Ambrose of Milan : For a paedagogus, as the word is rendered in the Latin, is the teacher of a boy; and he cannot apply perfect precepts to an imperfect age, because it cannot bear them. Again, the God of the Law says by the Prophet, I gave them also statutes that were not good, that is, not perfect. But the same God has preserved more perfect things for the Gospel, as He says, I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil the Law. — Letter 74.2 Augustine of Hippo : But, why should I not say that the requirements of ancient ceremonies are not good because people are not justified by them; they are figures that foreshadow the grace, by which we are justified.… They are not bad, because they were precepts of divine origin, adapted to times and people, although in this estimate I am supported by the prophetic statement in which God said that he had given to that people "statutes that were not good." It happens that he did not say that they were bad but only that they were not good: that is, such that with them, people become good; without them, they do not. I would like your kind sincerity to inform me whether any oriental saint who comes to Rome and fasts on Saturday—except the eve of Easter—is acting deceitfully. If we say that is wrong, we shall condemn the Roman church and also many places near it and others somewhat further away, where the same custom continues to be observed. — LETTER 82 Jerome : [Israel] received statutes that were not good and commandments that were altogether evil whereby it should not live but should be punished through them. — LETTER 79.10 John Cassian : Whoever lives under the light of the grace of the gospel and overcomes evil not by resisting it but by bearing it and who does not hesitate of his own free will to give his other cheek to one who strikes his right cheek, who gives his cloak also to one who wants to raise a lawsuit against him for his coat, and who loves his enemies and prays for those who slander him, this man has broken the yoke of sin and burst its chains. For he is not living under the law, which does not destroy the seeds of sin. — CONFERENCE 21:33 John Chrysostom : They, it is well known, when they led not a life of toil but indulged in relaxation, not being able to bear prosperity, fell away into ungodliness. What then did God upon this? He laid upon them a multitude of laws with a view to restrain their licence. And to convince you that these laws contribute not to any virtue, but were given to them as a sort of curb, providing them with an occasion of perpetual labor; hear what saith the prophet concerning them; "I gave them statutes which were not good." What means, "not good?" Such as did not much contribute towards virtue. Wherefore he adds also, "and ordinances whereby they shall not live." — HOMILIES ON 1 Corinthians 7:9 John Damascene : God finds fault with the commandments of the Old Testament, for he says, "I gave them statutes that were not good and ordinances by which they could not have life," because of their hardness of heart. — ON DIVINE IMAGES 2:15 Origen of Alexandria : Having forgotten the benefits and marvels performed by God, they set up the head of a calf. For this reason, therefore, precepts are given to them by which they are tested. Hence it is that through the prophet Ezekiel the Lord says to them, "I gave you precepts and ordinances that were not good, by which you will not live." For when they were tested in the precepts of the Lord, they were not found faithful. — HOMILIES ON Exodus 7:2 Origen of Alexandria : We hold, then, that the law has a twofold sense—the one literal, the other spiritual—as has been shown by some before us. Of the first or literal sense it is said, not by us but by God, speaking in one of the prophets, that "the statutes are not good, and the judgments not good"; whereas, taken in a spiritual sense, the same prophet makes God say that "his statutes are good, and his judgments are good." — AGAINST CELSUS 7:20