The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit. Nicodemus answered and said unto Him, How can these things be? Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things? Verily, verily, I say unto thee. We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness. If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe if I tell you of heavenly things? And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but He that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness,'* even so must the Son of man be lifted up; that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He that believeth on Him is not condemned; but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only-begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, be- cause their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God." 5 Thus far the Lord's dis- course wholly relates to the subject of our pres- ent inquiry; from this point the sacred historian digresses to another matter, CHAP. 60 [XXXI.] CHRIST, THE HEAD AND THE BODY; OWING TO THE UNION OF THE NATURES IN THE PERSON OF CHRIST, HE BOTH REMAINED IN HEAVEN, AND WALKED ABOUT ON EARTH; HOW THE ONE CHRIST COULD ASCEND TO HEAVEN; THE HEAD, AND THE BODY, THE ONE CHRIST.
Now when Nicodemus understood not what was being told him, he inquired of the Lord how such things could be. Let us look at what the Lord said to him in answer to his inquiry; for of course, as He deigns to answer the question. How can these things be? He will in fact tell us how spiritual regeneration can come to a man who springs from carnal generation. After no- ticing briefly the ignorance of one who assumed a superiority over others as a teacher, and hav- ing blamed the unbelief of all such, for not Chap. 6i.]
ON FORGIVENESS OF SINS, AND BAPTISM.
39 accepting His witness to tlie truth, He went on to inquire and wonder whetlier, as He had told them about earthly things and they had not be- lieved they would believe heavenly things. He nevertheless pursues the subject, and gives an answer such as others should believe — though these refuse — to the question that he was asked. How these things can be? " No man," says He, " hath ascended up to heaven, but He that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven." ' Thus, He says, shall come the spiritual birth, — men, from being earthly, shall become heavenly; and this they can only obtain by being made members of me; so that he may ascend who descended, since no one ascends who did not descend. All, there- fore, who have to be changed and raised must meet together in a union with Christ, so that the Christ who descended may ascend, reckoning His body (that is to say, His Church) as nothing else than Himself, because it is of Christ and the Church that this is most truly understood: " And they twain shall be one flesh; " - concerning which very subject He expressly said Himself, " So then they are no more twain, but one flesh." ^ To ascend, therefore, they would be wholly unable, since " no man hath ascended up to heaven, but He that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven." ' For although it was on earth that He was made the Son of man, yet He did not deem it unworthy of that divinity, in which, although remaining in heaven. He came down to earth, to designate it by the name of the Son of man, as He dignified His flesh with the name of Son of God: that they might not be regarded as if they were two Christs, — the one God, the other man,'* — but one and the same God and man, — God, be- cause " in the beginning was the Word, and the Word w^as with God, and the Word was God; " 5 and man, inasmuch as " the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us." ^ By this means — by the difference between His divinity and His humiliation — He remained in heaven as Son of God, and as Son of man w-alked on earth; whilst, by that unity of His person which made His two natures one Christ, He both walked as Son of God on earth, and at the same time as the very Son of man remained in heaven. Faith, therefore, in more credible things arises from the beUef of such things as are more incredible. For if His divine nature, though a far more dis- tant object, and more sublime in its incompar- able diversity, had ability so to take upon itself * This was the error which was subsequently condemned in the heresy of Nestorius. 5 John i. I. '' John 1. 14.
the nature of man on our account as to become one Person, and whilst appearing as Son of man on earth in the weakness of the flesh, was able to remain all the while in heaven in the divinity which partook of the flesh, how much easier for our fliith is it to suppose that other men, who are His faithful saints, become one Christ with the Man Christ, so that, when all ascend by His grace and fellowship, the one Christ Himself ascends to hea\'en who came down from heaven? It is in this sense that the aposUe says, " As we have many members in one body, and all the members of the body, being many, are one body, so likewise is Christ."? He did not say, " So also i? Christ's " — meaning Christ's body, or Christ^ nembers — but his words are, "So likejiiise is CJirist,'' thus calling the head and body one Christ.
CHAP. 61 [XXXII.] THE SERPENT LIFTED UP IN THE WILDERXESS PREFIGURED CHRIST SUS- PENDED ON THE CROSS; EVEN INFANTS THEM- SELVES POISONED BV THE SERPENT'S BITE.
And since this great and wonderful dignity can only be attained by the remission of sins. He goes on to say, "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up; that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal life." ^ We know what at that time happened in the wilderness. Many were dying of the bite of ser- pents: the people then confessed their sins, and, through iNIoses, besought the Lord to take away from them this poison; accordingly, Moses, at the Lord's command, lifted up a brazen serpent in the wilderness, and admonished the people that every one who had been serpent-bitten should look upon the uplifted figure. When they did so they were immediately healed. 9 What means the uplifted serpent but the death of Christ, by that mode of expressing a sign, whereby the thing which is effected is signified by that which effects it? Now death came by the serpent, which persuaded man to commit the sin, by which he deserved to die. The Lord, however, transferred to His own flesh not sin, as the poison of the serpent, but He did transfer to it death, that the penalty without the fault might trans- pire in the likeness of sinful flesh, whence, in the sinful flesh, both the fault might be removed and the penalty. As, therefore, it then came to pass that whoever looked at the raised serpent was both healed of the poison and freed from death, so also now, whosoever is conformed to the like- ness of the death of Christ by faith in Him and His baptism, is freed both from sin by justifica- tion, and from death by resurrection. For this 40 THE WORKS OF ST. AUGUSTIN.
[Book I.
is what He says: " That whosoever beheveth in Him should not perish, but have eternal life." ' What necessity then could there be for an in- fant's being conformed to the death of Christ by baptism, if he were not altogether poisoned by the bite of the serpent?
CHAP. 62 [XXXIII.] — NO OXE CAN BE RECON- CILED TO GOD, EXCEPT BY CHRIST.
He then proceeds thus, saying: " God so loved the world, that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not per- ish, but have everlasting life." ^ Every infant, therefore, was destined to perish, and to lose everlasting life, if through the sacrament of bap- tism he believed not in the only-begotten Son of God; while nevertheless, He comes not so that he may judge the world, but that the world through Him may be saved. This especially appears in the following clause, wherein He says, " He that believeth in Him is not condemned; but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only-begotten Son of God." ^ In what class, then, do we place baptized infants but amongst believers, as the authority of the catholic Church everywhere asserts? They belong, therefore, among those who have believed; for this is obtained for them by virtue of the sacrament and the answer of their sponsors. And from this it follows that such as are not baptized are reck- oned among those who have not believed. Now if they who are baptized are not condemned, these last, as not being baptized, are condemned. He adds, indeed: " But this is the condemna- tion, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light." ■♦ Of what does He say, " Light is come into the world," if not of His own advent? and without the sac- rament of His advent, how are infants said to be in the light? And why should we not include this fact also in " men's love of darkness," that as they do not themselves believe, so they refuse to think that their infants ought to be baptized, although they are afraid of their incurring the death of the body? "In God," however, he declares are the " works of him wrought, who cometh to the light," s because he is quite aware that his justification results from no merits of his own, but from the grace of God. "For it is God," says the apostle, " who worketh in you both to will and to do of His own good pleas- ure."^ This then is the way in which spiritual regeneration is effected in all who come to Christ from their carnal generation. He explained it ■ John iii. 15. ^ John iii. 16. 3 John iii. 18. * John iii. 19. ' John iii. 21, "hil. ii. 13.
Himself, and pointed it out, when He was asked, How these things could be? He left it open to no man to settle such a question by human rea- soning, lest infants should be deprived of the grace of the remission of sins. There is no other passage leading to Christ; no man can be recon- ciled to God, or can come to God otherwise, than through Christ.
CHAP. 6^ [XXXIV.] — THE FORM, OR RITE, OF BAPTISM. EXORCISM.
What shall I say of the actual form of this sacrament? I only wish some one of those who espouse the contrary side would bring me an infant to be baptized. What does my exorcism work in that babe, if he be not held in the devil's family? The man who brought the infant would certainly have had to act as sponsor for him, for he could not answer for himself. How would it be possible then for him to declare that he renounced the devil, if there was no devil ir him? that he was converted to God, if he had never been averted from Him? that he believed, besides other articles, in the forgiveness of sins, if no sins were attributable to him? For my own part, indeed, if I thought that his opinions were opposed to this faith, I could not permit him to bring the infant to the sacraments. Nor can I imagine with what countenance before men, or what mind before God, he can conduct himself in this. But I do not wish to say anything too severe. That a false or fallacious form of bap- tism should be administered to infants, in which there might be the sound and semblance of some- thing being done, but yet no remission of sins actually ensue, has been seen by some amongst them to be as abominable and hateful a thing as it was possible to mention or conceive. Then, again, in respect of the necessity of baptism to infants, they admit that even infants stand in need of redemption, — a concession which is made in a short treatise written by one of their party, — but yet there is not found in this work any open admission of the forgiveness of a single sin. Ac- cording, however, to an intimation dropped in your letter to me, they now acknowledge, as you say, that a remission of sins takes place even in infants through baptism. No wonder; for it is impossible that 7-edemption should be understood in any other way. Their own words are these: " It is, however, not originally, but in their own actual hfe, after they have been born, that they have begun to have sin."
INFANTS.
You see how great a difference there is amongst those whom I have been opposing at such length and persistency in this work, — one of wliom has Chap. 66.]
ON FORGIVENESS OF SINS, AND BAPTISM.
41 written the book which contains the points I have refuted to the best of my ability. You see, as I was saying, the important difference existing between such of them as maintain that infants are absohitely pure and free from all sin, whether original or actual; and those who suppose that so soon as born infants have contracted actual sins of their own, from which they need cleans- ing by baptism. The latter class, indeed, by examining the Scriptures, and considering the authority of the whole Church as well as the form of the sacrament itself, have clearly seen that by baptism remission of sins accrues to infants; but they are either unwilling or unable to allow that the sin which infants have is original sin. The former class, however, have clearly seen (as they easily might) that in the very nature of man, which is open to the consideration of all men, the tender age of which we speak could not pos- sibly commit any sin whatever in its own proper conduct; but, to avoid acknowledging original sin, they assert that there is no sin at all in infants. Now in the truths which they thus severally main- tain, it so happens that they first of all mutually agree with each other, and subsequently differ from us in material aspect. For if the one party concede to the other that remission of sins takes place in all infants which are baptized, whilst the other concedes to their opponents that infants (as infant nature itself in its silence loudly pro- claims) have as yet contracted no sin m their Dwn living, then both sides must agree m con- ceding to us, that nothing remains but origi- nal sin, which can be remitted in baptism to infants.
:hAP. 65 [XXXV.] — IN INFANTS THERE IS NO SIN OF THEIR OWN COMMISSION.
Will this also be questioned, and must we 'spend time in discussing it, in order to prove and show how that by their own will — without ivhich there can be no sin in their own life — infants could never commit an offence, whom ill, for this very reason, are in the habit of call- ing innocent? Does not their great weakness of mind and body, their great ignorance of things, :heir utter inability to obey a precept, the ab- sence in them of all perception and impression Df law, either natural or written, the complete vant of reason to impel them in either direction, — proclaim and demonstrate the point before js by a silent testimony far more expressive than my argument of ours? The very palpableness )f the fact must surely go a great way to per- suade us of its truth; for there is no place where [ do not find traces of what I say, so ubiquitous s the fact of which we are speaking, — clearer, ndeed, to perceive than any thing we can say to ^rove it.
CHAP. dd. — infants' faults spring from their SHEER ignorance.
I should, however, wish any one who was wise on the point to tell me what sin he has seen or thought of in a new-born infant, for redemp- tion from which he allows baptism to be already necessary; w^hat kind of evil it has in its own proper life committed by its own mind or body. If it should happen to cry and to be wearisome to its elders, I wonder whether my informant would ascribe this to iniquity, and not rather to unhappiness. What, too, would he say to the fact that it is hushed from its very weeping by no appeal to its own reason, and by no prohi- bition of any one else? This, however, comes from the ignorance in which it is so deeply steeped, by reason of which, too, when it grows stronger, as it very soon does, it strikes its mother in its little passion, and often her very breasts which it sucks when it is hungry. Well, now, these small freaks are not only borne in very young children, but are actually loved, — and this with what affection except that of the flesh," by which we are delighted by a laugh or a joke, seasoned with fun and nonsense by clever persons, although, if it were understood lit- erally, as it is spoken, they would not be laughed with as facetious, but at as simpletons? We see, also, how those simpletons whom the com- mon people call Moriones^ are used for the amusement of the sane; and that they fetch higher prices than the sane when appraised for the slave market. So great, then, is the influence of mere natural feeling, even over those who are by no means simpletons, in producing amusement at another's misfortune. Now, although a man may be amused by another man's silliness, he would still dislike to be a simpleton himself; and if the father, who gladly enough looks out for, and even provokes, such things from his own prattling boy, were to foreknow that he would, when grown up, turn out a fool, he would with- out doubt think him more to be grieved for than if he were dead. While, however, hope remains of growth, and the hght of intellect is expected to increase with the increase of years, then the in- sults of young children even to their parents seem not merely not wrong, but even agreeable and pleasant. No prudent man, doubtless, could possibly approve of not only not forbidding in children such conduct in word or deed as this, as soon as they are able to be forbidden, but even of exciting them to it, for the vain amuse- ment of their elders. For as soon as children are of an age to know their father and mother, they dare not use wrong words to either, un- less permitted or bidden by either, or both.
' Carnali.
^ See above, ch. 32.
42 THE WORKS OF ST. AUGUSTIN.
[Book I.
But such things can only belong to such young children as are just striving to lisp out words, and whose minds are just able to give some sort of motion to their tongue. Let us, however, consider the depth of the ignorance rather of the new-born babes, out of which, as they advance in age, they come to this merel)- temporary stut- tering folly, — on their road, as it were, to knowl- edge and speech.
CH.AP. 67 [XXXVI.] — ON THE IGNORANCE OF INFANTS, AND WHENCE IT ARISES.
Yes, let us consider that darkness of their rational intellect, by reason of which they are even completely ignorant of God, whose sacra- ments they actually struggle against, while bemg baptized. Now my mquiry is. When and whence came they to be immersed in this darkness? Is it then the fact that they incurred it all here, and in this their own proper life forgat God through too much negligence, after a life of wisdom and religion in their mother's womb? Let those say so who dare; let them listen to it who wish to; let them believe it who can. I, however, am sure that none whose minds are not blinded by an obstinate adherence to a foregone conclusion can possibly entertain such an opinion. Is there then no evil in ignorance, — nothing which needs to be purged away? \V'hat means that prayer: " Remember not the sins of my youth and of my ignorance?" ' For although those sins are more to be condemned which are knowingly com- mitted, yet if there were no sins of ignorance, we should not have read in Scripture what I have quoted, "Remember not the sins of my youth and of my ignorance." Seeing now that the soul of an infant fresh from its mother's womb is still the soul of a human being, — nay, the soul of a rational creature, — not only untaught, but even incapable of instruction, I ask why, or when, or whence, it was plunged into that thick darkness of ignorance in which it lies? If it is man's nature thus to begin, and that nature is not already corrupt, then why was not Adam created thus? Why was he capable of receiving a com- mandment? and able to give names to his wife, and to all the animal creation? For of her he said, "She shall be called Woman;"^ and in respect of the rest we read: " Whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof." ^ Whereas this one, although he is ignorant where he is, what he is, by whom created, of what parents born, is already guilty of offence, incapable as yet of receiving a commandment, and so completely involved and overwhelmed in a thick cloud of ignorance, that he cannot be aroused out of his sleep, so as to recognize even ' Ps. xxiv. 7. ^ Gen. ii. 23. 3 Gen. ii. 19.
these facts; but a time must be patiently awaited, until he can shake off this strange intoxication, as it were, (not indeed in a single night, as even the heaviest drunkenness usually can be, but) little by little, through many months, and even years; and until this be accomplished, we have to bear in little children so many things which we punish in older persons, that we cannot enu- merate them. Now, as touching this enormous evil of ignorance and weakness, if in this present life infants have contracted it as soon as they were born, where, when, how, have they by the perpetration of some great iniquity become sud- denly implicated in such darkness?
CHAP. 68 [XXXVII.] — IF ADAM WAS NOT CRE- ATED OF SUCH A CHAR.'^CTER AS THAT IN WHICH WE ARE BORN, HOW IS IT THAT CHRIST, AL- THOUGH FREE FROM SIN, WAS BORN AN INFANT AND IN WEAKNESS?
Some one will ask, If this nature is not pure, but corrupt from its origin, since Adam was not created thus, how is it that Christ, who is far more excellent, and was certainly born without any sin of a virgin, nevertheless appeared in this weakness, and came into the world in infancy? To this question our answer is as follows: Adam was not created in such a state, because, as no sin from a parent preceded him, he was not cre- ated in sinful flesh. We, however, are in such a condition, because by reason of his preceding sin we are born in sinful flesh. While Christ was born in such a state, because, in order that He might for sin condemn sin. He assumed the likeness of sinful flesh.-* The question which we are now discussing is not about Adam in respect of the size of his body, why he was not made an infant but in the perfect greatness of his mem- J bers. It may indeed be said that the beasts " were thus created likewise, — nor was it owing to their sin that their young were born small. Why all this came to pass we are not now ask- ing. But the question before us has regard to the vigor of man's mind and his use of reason, by virtue of which Adam was capable of instruc- tion, and could apprehend God's precept and the law of His commandment, and could easily keep it if he would; whereas man is now bom in such a state as to be utterly incapable of doing so, owing to his dreadful ignorance and weak- ness, not indeed of body, but of mind, — although we must all admit that in every infant there exists a rational soul of the self-same substance (and no other) as that which belonged to the first man. Still this great infirmity of the flesh, clear- ly, in my opinion, points to a something, what- ever it may be, that is penal. It raises the doubt whether, if the first human beings had not sinned, * Rom. viii. 3.
Chap. 70.]
ON FORGIVENESS OF SINS, AND BAPTISM.
43 tliey would have had children who could use, neither tongue, nor hands, nor feet. That they should be born children was perhaps necessary, on account of the limited capacity of the womb. But, at the same time, it does not follow, because a rib is a small part of a man's body, that God made an infant wife for the man, and then built her up into a woman. In like manner, God's almighty power was competent to make her chil- dren also, as soon as born, grown up at once.
CHAP. 69 [XXXVIII.] — THE IGNORANCE AND THE INFIRMITY OF AN INFANT.
But not to dwell on this, that was at least pos- sible to them which has actually happened to many animals, the young of which are born small, and do not advance in mind (since they have no rational soul) as their bodies grow larger, and yet, even when most diminutive, run about, and recognize their mothers, and require no external help or care when they want to suck, but with remarkable ease discover their mothers' breasts themselves, although these are concealed from ordinary sight. A human being, on the contrary, at his birth is furnished neither with feet fit for walking, nor with hands able even to scratch; and unless their lips were actually ap- plied to the breast by the mother, they would not know where to find it; and even when close to the nipple, they would, notwithstanding their desire for food, be more able to cry than to suck. This utter helplessness of body thus fits in with their infirmity of mind; nor would Christ's flesh have been " in the likeness of sin- ful flesh," unless that sinful flesh had been such that the rational soul is oppressed by it in the way we have described, — whether this too has been derived from parents, or created in each case for the individual separately, or inspired