“the devil and his angels” is untenable, because in several other Scriptural passages(631) the reprobates are expressly classed among the followers of Satan. If we add to this that our Divine Lord, in foretelling the last judgment, had naturally to formulate his prediction so as not only to show its absolute justice but likewise to intimate that, had they so willed, the damned might have had their place on the right hand of the Great Judge, we must admit that the theory of predestination _post praevisa merita_ has a solid foundation in Scripture.(632) b) The Greek Fathers unanimously favor hypothetical predestination, which fact has caused the theory to be commonly referred to as “_sententia Graecorum_.”(633) Thus St. Chrysostom interprets the judgment of the Son of Man as follows: “Possess ye the kingdom [of heaven] as your own by heredity, as a paternal heritage, as a gift long due to you; for it was prepared and arranged for you before you came into existence, because I knew beforehand that you would be what you are.”(634) Theodoret says: “He did not simply predestine [men], but He predestined them because He foreknew [their merits].”(635) The Latin Fathers before St. Augustine all without exception taught hypothetical predestination. St. Hilary says: “Many are called, but few are chosen.... Hence election is not a matter of indiscriminate choice, but a selection based on merit.”(636) And St. Ambrose: “Therefore the Apostle says: ‘Whom he foreknew he also predestined’ (Rom. VIII, 29); for He did not predestine before He foreknew, but He predestined a reward to those whose merits He foresaw.”(637) The question cannot, as Bellarmine contends,(638) be decided on the sole authority of St. Augustine, because he is claimed by both parties to the controversy.(639) On account of the existing differences of opinion it is impossible to establish the theory of hypothetical predestination on the basis of Scholastic teaching.(640) The opinion of St. Thomas is in dispute;(641) likewise that of St. Bonaventure. Scotus in his controversy with Henry of Ghent shows a disposition to favor absolute predestination, but leaves the question open. “Let every one,” he says,(642) “choose whichever opinion suits him best, without prejudice to the divine liberty, which must be safeguarded against injustice, and to the other truths that are to be held in respect of God.”(643) 6. A COMPROMISE THEORY.—For the sake of completeness we will add a few words on a theory which takes middle ground between the two just reviewed, holding that, while the common run of humanity is predestined hypothetically, a few exceptionally favored Saints enjoy the privilege of absolute predestination.