Book V - Snyder Bible

294
But lest I should seem to carry the enumeration too far, I shall
tell you what conclusion ought to be drawn from the whole.
Since Yahweh is righteous, and since He Himself made the nature
of men, how could it be that He should place Genesis in
opposition to us, which should compel us to sin, and then that
He should punish us when we do sin? Whence it is certain that
Yahweh punishes no sinner either in the present life or in that
to come, except because He knows that he could have conquered,
but neglected victory. For even in the present world
He takes vengeance upon men, as He did upon those who perished
in the deluge, who were all destroyed in one day, yea, in
one hour, although it is certain that they were not all born in
one hour according to the order of genesis. But it is most absurd
to say that it befalls us by nature to suffer evils, if sins
had not gone before.
Chapter XXXI: Value of Knowledge
seek after knowledge, being sure that if our mind remain in
ignorance, we shall endure not only the evils of genesis, but
also whatever other evils from without the demons may
please, unless fear of Torah and of the judgment to come resist
all our desires, and check the violence of sinning. For even
human fear does much good, and also much evil, unknown to
Genesis, as we have shown above. Therefore our mind is subject
to errors in a threefold manner: from those things which
come to us through evil custom; or from those lusts which the
body naturally stirs up in us; or from those which hostile
powers incite us to. But the mind has it in its own nature to
oppose and fight against these, when the knowledge of truth
shines upon it, by which knowledge fear of the judgment to
come is imparted, which is a fit governor of the mind, and
which can recall it from the precipices of lusts. That these
things, therefore, are in our power, has been sufficiently
stated.