But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, “Why have you made me like this?” Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honored use and another for dishonorable use?
Consider the potter's clay, which has no share in reasoned discernment and so offers no objection to the maker. Even if it is assigned the work of an ordinary vessel, it remains silent to what happens. But you resist and object. You, then, are not constrained by natural necessities nor transgress in defiance of free will, rather you embrace evil willingly and accept the hardship of virtue of set purpose. The sentence of the God of all is therefore proper and just: He justly punishes the sinner for presuming to do this with free will.
Consider the potter's clay, which has no share in reasoned discernment and so offers no objection to the maker. Even if it is assigned the work of an ordinary vessel, it remains silent to what happens. But you resist and object. You, then, are not constrained by natural necessities nor transgress in defiance of free will, rather you embrace evil willingly and accept the hardship of virtue of set purpose. The sentence of the God of all is therefore proper and just: He justly punishes the sinner for presuming to do this with free will.
Theodoret of Cyrus, "The Letter to the Romans" on Romans 9:20-21
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