Augustine of Hippo : For those who are proud it is useful to be more closely bound under sin, so that they would not presume on free will for the performance of righteousness, as though upon their own strength. — ON THE GRACE OF CHRIST 9 Augustine of Hippo : Transgression of the law was needed to break the pride of those who, glorying in their father Abraham, boasted of having a sort of natural righteousness. They caused more harm to the Gentiles the more arrogantly they flaunted the merits of their circumcision. But the Gentiles could be humiliated very easily even without transgression of this sort of law, for the grace of the gospel found that these men, who knew that they had received no root of wisdom from their parents, were actually slaves to idols.… The law was therefore given not to take away sin but to include all under sin. For the law showed that to be sin which the Jews in their blindness deemed to be righteousness, so that by this humiliation they might know that their salvation was not in their own hands but in the hand of a mediator.… This very humility was fitted to the recognition of Christ, who is the paradigm of humility. — EPISTLE TO THE Galatians 25 [1B.3.21-22] Fulgentius of Ruspe : Law without grace, then, can expose disease but cannot heal. It can reveal the wounds but does not administer the remedy. But so that the law's precepts may be fulfilled, grace provides assistance within. — ON THE TRUTH OF PREDESTINATION 1.41 John Chrysostom : As the Jews were not even conscious of their own sins, and in consequence did not even desire remission; the Law was given to probe their wounds, that they might long for a physician. And the word "shut up" means "convinced" and conviction held them in fear. You see then it is not only not against, but was given for the promises. Had it arrogated to itself the work and the authority, the objection would stand; but if its drift is something else, and it acted for that, how is it against the promises of God? Had the Law not been given, all would have been wrecked upon wickedness, and there would have been no Jews to listen to Christ; but now being given, it has effected two things; it has schooled its followers in a certain degree of virtue, and has pressed on them the knowledge of their own sins. And this especially made them more zealous to seek the Son, for those who disbelieved, disbelieved from having no sense of their own sins, as Paul shows; "For being ignorant of God's righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God." (Rom. x: 3) — Homily on Galatians 3 Oecumenius : "but Scripture has limited," that is, he allowed it to be confined and, as it were, to squeeze everyone into sin, God, through his various proper reasons and administrations. But Scripture says that faith in Christ would be given a place. For even formerly the law, by being transgressed, taught men that they are sinners. But having taught, it did not free them from sin, so that from now men might gladly approach by faith to be delivered from their sins by the one who wills to save. And all this, he says, happened so that the promises made to Abraham, that the nations would be blessed, might be given to those who accept them through faith in Christ. — [PHOTIUS] "but Scripture has limited everything." The Law, he says, as it were contained and shut up all into sin, proved them to be sinners. How? For he said, "For it is written, Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things written in the book of the law to do them;" and this is impossible. For not only did not all men do everything, but not even some of them did all, but at most the more visible of them did the greater part. Therefore whoever did not do everything was under a curse and sin. So they all were shut up and found to be in sin. Therefore, they are able to obtain the promise only through faith. For from the Law, being rather exposed as into sin, they all were shown. [end of the excerpt by Photius] — — [THEODORET] The Divine Scripture reproved both those before the law and those under the law. It reproved some for transgressing the law of nature, and others for transgressing the Mosaic law. To both sets, however, the promised salvation through faith was offered as a solution. For again it placed the word "convicted" instead of "reproved." [end of the excerpt by Theodoret] — — Commentary on Galatians Tertullian : Whose grace, if not of that God from whom also came the law? Unless it be, forsooth, that the Creator intercalated His law for the mere purpose of producing some employment for the grace of a rival god, an enemy to Himself (I had almost said, a god unknown to Him), "that as sin had" in His own dispensation "reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto (eternal) life by Jesus Christ," His own antagonist! For this (I suppose it was, that) the law of the Creator had "concluded all under sin," and had brought in "all the world as guilty (before God)," and had "stopped every mouth," so that none could glory through it, in order that grace might be maintained to the glory of the Christ, not of the Creator, but of Marcion! I may here anticipate a remark about the substance of Christ, in the prospect of a question which will now turn up. — Against Marcion Book V