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De civitate Dei (CCSL)

Caput XVII: De peccatoribus, et angelis et hominibus, quorum peruersitas non perturbat prouidentiam.

Proinde peccatores, et angeli et homines, nihil agunt, quo inpediantur magna opera domini, exquisita in omnes uoluntates eius, quoniam qui prouidenter atque omnipotenter sua cuique distribuit, non solum bonis, uerum etiam malis bene uti nouit. ac per hoc propter meritum primae malae uoluntatis ita damnato atque obdurato angelo malo, ut iam bonam uoluntatem ulterius non haberet, bene utens deus cur non permitteret, ut ab illo primus homo, qui rectus, hoc est bonae uoluntatis, creatus fuerat, tentaretur? quandoquidem sic erat institutus, ut, si de adiutorio dei fideret bonus homo, malum angelum uinceret; si autem creatorem atque adiutorem deum superbe sibi placendo desereret, uinceretur; meritum bonum habens in adiuta diuinitus uoluntate recta, malum uero in deserente deum uoluntate peruersa. quia et ipsum fidere de adiutorio dei non quidem posset sine adiutorio dei, nec tamen ideo ab his diuinae gratiae beneficiis sibi placendo recedere non habebat in potestate. nam sicut in hac carne uiuere sine adiumentis alimentorum in potestate non est, non autem in ea uiuere in potestate est, quod faciunt qui se ipsos necant, ita bene uiuere sine adiutorio dei etiam in paradiso non erat in potestate; erat autem in potestate male uiuere, sed beatitudine non permansura et poena iustissima secutura. cum igitur huius futuri casus humani deus non esset ignarus, cur eum non sineret inuidi angeli malignitate tentari? nullo modo quidem quod uinceretur incertus, sed nihilominus praescius quod ab eius semine adiuto sua gratia idem ipse diabolus fuerat sanctorum gloria maiore uincendus. ita factum est, ut nec deum aliquid futurorum lateret nec praesciendo quemquam peccare conpelleret et, quid interesset inter propriam cuiusque praesumptionem et suam tuitionem, angelicae et humanae rationali creaturae consequenti experientia demonstraret. quis enim audeat credere aut dicere, ut neque angelus neque homo caderet, in dei potestate non fuisse? sed hoc eorum potestati maluit non auferre atque ita, et quantum mali eorum superbia et quantum boni sua gratia ualeret, ostendere.

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The City of God

Chapter 27.--Of the Angels and Men Who Sinned, and that Their Wickedness Did Not Disturb the Order of God's Providence.

The sins of men and angels do nothing to impede the "great works of the Lord which accomplish His will." ¹ For He who by His providence and omnipotence distributes to every one his own portion, is able to make good use not only of the good, but also of the wicked. And thus making a good use of the wicked angel, who, in punishment of his first wicked volition, was doomed to an obduracy that prevents him now from willing any good, why should not God have permitted him to tempt the first man, who had been created upright, that is to say, with a good will? For he had been so constituted, that if he looked to God for help, man's goodness should defeat the angel's wickedness; but if by proud self-pleasing he abandoned God, his Creator and Sustainer, he should be conquered. If his will remained upright, through leaning on God's help, he should be rewarded; if it became wicked, by forsaking God, he should be punished. But even this trusting in God's help could not itself be accomplished without God's help, although man had it in his own power to relinquish the benefits of divine grace by pleasing himself. For as it is not in our power to live in this world without sustaining ourselves by food, while it is in our power to refuse this nourishment and cease to live, as those do who kill themselves, so it was not in man's power, even in Paradise, to live as he ought without God's help; but it was in his power to live wickedly, though thus he should cut short his happiness, and incur very just punishment. Since, then, God was not ignorant that man would fall, why should He not have suffered him to be tempted by an angel who hated and envied him? It was not, indeed, that He was unaware that he should be conquered. but because He foresaw that by the man's seed, aided by divine grace, this same devil himself should be conquered, to the greater glory of the saints. All was brought about in such a manner, that neither did any future event escape God's foreknowledge, nor did His foreknowledge compel any one to sin, and so as to demonstrate in the experience of the intelligent creation, human and angelic, how great a difference there is between the private presumption of the creature and the Creator's protection. For who will dare to believe or say that it was not in God's power to prevent both angels and men from sinning? But God preferred to leave this in their power, and thus to show both what evil could be wrought by their pride, and what good by His grace.