Augustine: Earlier Writings (continued)
TO SIMPLICIAN—ON VARIOUS QUESTIONS 389 and had done nothing when it was said, "The elder shall serve the younger," how can his rejection be said to be just? How are we to understand what follows ifwe judge according to the standards of equity? "Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated." Now that is written in the Prophet Malachi (1:2-3) who prophesied long after they were born and dead. Yet the sentence seems to be referred to which was spoken before they were born or had done anything. "The elder shall serve the younger." But how could there be election, or what kind of election could there be, if there was no distinction of merits because they were not yet born and had done nothing? Possibly there was some distinction in their natures? Who could support such a conclusion, seeing that they sprang from one father, one mother, one act of intercourse, one creator? From the same land the same Creator can produce different kinds of living creatures. Can it be that the Creator produced from one human marriage and embrace twin offspring so diverse that he loved the one and hated the other? There would then be no election before that which was chosen existed. If Jacob was created good so that he might be loved, how could he be loved before he existed, in order that he might become good? Accordingly he was not elected that he might become good, but having been made good, he could be elected.
5. Could it be "according to election" because God has foreknowledge of all things, and foresaw the faith that was to be in Jacob even before he was born? No one merits justification by his good works, since unless he is justified he cannot do good works. Nevertheless God justifies the Gentiles by faith, and no one believes except of his own free will. So God, foreseeing that Jacob would believe of his own free will, by his foreknowledge elected to justify one not yet born? If election is by foreknowledge, and God foreknew Jacob's faith, how do you prove that he did not elect him for his works? Neither Jacob nor Esau had yet believed, because they were not yet born and had as yet done neither good nor evil. But God foresaw that Jacob would believe? He could equally well have foreseen that he would do good works. So just as one says he was elected because God foreknew that he was going to believe, another might say that it was rather because of the good works he was to perform, since God foreknew them equally well. How then does the apostle show that it was not of works that it was said, "The elder shall serve the younger"? If the reason for its not being of works was that they were not yet born, that applies also to faith; for before they