Morus: freedom for civic virtue is God's gift, not nature's
Thesis VIII. What Alexander Morus teaches in the disputation already cited agrees with this. 'Further,' he says, 'the liberty by which men make laws, govern the state, take counsel for the common good, win victories and shine in various virtues, even those who live in the state of sin, is not present in them as if it arose from the very cradle of nature. It comes from God, the Father of lights, from whom every good gift comes down. They acknowledged this themselves when they wrote that no distinguished man arises without divine inspiration, and reason itself convinced them. Otherwise why would the sons of heroes so degenerate, why would twins born together turn out so unlike, and why would men trained in the best education become savage beasts?' (thesis 46).
In the next thesis he adds: 'God's provident hand scatters, as it were, certain seeds of a good disposition at a man's very birth, and then puts opportunities for cultivating them in his way. These would do little good, though, unless God curbed men's wickedness with the reins of his Spirit. Since he wills that human society be held together in lawful order, he does not let everyone's insolence run wild alike, but restrains some by fear of punishment and kindles others by love of reward. Otherwise everything would be in utter confusion, if men broke out into evils of every kind as far as they are all inclined to them.'
Latin
VIII. Quibus consentanea sunt quae docet Alexander Morus jam citata Disputatione. Porro, inquit, libertas illa, qua leges condunt, Rempublicam temperant, in commune consulunt, victorias reportant, & virtutibus variis praelucent, etiam ii qui versantur in statu peccati, non ita locum habet in iis, quasi ex ipsius naturae incunabulis existeret. A Deo enim est luminum Patre, a quo donum omne bonum descendit, quod illi ipsi agnoverunt, quum neminem virum insignem oriri absque divino afflatu scribunt: & ratio ipsa persuadebat: cur enim Heroum filii tam degeneres, cur eodem partu editi tam dissimiles occurrerent? cur educatione optima imbuti immanes belluae fierent? thesi quadragesima sexta. Quibus thesi sequenti subjicit, Nempe Dei provida manus in ipso exortu probae indolis quaedam veluti semina spargit, ac deinde culturae opportunitates objicit, quae tamen parum prodessent, nisi hominum nequitiae Deus spiritus sui habenis moderaretur: nam cum velit humanam societatem ordine legitimo contineri, omnium pariter ferocire proterviam non sinit, sed alios metu poenae compescit, alios amore praemii accendit: alioqui summa rerum esset confusio, si quam proni sunt omnes ad mala omne genus, tam in ea prorumperent.