Fathers

Two Dissertations · §332

Cap. III Sol. Rat. 12 close: God's hand leads firmly and sweetly — Valentia, Catharinus

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So it is God's hand, not ours, that we do not depart from God. That hand leads the elect to eternal life with such efficacy that his decree stands most firm — and with such sweetness and liberty that their choice in the good becomes most free. Valencia grants both can stand together (In 1. q.23 disp.1 p.4), and notes the oldest, most learned Scholastics held it. Ambrosius Catharinus too: grant a justification from which the predestinated cannot fall, and most free choice is not removed but made firmer and stronger by certainty of light and added fortitude. Ability not to persevere in faith, to fall from holiness — in a word, to sin and perish — is not liberty or part of liberty, but free choice's disease or weakness. When a contrary, strongest, most persevering will is given so that weakness cannot go into act, free choice is not destroyed but established free in the good. The freer the will, the less it can serve sin (Augustine, De praed. Sanct. 1.15). So the Jesuit's argument is worthless: The antecedent decree makes the elect unable to fall from salvation, therefore it takes away their free choice.

Latin

Manus igitur Dei est, non nostra, ut non discedamus a Deo: Manus autem Dei tanta efficacitate ducit et dirigit electos ad vitam aeternam, ut inde firmissimum stet ejus decretum; et simul tanta suavitate et libertate, ut inde liberrimum in bono fiat illorum arbitrium. Haec simul constare posse, fatetur Valentia, In 1. qu. 23. disp. 1. puncto 4. ubi ostendit, antiquissimos et doctissimos Scholasticos in hac opinione fuisse constitutos. Ambrosius etiam Catharinus affirmat, concessa tali justificatione, a qua non valeant excidere qui praedestinati sunt, non auferri liberrimum arbitrium, sed potius firmius et validius fieri per certitudinem luminis, et per adjectum robur fortitudinis. Unde posse non perseverare in fide, posse deficere a sanctitate, uno verbo, posse peccare et perire, non est libertas, aut pars libertatis, sed liberi arbitrii morbus vel imbecillitas. Cum igitur data voluntate contraria, eademque fortissima et perseverantissima, efficitur ut in actum non possit exire haec imbecillitas, liberum arbitrium non perimitur, sed liberum in bono stabilitur. Tanto enim magis libera est voluntas, quanto magis peccato servire non potest, ut bene Augustinus De praed. Sanct. lib. 1. cap. 15. Nihili igitur est Jesuitae argumentum; Decretum Dei antecedens facit ut electi non possint excidere a salute, ergo tollit eorum liberum arbitrium.

About this text

John Davenant — Dissertationes duae from the 1650 Cambridge Latin. Honest partial through De praedestinatione Cap. 1 subject tip; Cap. 1 mid-Thesis and remainder remain; De praedestinatione Cap. 1 Prolegomena IV distinguishing conditions tip; De praedestinatione Cap. II Variae (Pelagian opening) tip; De praedestinatione Cap. II Scholastici / Vasquez Arg. 1 tip; De praedestinatione Cap. II Arg. 2 praescientia tip; De praedestinatione Cap. II Arg. 3 (1 Cor. 2:9) tip; De praedestinatione Cap. II Arg. 4 (2 Tim. 2:21) tip; De praedestinatione Cap. II Arg. 5 (1 Tim. 2:4) tip; De praedestinatione Cap. II Arg. 6 (James 2:5) tip; De praedestinatione Cap. II Arg. 7 (Apoc. 3:11) tip; De praedestinatione Cap. III Rat. 1 (common inefficacious will) tip; De praedestinatione Cap. III Rat. 2 (Vasquez physical vs moral media) tip; De praedestinatione Cap. III Rat. 3 (king/prize / victory foresight) tip; De praedestinatione Cap. III Rat. 4 (optimum modus / crown of justice) tip; De praedestinatione Cap. III Rat. 5 (acceptor personarum) tip; De praedestinatione Cap. III Rat. 6 (misericordia/congruitas) tip; De praedestinatione Cap. III Rat. 7 (equal disposition) tip; De praedestinatione Cap. III Rat. 8 (few saved / major part) tip; De praedestinatione Cap. III Rat. 9 (Stephen / glory from others' sins) tip; De praedestinatione Cap. III Rat. 10 (mere beneplacitum / Predestinati) tip; De praedestinatione Cap. III reprobation ratio (foresight of sin) tip; De praedestinatione Cap. III Rat. 12 (efficacious election / free choice) tip; De praedestinatione Cap. III Rat. 13 (hortation/prayer) tip; De praedestinatione Cap. III Rat. 14 (decree/execution conformity) tip; De praedestinatione Cap. IV Arminianorum open tip; De praedestinatione Cap. IV Arg. 1 Sol tip; De praedestinatione Cap. IV Arg. 7 (τρόπος; Rom. 9:22) tip; De praedestinatione Cap. IV Arg. 8 (ordo exsecutionis) tip; De praedestinatione Cap. IV Arg. 9 (Christus fundamentum) tip; De praedestinatione Cap. V Obj. 1 (amor ad salutem) tip; De praedestinatione Cap. V Obj. 2 (actualis vitae datio) tip; De praedestinatione Cap. V Obj. 3 (qualis existens) tip; De praedestinatione Cap. V Obj. 4 (justitiae satisfactio) tip; De praedestinatione Cap. V Obj. 5 (natura vitae aeternae) tip; De praedestinatione Cap. V Obj. 6 (Christus a decreto) tip; De praedestinatione Cap. V Obj. 7 (Evangelium invertitur) tip; De praedestinatione Cap. V Obj. 8 (arcana/revelata) tip; De praedestinatione Cap. VI (Orthodoxa sententia) tip; De praedestinatione Cap. VI Arg. 2 (gratia specialis) tip; De praedestinatione Cap. VI Arg. 3 (Scripturae) tip; De praedestinatione Cap. VI Arg. 4 (vocatio) tip; De praedestinatione Cap. VI Arg. 5 (adjutorium) tip; De praedestinatione Cap. VI Arg. 7 (inconveniens) tip; De praedestinatione Cap. VI Arg. 8 (perseverantia) tip; De praedestinatione Cap. VI Arg. 9 (unica ratio) tip; De praedestinatione Cap. VI Arg. 10 (abyssus) tip; De praedestinatione Cap. VI Arg. 11 (efficacia) tip; De praedestinatione Cap. VI Arg. 12 (segregativum) tip; De praedestinatione Cap. VI Arg. 13 (pura gratia) tip; De praedestinatione Cap. VII open (reprobatio) tip; De praedestinatione Cap. VII Junius trifariam tip; De praedestinatione Cap. VIII open (adversariorum) tip; Cap. VIII peccata-causa tip; Cap. VIII fewer-reprobates tip; Cap. VIII Argentina tip; Cap. VIII dives-misericordia tip; Cap. VIII Corvinus tip into Cap. IX; Cap. IX Ab Adae tip; Cap. IX Ab Adae Christus omnibus+Minor tip; Cap. IX Arg. 3 Sol tip; Cap. IX vocatione Evangelica tip; Cap. IX vocatione Sol cont. tip; Cap. IX Arg. 6 Sol cont. tip.

English follows locked 1650 Cambridge Latin of De morte Christi Cap. 1-6 opening (origin + Thesis 1 + Cap. 2 Rat. 1-ultima + Cap. 3 Satisfit through Obj. 17 + Cap. 4 Thesis 2 tip through Mem. 1 close + Cap. 4 Mem. 2 through Mem. 3 tip + Cap. 4 Mem. 3 possible-faith through Thesis 2 close + Cap. 5 Thesis 3 tip through Mem. 2 Scripture close + Cap. 5 Mem. 2 Rat. 1-4 + Cap. 5 Mem. 2 Fathers tip + Cap. 5 Mem. 2 Huberiana objections tip through Obj. 3 Solut close + Cap. 5 Mem. 2 elect-from-eternity objections tip through Obj. 3 Solut close + Cap. 5 Mem. 2 Scripture elect objections tip through Cap. 5 thesis close + Cap. 6 opening tip through Arg. 1 close before Arg. 2), reconstructed from the Internet Archive PDF (pdftotext + tesseract) of the Roger Daniel folio with DjVu OCR check. The 1683 reprint was not used as copy-text. No modern English was copied.

Witnesses

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