and crimes, but even trifling faults; sinful, if he lend an ear to a word that ought not to be listened to, or a tongue to a phrase which should not be uttered; sinful, if he entertains a thought in his heart in such a way as to wish that an evil pleasure were a lawful one, although known to be unlawful by the commandment, — for this amounts to a consent to sin, which would cer- tainly be carried out in act, unless fear of pun- ishment deterred.) ^ Have such just men, * Ex. XX. 17. 5 Ecclus. xviii. 30.
6 The Benedictine editor is not sati.sfied with the place of the lines in the parenthesis. He would put them in an earlier position, perhaps before the clause beginnmg with, " Only let us see to it," etc.
while living by faith, no need to say: " For- give us our debts, as we forgive our debt- ors?" ^ And do they prove this to be wrong which is written, " In 'Fhy sight shall no man living be justified? " ^ and this: " If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us? "9 and, "There is no man that sinneth not; " '° and again, "There is not on the earth a righteous man, who doeth good and sinneth not"" (for both these statements are expressed in a general future sense, — "sinneth not," " will not sin," — not in the past time, " has not sinned")? — and all other places of this purport contained in the Holy Scripture? Since, however, these passages cannot possibly be false, it plainly follows, to my mind, that what- ever be the quality or extent of the righteousness which we may definitely ascribe to the present life, there is not a man living in it who is abso- lutely free from all sin; and that it is necessary for every one to give, that it may be given to him; '^ and to forgive, that it may be forgiven him; '^ and whatever righteousness he has, not to presume that he has it of himself, but from the grace of God, who justifies him, and still to go on hungering and thirsting for righteousness ^* from Him who is the living bread,'s and with whom is the fountain of life; '^ who works in His saints, whilst labcuring amidst temptation in this life, their justification in such manner that He may still have somewhat to impart to them liberally when they ask, and something merci- fully to forgive them when they confess.
CHAP. 66. ALTHOUGH PERFECT RIGHTEOUSNESS BE NOT FOUND HERE ON EARTH, IT IS STILL NOT IMPOSSIBLE.
But let objectors find, if they can, any man, while living under the weight of this corruption, in whom God has no longer anything to forgive; unless nevertheless they acknowledge that such an individual has been aided in the attainment of his good character not merely by the teaching of the law which God gave, but also by the in- fusion of the Spirit of grace — they will incur the charge of ungodliness itself, not of this or that particular sin. Of course they are not at all able to discover such a man, if they receive in a be- coming manner the testimony of the divine writ- ings. Still, for all that, it must not by any means be said that the possibility is lacking to God whereby the will of man can be so assisted, that there can be accomplished in every respect even now in a man, not that righteousness only which is of faith, "7 but that also in accordance with which we shall by and by have to live for ever in the very vision of God. For if he should now 7 Matt. vi. 12.
■3 Luke xi. 4.
"' Ps. xxxvi. 9.
114 THE WORKS OF ST. AUGUSTIN.
[Chap. 66.
wish even that this corruptible in any particular man should put on incorruption,' and to com- mand him so to live among mortal men (not des- tined himself to die) that his old nature should be wholly and entirely withdrawn, and there should be no law in his members warring against the law of his mind,' — moreover, that he should discover God to be everywhere present, as the saints shall hereafter know and behold Him, — who will madly venture to afifirm that this is im- possible? Men, however, ask why He docs not do this; but they who raise the question consider not duly the fact that they are human. I am quite certain that, as nothing is impossible with God,3 so also there is no iniquity with Him.'* Equally sure am I that He resists the proud, and gives grace to the humble.s I know also that to him who had a thorn in the flesh, the messenger 3 Luke i. 37.
of Satan to buffet him, lest he should be exalted above measure, it was said, when he besought God for its removal once, twice, nay thrice: " My grace is sufficient for thee; for my strength is made perfect in weakness." ^ There is, there- fore, in the hidden depths of God's judgments, a certain reason why every mouth even of the righteous should be shut in its own praise, and only opened for the praise of God. But what this certain reason is, who can search, who in- vestigate, who know? So "unsearchable are His judgments, and His ways past finding out! For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor? or who hath first given to Him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again? For of Him, and through Him, and to Him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen."?
6 2 Cor. xii. 7-9.
7 Rom. xi. 33-36.
A TREATISE ON NATURE AND GRACE.
EXTRACT FROM AUGUSTIN'S "RETRACTATIONS," Book II. Chap. 42, ON THE FOLLOWING TREATISE, (( DE NATURA ET GRATIA."
" At that time also there came into my hands a certain book of Pelagius', in which he defends, with all the argumentative skill he could muster, the nature of man, in opposition to the grace of God whereby the unrighteous is justified and we become Christians. The treatise which con- tains my reply to him, and in which I defend grace, not indeed as in opposition to nature, but as that which liberates and controls nature, I have entitled Oti Nature and Grace. In this work sundry short passages, which were quoted 116 by Pelagius as the words of the Roman bishop and martyr, Xystus, were vindicated by myself as if they really were the words of this Sixtus. For this I thought them at the time; but I afterwards discovered, that Sextus the heathen philosopher, and not Xystus the Christian bishop, was their author. This treatise of mine begins with the words: * The book which you sent me.' " * In chap. 77.
NOTE ON THE* FOLLOWING WORK.
In a letter (169th ') to Evodius, written in the course of the year a.d. 415, Augustin assigned to this work, On NaUire and Grace, the last place of several treatises written in that year. " I have also written," says he, "an extensive book in opposition to the heresy of Pelagius, at the request of some brethren, whom he had persuaded to accept a very pernicious opinion against the grace of Christ." The work had been begun, but was not completed, when Orosius sailed from Africa to Palestme, in the spring of this year of 415; for, shortly after his arrival there, at a council in Jerusalem, where Pelagius was present, he expressly affirmed, " that the blessed Augustin had prepared a very complete answer to Pelagius' book, two of whose followers had pre- sented the work to him, and requested him to reply to it." Jerome, also, at this time mentioned a certain pro- duction of Augustin's, which he had not yet seen, wherein it was said that he had expressly opposed Pelagius. His words, which occur in his third dialogue against the heresy of Pelagius, are these: "It is said that he is preparing other treatises likewise, especially against yonr name." Augustin, however, did not actually employ in this work of his the 7iame of Pelagius, whose book he was refuting, in order that (as he says in his letter [iS6th] to Paulinus) he might not by personal irritation drive him into a more incurable degree of opposition; for he hoped to be of some service to his opponent, if by still inaintaining friendly terms with him he might be able to spare his feelings, although he could not in duty show leniency to his writings. Thus, at least, he ex- presses his mind, in his book On the Proceedings of Pelagius, ch. xxiii. No. 47. In this latter passage he subjoins a letter which he had received from Timasius and Jacobus, containing the expression of great gratitude to Augustin on receiving his volume On Nature and Grace, in which they expressed "their agreeable surprise" at the answers he had furnished to them " on every point " of the Pelagian controversy.
In the following year Augustin despatched this work, along with Pelagius' own book, to John, bishop o£ Jerusalem, in order that that prelate might at length become acquainted with the views of the new heresiarch, accompanying the books with a letter to the bishop [179th]. In the course of this year 416, he had the same two treatises (his own and Pelagius') forwarded to Pope Innocent, with a letter [177th] sent in the name of five bishops, to which Innocent returned an answer [iS3d]. It may be here stated, that in this last-mentioned letter [183, n. 5], and in the foregoing epistle [177, n. 6], there is honourable mention made of Timasius and Jacobus, as "conscientious and honourable young men, servants of God, who had relinquished the hope which they had in the world, and continued diligently to serve God." The same persons are described in another epistle [179, n. 2] as "young men of very honourable birth, and highly educated;" and in the work On the Proceedings of Pelagius, ch. xxiii. No 47, they are called " servants of God, good, and honourable men."
Julianus [who espoused the side of Pelagius], in his work addressed to Florus (book iv. n. 112, of the Im- perfect Work),^ quotes this treatise of Augustin's as addressed to Timasius, and calumniously pronounces it to be written " against free will " 2 [i.e., the work of Augustin against Julianus, which was left incomplete at his death, and hence is called the Imperfect Work. — W.]
117 CONTENTS OF THE TREATISE "ON NATURE AND GRACE."
CHAPTER PAGE 1. The occasion of publishing this work; what God's righteousness is 121 2. Faith in Christ not necessary to salvation, if a man without it can lead a righteous LIFE 3. Nature was created sound and whole; it was afterwards corrupted by sin...4. Free grace 5. It was a matter of justice that all should be condemned 6. The Pelagians have very strong and active minds 7. He proceeds to confute the work of Pelagius; he refrains as yet from mentioning Pelagius' name 8. A distinction drawn by Pelagius between the possible and actual 9. Even they who were not able to be justified are condemned He could not be justified, who had not heard of the name of Christ; rendering the cross of Christ of none effect Grace subtly acknowledged by Pelagius In our discussions about grace, we do not speak of that which relates to the consti- tution OF OUR nature, but TO ITS RESTORATION The scope and purpose of the law's threatenings; "perfect wayfarers" Refutation of Pelagius Not everything [of doctrinal truth] is written in Scripture in so many words...Pelagius corrupts a passage of the Apostle James by adding a note of interrogation, Explanation of this text continued Who may be said to be in the flesh Sins of ignorance; to whom wisdom is given by God on their requesting it What prayer Pelagius would admit to be necessary Pelagius denies that human nature has been depraved or corrupted by sin How our nature could be vitiated by sin, even though it be not a substance...Adam delivered by the mercy of Christ Sin and the penalty of sin the same God forsakes only those who deserve to be forsaken. We are sufficient of our- selves TO commit SIN; but NOT TO RETURN TO THE WAY OF RIGHTEOUSNESS. DEATH IS the PUNISHMENT, NOT THE CAUSE OF SIN 26. Christ died of His own power and choice 27. Even evils, through God's mercy, are of use 28. The disposition of nearly all who go astray. With some heretics our business ought not to be disputation, but prayer 29. A simile to show that God's grace is necessary for doing any good work whatever.
God never forsakes the justified man if He be not Himself forsaken 30. Sin is removed by sin 31. The order and process of healing our heavenly physician does not adopt from the sick patient, but derives from Himself. What cause the righteous have for FEARING 32. God FORSAKES us to SOME EXTENT THAT WE MAY NOT GROW PROUD 33. Not every sin is pride. How pride is the commencement of every sin 34. A man's sin is his own, but he needs grace for his cure 35. Why God does not immediately cure pride itself. The secret and insidious growth of pride. Preventing and subsequent grace 36. Pride even in such things as are done aright must be avoided. Free will is not taken away when grace is preached 119 10, II 12 13 14 IS 16 17 18 19 20, 21 22 23 24 25 I20 CONTENTS.
CHAPTER PAGE 37. Being wholly without sin does not put man on an equality with God 134 38. We must not lie, even for the sake of moderation. The praise of humility must not BE placed to the ACCOUNT OF FALSEHOOD I34 39. PELAGIUS GLORIFIES GOD AS CREATOR AT THE EXPENSE OF GOD AS SAVIOUR I34 40. Why THERE IS A RECORD IN SCRIPTURE OF CERTAIN MEN'S SINS. RECKLESSNESS IN SIN accounts it to be so much loss whenever it falls short in gratifying lust • •. 135 41. Whether holy men have died without sin 135 42. The blessed Virgin Mary may have lived without sin. None of the saints besides her without sin 135 43. Why Scripture has not mentioned the sins of all 135 44. Pelagius argues that Abel was sinless 136 45. Why Cain has been by some thought to have had children by his mother Eve. The sins of righteous men. Who can be both righteous, and yet not without sin.. 136 46. Shall we follow Scripture, or add to its declarations? 137 47. For what Pelagius thought that Christ is necessary to us 137 48. How the term "all" is to be understood 137 49. A MAN CAN be sinless, BUT ONLY BY THE HELP OF GRACE. In THE SAINTS THIS POSSIBILITY ADVANCES AND KEEPS PACE WITH THE REALIZATION I38 50. God COMMANDS NO IMPOSSIBILITIES I38 51. State of the question between the Pelagians and the catholics. Holy men of old saved by the self-same faith in christ which we exercise i38 52. The WHOLE discussion is about grace 139 53. Pelagius distinguishes between a power and its use 139 54. There is no incompatibility between necessity and free will 139 55. The same continued. 139 56. The assistance of grace in a perfect nature 140 57. It does not detract from God's almighty power, that He is incapable of either sinning, or dying, or destroying Himself 140 58. Even pious and God-fearing men resist grace 141 59. In what sense Pelagius attributed to God's grace the capacity of not sinning...r4i 60. Pelagius admits "contrary flesh" in the unbaptized 141 61. Paul asserts that the flesh is contrary even in the baptized 142 62. Concerning what grace of God is here under discussion. The ungodly man, when DYING, IS not delivered FROM CONCUPISCENCE I42 63 Does God create contraries.' 143 64. Pelagius' admission as regards the unbaptized, fatal 143 65. " This body of death," so called from its defect, not from its substance 144 66. The works, not the substance, of the "flesh" opposed to the "spirit" 144 67. Who MAY BE SAID to BE UNDER THE LAW I44 68. Despite the devil, man m.\y, by God's help, be perfected 145 69. Pelagius puts nature in the place of grace 145 70 Whether any man is without sin in this life 145 71. AUGUSTIN replies AGAINST THE QUOTATIONS WHICH PeLAGIUS HAD ADVANCED OUT OF THE CATHOLIC WRITERS. LACTANTIUS I46 72. Hilary. The pure in heart blessed. The doing and perfecting of righteousness.. 146 73. He meets Pelagius with another passage from Hilary 147 74. Ambrose 147 75. Augustin adduces in reply some other passages of Ambrose 147 76. John of Constantinople 14S 77. XvsTus 148 78. Jerome 148 79. A certain necessity of sinning 149 80. Augustin himself. Two methods whereby sins, like diseases, are guarded against.. 149 81. Augustin quotes himself on free will 149 82. How to exhort men to faith, repentance, and advancement 150 83. God enjoins no impossibility, because all things are possible and easy to love...150 84. The degrees of love are also degrees of holiness 151 A TREATISE ON NATURE AND GRACE, AGAINST PELAGIUS; £y AURELIUS AUGUSTIN, BISHOP OF HIPPO; CONTAINED IN ONE BOOK, ADDRESSED TO TIMASIUS AND JACOBUS. WRITTEN IN THE YEAR OF OUR LORD 415.
HE BEGINS WITH A STATEMENT OF WHAT IS TO BE INVESTIGATED CONCERNING NATURE AND GRACE; HE SHOWS THAT NATURE, AS PROPAGATED FROM THE FLESH OF THE SINFUL ADAM, BEING NO LONGER WHAT GOD MADE IT AT FIRST, FAULTLESS AND SOUND, REQUIRES THE AID OF GRACE, IN ORDER THAT IT MAY BE REDEEMED FROM THE WRATH OF GOD AND REGULATED FOR THE PER- FECTION OF RIGHTEOUSNESS: THAT THE PENAL FAULT OF NATURE LEADS TO A MOST RIGHTEOUS RETRIBUTION: WHILST GRACE ITSELF IS NOT RENDERED TO ANY DESERTS OF OURS, BUT IS GIVEN GRATUITOUSLY; AND THEY WHO ARE NOT DELIVERED BY IT ARE JUSTLY CONDEMNED. HE AFTERWARDS REFUTES, WITH ANSWERS ON EVERY SEVERAL POINT, A WORK BY PELAGIUS, WHO SUPPORTS THIS SELF-SAME NATURE IN OPPOSITION TO GRACE; AMONG OTHER THINGS ESPECIALLY, IN HIS DESIRE TO RECOMMEND THE OPINION THAT A ^ MAN CAN LIVE WITHOUT SIN, HE CONTENDED THAT NATURE HAD NOT BEEN WEAKENED AND CHANGED BY sin; FOR, OTHERWISE, THE MATTER OF SIN (WHICH HE THINKS ABSURD) WOULD BE ITS PUNISHMENT, IF THE SINNER WERE WEAKENED TO SUCH A DEGREE THAT HE COMMITTED MORE SIN. HE GOES ON TO ENUMERATE SUNDRY RIGHTEOUS MEN BOTH OF THE OLD AND OF THE NEW TESTAMENTS: DEEMING THESE TO HAVE BEEN FREE FROM SIN, HE ALLEGED THE POSSIBILITY OF NOT SINNING TO BE INHERENT IN MAN; AND THIS HE ATTRIBUTED TO GOD's GRACE, ON THE GROUND THAT GOD IS THE AUTHOR OF THAT NATURE IN WHICH IS INSEPARABLY INHERENT THIS POSSIBILITY OF AVOIDING SIN. TOWARDS THE END OF THIS TREATISE THERE IS AN EXAMINATION OF SUNDRY EXTRACTS FROM OLD WRITERS, WHICH PELAGIUS ADDUCED IN SUPPORT OF HIS VIEWS, AND EXPRESSLY FROM HILARY, AMBROSE, AND EVEN AUGUSTIN HIMSELF.
CHAP. I [l.] — THE OCCASION OF PUBLISHING THIS work; WHAT GOD's RIGHTEOUSNESS IS.
The book which you sent to me, my beloved sons, Timasius and Jacobus, I have read through hastily, but not indifferently, omitting only the few points which are plain enough to everybody; and I saw in it a man inflamed with most ardent zeal against those, who, when in their sins they ought to censure human will, are more forward in accusing the nature of men, and thereby en- deavour to excuse themselves. He shows too great a fire against this evil, which even authors of secular literature have severely censured with the exclamation: " The human race falsely com- plains of its own nature! " ' This same senti- ' See Sallust's Prologue to his J-ugurtha.
ment your author also has strongly insisted upon, with all the powers of his talent. I fear, how- ever, that he will chiefly help those '• who have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge," who, " being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteous- ness, have not submitted themselves to the righteousness of God." ^ Now, what the right- eousness of God is, which is spoken of here, he immediately afterwards explains by adding: " For Christ is the end of the law for righteous- ness to every one that believeth." ^ This right- eousness of God, therefore, lies not in the commandment of the law, which excites fear, but in the aid afforded by the grace of Christ, 2 Rom. X. 2, 3.
3 Rom. X. 4.
121 122 THE WORKS OF ST. AUGUSTIN.
[Chap. 2.
to which alone the fear of the law, as of a schoolmaster,' usefully conducts. Now, the man who understands this understands why he is a Christian. For " If righteousness came by the law, then Christ is dead in vain." ^ If, however, He did not die in vain, in Him only is the un- godly man justified, and to him, on believing in Him who justifies the ungodly, faith is reck- oned for righteousness.^ For all men have sinned and come short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His blood.-* But all those who do not think themselves to belong to the " all who have sinned and fall short of the glory of God," have of course no need to be- come Christians, because " they that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick; " 5 whence it is, that He came not to call the right- eous, but sinners to repentance.^ CHAP. 2 [11.] FAITH IN CHRIST NOT NECESSARY TO SALVATION, IF A MAN WITHOUT IT CAN LEAD A RIGHTEOUS LIFE.
Therefore the nature of the human race, gen- erated from the flesh of the one transgressor, if it is self-sufficient for fulfilling the law and for perfecting righteousness, ought to be sure of its reward, that is, of everlasting life, even if in any nation or at any former time faith in the blood of Christ was unknown to it. For God is not so unjust as to defraud righteous persons of the reward of righteousness, because there has not been announced to them the mystery of Christ's divinity and humanity, which was manifested in the flesh. 7 For how could they believe what ■they had not heard of; or how could they hear without a preacher?** For "faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ." But I say (adds he): Have they not heard? "Yea, verily; their sound went out into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world." ^ Before, however, all this had been accomplished, before the actual preaching of the gospel reaches the ends of all the earth — because there are some remote nations still (although it is said they are very few) to whom the preached gospel has not found its way, — what must human nature do, or what has it done — for it had either not heard that all this was to take place, or has not yet learnt that it was accomplished — but believe in God who made heaven and earth, by whom also it perceived by nature that it had been itself created, and lead a right life, and thus accomplish His will, unin- structed with any faith in the death and resur- . rection of Christ? Well, if this could have been I done, or can still be done, then for my part I have to say what the apostle said in regard to I Hal iii. i4.
' Rom. lii 23, 24.
' 1 inn- ill. 16.
3 Rom. iv 5, I the law: " Then Christ died in vain^" ^ For if he said this about the law, which only the nation of the Jews received, how much more justly may it be said of the law of nature, which the whole human race has received, " If righteousness come by nature, then Christ died in vain." If, however, Christ did not die in vain, then human nature cannot by any means be justified and redeemed from God's most righteous wrath — in a word, from punishment — except by faith and the sacrament of the blood of Christ.
CHAP. 3 [ill.] — NATURE WAS CREATED SOUND AND WHOLE; IT WAS AFTERWARDS CORRUPTED BY SIN.
Man's nature, indeed, was created at first faultless and without any sin; but that nature of man in which every one is born from Adam, now wants the Physician, because it is not sound. All good qualities, no doubt, which it still pos- sesses in its make, life, senses, intellect, it has of the Most High God, its Creator and Maker. But the flaw, which darkens and weakens all those natural goods, so that it has need of illu- mination and healing, it has not contracted from its blameless Creator — but from that original sin, which it committed by free will. Accord- ingly, criminal nature has its part in most right- eous punishment. For, if we are now newly created in Christ, '° we were, for all that, children of wrath, even as others," " but God, who is rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith He loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quick- ened us together with Christ, by whose grace we were saved." '^ CHAP. 4 [iV.] — FREE GRACE.
This grace, however, of Christ, without which neither infants nor adults can be saved, is not rendered for any merits, but is given gratis, on account of which it is also ci'iS^tdi grace. " Being justified," says the apostle, " freely through His blood." '^ Whence they, who are not liberated through grace, either because they are not yet able to hear, or because they are unwilling to obey; or again because they did not receive, at the time when they were unable on account of youth to hear, that bath of regeneration, which they might have received and through which they might have been saved, are indeed justly condemned; because they are not without sin, either that which they have derived from their birth, or that which they have added from their own misconduct. " For all have sinned " — whether in Adam or in themselves — " and come short of the glory of God."'-* Eph. ij.
4. 5- Chap. 8.| ON NATURE AND GRACE.
123 CHAP. 5 [v.] IT WAS A MATTKR OF JUSTICE THAT ALL SHOULD BE CONDEMNED.
The entire mass, therefore, incurs penalty; and if the deserved punishment of condemnation were rendered to all, it would without doubt be righteously rendered. They, therefore, who are delivered therefrom by grace are called, not ves- sels of their own merits, but " vessels of mercy." ' But of whose mercy, if not His who sent Christ Jesus into the world to save sinners, whom He foreknew, and foreordained, and called, and jus- tified, and glorified?- Now, who could be so madly insane as to fail to give ineffable thanks to the Mercy which liberates whom it would? The man who correctly appreciated the whole subject could not possibly blame the justice of God in wholly condemning all men whatso- ever.
CHAP. 6 [VI.] — THE PELAGIANS HAVE VERY STRONG AND ACTIVE MINDS.