quality to make of him a brave man. Another, however, the temperament of whose heart is colder than it should be, is naturally inclined towards cowardice and fear, so that if he should be taught and trained to be a coward, he would easily become one. If, however, it be desired to make a brave man of him, he can without doubt become one, providing he receive the proper training which would require, of course, great exertion.
I have entered into this subject so thou mayest not believe the absurd ideas of astrologers, who falsely assert that the constellation at the time of one's birth determines whether one is to be virtuous or vicious, the individual being thus necessarily compelled to follow out a certain line of conduct. We, on the contrary, are convinced that our Law[1] agrees with Greek philosophy, which substantiates with convincing proofs the contention that man's conduct is entirely in his own hands, that no compulsion is exerted, and that no external influence is brought to bear upon him that constrains him to be either virtuous or vicious, except inasmuch as, according to what we have said above, he may be by nature so constituted as to find it easy or hard, as the case may be, to do a certain thing; but that he must necessarily do, or refrain from doing, a certain thing is absolutely untrue.[2] Were a man compelled to act ac-
- ↑ Cf. Moreh, III, 17, Fifth Theory.
- ↑ Saadia was the first Jewish philosopher to dwell at length upon the question of free will (Emunot we-Deot, III), being influenced by the discussions of Arabic theologians, although Philo, who generally followed the system of the Stoics, professed a belief in this doctrine (Quod Deus Sit Immutabilis, ed. Mangey, p. 279). He was followed by Baḥya (Ḥobot ha-Lebabot, III, 8); Ibn Zaddiḳ (Olam Ḳaṭon, p. 69, ed. Jellinek, Leipzig, 1854); Yehudah ha-Levi (Cuzari, pt. V, ed. Cassel, p. 418); Abraham Ibn Ezra (Yesod Morah, VII); and Ibn Daud (Emunah Bamah, p. 96, ed. Weil, Frankfurt a. M., 1842). For references to passages in M.'s works where he discusses free will, see p. 85 n. 1. M. undoubtedly had Eth. Nic. III in mind when he said that "Our Law agrees with Greek philosophy". See especially Eth. Nic. III, 5. 7, where are found the following statements, "So it seems as has been said, that man is the originator of his actions", and "if it is in our power to do and to forbear doing what is creditable or the contrary, and these respectively constitute the being good or bad, then the being good or vicious characters is in our power". See Rosin,
