Cap. VI Arg. 1: Aquinas, Vasquez — preparation of grace cannot depend on foresight faith
Passing Augustine's definition, hear the Scholastics. Aquinas: Predestination is nothing but preparation of grace now and glory hereafter. As for a man lost in the fallen state, we cannot even suspect that this grace and glory are prepared for him from antecedent consideration of persevering faith in him. It is ridiculous to say God decrees and prepares for a man the grace he first considered as already had and obtained. Elsewhere Aquinas: Predestination is a certain reason of ordering some to eternal salvation existing in the divine mind — and the execution of that order is passively in the predestinated, actively in God. If predestination is an ordination of certain ones to salvation, we must not think some men by persevering faith first ordained to life — nay placed as it were in life's vestibule — before God elects or predestinates them. Hear even the Jesuits, fiercest enemies of our defense. Vasquez: Predestination is God's eternal purpose by which he prepares grace for someone unto eternal life. A purpose preparing grace that leads infallibly to eternal life cannot depend on foresight faith — that faith is the very grace in view — so it must be referred to God's mere will. That clear truth extorted this candid Jesuit confession: discrimination of predestinated from reprobate begins before their consent absolutely foreseen — therefore before foresight faith or any merits, which without human-will consent cannot even be understood.
Latin
Sed missa Augustini definitione, audiamus ipsos Scholasticos. Aquinas dicit, Praedestinationem nil aliud esse quam praeparationem gratiae in praesenti, et gloriae in futuro. Hominem autem in massa corrupta, perdito, ne suspicari quidem possumus ei hanc gratiam et gloriam praeparari ex antecedente aliqua fidei perseverantis in eodem homine consideratione. Ridiculum est enim dicere, Deum homini decernere et praeparare illam gratiam, quam prius ut habitam et obtentam consideravit. Idem Aquinas alibi; Praedestinatio est quaedam ratio ordinis aliquorum in salutem aeternam in mente Divina existens. Atque mox subjungit, Exsecutionem hujus ordinis esse passive in praedestinatis, active autem in Deo. Si praedestinatio sit ordinatio quorundam in salutem, non debemus cogitare homines quosdam per fidem perseverantem prius ordinatos ad vitam, imo in ipso quasi vitae vestibulo positos, priusquam a Deo eligantur, aut praedestinentur. Sed ipsos Jesuitas defensionis nostrae hostes acerrimos audiamus. Sic igitur Vasquez, Praedestinatio est propositum aeternum Dei, quo gratiam alicui praeparat in vitam aeternam. Propositum praeparans gratiam quae ducit ad vitam aeternam infallibiliter, non potest ex praevisa hominum fide dependere, cum haec fides sit illa ipsa gratia de qua loquimur: Ad meram ergo Dei voluntatem referatur est necesse. Haec tam clara veritas extorsit Jesuitae ingenuam hanc confessionem, Discretio praedestinatorum a reprobis incipit ante consensum ipsorum absolute praevisum. ergo ante praevisam fidem, aut merita qualiacunque, quae sine consensu voluntatis humanae ne intelligi quidem possunt.