CHAPTER V.] COMMENTARY ON GALATIANS. lust, for lust belongs to the soul not to thebody, for in another place it is said, "Mysoullong- eth," (Ps. Ixxxiv: 2.) and, " Whatsoever thy soul desireth, I will even do it for thee," (i Sam. xx : 4.) and, " Walk not according to the desires of thy heart," and, " So panteth my soul." (Ps. xlii : i.) Wherefore then does Paul say, "the flesh lusteth against the Spirit ? " he is wont to call the flesh, not the natural body but the de praved will, as where he says, But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, (Rom. viii : 8,9.) and again, "They that are in the flesh cannot please God." What then? Is the flesh to be de stroyed? was not he who thus spoke clothed with flesh? such doctrines are not of the flesh, but from the Devil, for " he was a murderer from the beginning." (John viii: 44.) What then is his meaning ? it is the earthly mind, slothful and careless, that he here calls the flesh, and this is not an accusation of the body, but a charge against the slothful soul. The flesh is an instru ment, and no one feels aversion and hatred to an instrument, but to him who abuses it. For it is not the iron instrument but the murderer, whomwe hateand punish. But itmay be said that the very calling of the faults of the soul by the name of the flesh is in itself an accusation of the body. And I admit that the flesh is inferior to the soul, yet it too is good, for that which is inferiortowhat isgood may itselfbegood, but evil is not inferior to good, but opposed to it. Now if you are able to prove to me that evil originates from the body, you are at liberty to accuse it ; but if your, endeavor is to turn its name into a charge against it, you ought to accuse the soul likewise. For he that is deprived of the truth is called "the natural man." (i Cor. u : 14. ) J and the race of demons " the spirits of wicked ness." (Eph. vi : 12.) Again, the Scripture is wont to give the name of the Flesh to the Mysteries of the Eucharist, and to the whole Church, calling them the Body of Christ. (Col. i: 24.) Nay, to induce you to give the name of blessings to the things of which the flesh is the medium, you have only to imagine the extinction of the senses, and you will find the soul deprived of all discernment, and ignorant of what it before knew. For if the power of God is since " the creation of the world clearly seen, being perceived through the things that are made," (Rom. i : 20.) how could we see them without eyes? and if "faith cometh of hearing," (Rom. x: 17.) how shall we hear without ears ? and preaching depends on making circuits wherein the tongue and feet are employed. "For how shall they preach, except they be sent? " (Rom. x : 15.) In the same way writing is performed by means of the hands. Do you not see that the ministry of the 1 [That is, the "psychical" man, from tne sou - ^ flesh produces for us a thousand benefits ? In his expression, "the flesh lusteth against the Spirit," he means two mental states. For these are opposed to each other, namely virtue and vice, not the soul and the body. Were the two latter so opposed they would be destructive of one another, as fire of water, and darkness of light. But if the soul cares for the body, and takes great forethought on its account, and suf fers a thousand things in order not to leave it, and resists being separated from it, and if the body too ministers to the soul, and conveys to it much knowledge, and is adapted to its opera tions, how can they be contrary, and conflict ing with each other ? For my part, I perceive by their acts that they are not only not contrary but closely accordant and attached one to another. It is not therefore of these that he speaks as opposed to each other, but he refers to the contest of bad and good principles. (Compare Rom. vii : 23.) To will and not to will belongs to the soul ; wherefore he says, " these are contrary the one to the other," that you may not suffer the soul to proceed in its evil desires. For he speaks this like a Master and Teacher in a threatening way. Ver. 18. "But if ye are led by the Spirit, ye are not under the Law. 2 If it be asked in what way are these two con nected, I answer, closely and plainly; for he that hath the Spirit as he ought, quenches thereby every evil desire, and he that is released from these needs no help from the Law, but is exalted far above its precepts. He who is never angry, what need has he to hear the com mand, Thou shalt not kill? He who never casts unchaste looks, what need hath he of the admonition, Thou shalt not commit adultery ? Who would discourse about the fruits of wick edness with him who had plucked up the root itself? for anger is the root of murder, and of adultery the inquisitive gazing into faces. Hence he says, " If ye are led by the Spirit, ye are not under the Law; " wherein he appears to me to have pronounced a high and striking eulogy of the Law, if, at least, the Law stood, according to its power, in the place of the Spirit before the Spirit s coming upon us. But we are not on that account obliged to continue apart with our schoolmaster. Then we were justly subject to the Law, that by fear we might chasten our lusts, the Spirit not being mani fested ; but now that grace is given, which not only commands us to abstain from them, but both quenches them, and leads us to a higher rule of life, what more need is there of the Law ? He who has attained an exalted excel- 3 ["If you adopt the rule of the Spirit, you thereby renounce your allegiance to the t.aw. In this passage the Spirit is doubly contrasted ; first with the flesh, and secondly, with the Law, both of which are closely allied." Lightfoot.G. A.]