Against Julian 6.23.73

The apostle emphasizes the power of habit.

Through the good law and the holy commandment, the minds of the wicked had become more savage, because no instruction could instill virtue without their own willing participation.

The law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good. Has what is good, then, become death for me? Certainly not! But sin, so that it might appear as sin, worked death in me through what is good, so that sin might become sinful beyond measure through the commandment. (Romans 7:12–13)