which men do not wish to be
powerful, while they wish to be so in order to conquer men; and why is
this, unless that, being in truth conquered, they feignedly conquer,
and are conquerors not in truth, but in opinion? Let a man will to be
prudent, will to be strong, will to he temperate, will to be just;
and that he may be able to have these things truly, let him certainly
desire power, and seek to be powerful in himself, and (strange though
it be) against himself for himself. But all the other things which he
wills rightly, and yet is not able to have, as, for instance,
immortality and true and full felicity, let him not cease to long for,
and let him patiently expect.
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