b) _Facienti quod est in se ex viribus naturalibus Deus non denegat gratiam_ (to him who does what he can with his natural moral strength, God does not refuse grace.) This does not mean that, in consequence of the efforts of the natural will, God may not withhold from anyone the first grace of vocation. In this sense the axiom would be Semipelagian, and has been rejected by a majority of the Schoolmen. It is said of Molina that he tried to render it acceptable by the hypothesis that God bound Himself by a contract with Christ to give His grace to all men who would make good use of their natural faculties. But how could the existence of this imaginary contract be proved? In matter of fact Molina taught, with a large number of other divines,(455) that God in the bestowal of His graces freely bound Himself to a definite rule, which coincides with His universal will to save all mankind. In the application of this law He pays no regard to any positive disposition or preparation, but merely to the presence or absence of obstacles which would prove impediments to grace. In other words, God, generally speaking, is more inclined to offer His grace to one who puts no obstacles in its way than to one who wallows in sin and neglects to do his share.(456) c) _Facienti quod est in se ex viribus naturae negative se disponendo [i.e. obicem non ponendo] Deus non denegat gratiam_ (to the man who does what he can with his natural moral strength, disposing himself negatively [_i.e._, by not placing any obstacle] God does not deny grace. In this form the axiom is identical with our thesis. The question arises: Can it be made to square with the dogma of the absolute gratuity of grace? Vasquez,(457) Glossner,(458) and some others answer this question in the negative, whereas the great majority of Catholic theologians hold with Suarez(459) and Lessius,(460) that there is no contradiction between the two. Though Lessius did not succeed in proving his famous contention that the axiom _Facienti quod est in se Deus non denegat gratiam_, was for three full centuries understood in this sense by the schools,(461) there is no doubt that many authorities can be cited in favor of his interpretation.(462)