For just as, if God is compared with himself, the first thing which occupies the mind and soul is the rationale of τοῦ ὄντος, of being, by which he is1 and is believed to be ὁ ὤν, he who is; so, if he is referred to those things which have been effected and produced, the first thing which occurs is the rationale—
—of τῆς ἀγαθότητος, of goodness, by which he is both good to himself and beneficent to others. Hence the name Father, which is attributed to him by the unanimous consent of all; hence what2 Synesius affirms:
All peoples everywhere on earth, the wise as well as the unlearned, proclaim God good, and all profess this by mutual consent and with one voice, although, as pertains to other things, they disagree in various judgments concerning God and divide his incorrupt and indivisible nature by a diversity of opinions.
And hence the illustrious opinion3 of Philo, Pseudo-Dionysius4, and5 John Damascene: that the principal name of God in comparison with creatures is τἀγαθόν, οὐ τι ἀγαθὸν ἀλλ᾽ ἁπλῶς ἀγαθόν, goodness itself, not a good of a certain genus, but the good absolutely; and therefore that God is ἀγαθότητος τοῦ αἰτίου ὄνομα, the name of the principle of goodness.
But if this goodness is considered in relation to lost and depraved men, it displays, as it were, a new face and puts on the force and nature of mercy, by which God extends his right hand to the fallen, offers medicine to the sick, and leads back those who have strayed. But does he lead all back, or are there those against whom he is disdainful and whom he casts away? Does he heal all, or are there those whom he neglects and abandons? I shall answer not in my own words, but in the words of those who committed to their works the faith and profession of the Italian churches. Therefore, if we hear them, such was the persuasion and judgment of Catholic Italy:
God is benevolent to all; the earth is full of his mercy; he is the cause of death to no one; he redeems all, saves all, and almost hunts even those who flee; he approaches the souls of all and enters the minds of all, unless he is repelled; he distributes his benefits to all; and he so wills the salvation of all that he does not obey wrath and justice before he has fulfilled every part of clemency and goodness.