mere violence of power, that the devil was crushed and conquered: for, as he had most unjustly put Christ to death, though there was no sin in Him to deserve death, it was most just that through Ciirist he should lose his hold of those who by sin were justly sub- ject to the bondage in which he held them. Both of these, then, that is, both baptism and death, were submitted to by Him, not through a pitiable necessity, but of His own free pity for us, and as part of an arrangement by which, as one man brought sin into the world, that is, upon the whole human race, so one man was to take away the sin of the world.
CHAP. 50. — CHRIST TOOK AWAY NOT ONLY THE ONE ORIGINAL SIN, BUT ALL THE OTHER SINS THAT HAVE BEEN ADDED TO IT.
With this difference: the first man brought one sin into the world, but this man took away not only that one sin, but all that He found added to it. Hence the apostle says: 2 Matt. iii. 13-15. 3 Mitt. iii. 3. 4 Matt. iii. 11.
5 Ps. ii. 7; Heb. i. 5, v. 5. It is by a mistake that Augustin quotes these words as pronounced at our Lord's baptism.
254 THE WORKS OF ST. AUGUSTIN.
[Chap. LIU.
" And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to con- demnation, but the free gift is of many offenses unto justification."1 For it is evi- dent that the one sin which we bring with us by nature would, even if it stood alone, bring us under condemnation; but the free gift jus- tifies man from many offenses: for each man, in addition to the one sin which, in common with all his kind, he brings with him by nature, has committed many sins that are strictly his own.
CHAP. 51. — ALL MEN BORN OF ADAM ARE UNDER CONDEMNATION, AND ONLY IF NEW BORN IN CHRIST ARE FREED FROM CONDEMNATION.
But what he says a little after, " Therefore, as by the offense of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life/'2 shows clearly enough that there is no one born of Adam but is subject to condemnation, and that no one, unless he be new born in Christ, is freed from condemnation.
CHAP. 52. — IN BAPTISM, WHICH IS THE SIMILI- TUDE OF THE DEATH AND RESURRECTION OF CHRIST, ALL, BOTH INFANTS AND ADULTS, DIE TO SIN THAT THEY MAY WALK IN NEW- NESS OF LIFE.
And after he has said as much about the condemnation through one man, and the free gift through one man, as he deemed sufficient for that part of his epistle, the apostle goes on to speak of the great mystery of holy baptism in the cross of Christ, and to clearly explain to us that baptism in Christ is nothing else than a similitude of the death of Christ, and that the death of Christ on the cross is noth- ing but a similitude of the pardon of sin: so that just as real as is His death, so real is the remission of our sins; and just as real as is His resurrection, so real is our justification. He says: "What shall we say, then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? " 3 For he had said previously, " But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound." 4 And therefore he proposes to himself the question, whether it would be right to con- tinue in sin for the sake of the consequent abounding grace. But he answers, "God forbid; " and adds, " How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? " Then, to show that we are dead to sin, " Know ye not," he says, "that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ, were baptized into His death? " If, then, the fact that we were baptized into the death of Christ proves that we are dead to sin, it follows that even in- fants who are baptized into Christ die to sin, being baptized into His death. For there is no exception made: " So many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ, were baptized into His death." And this is said to prove that we are dead to sin. Now, to what sin do in- fants die in their regeneration but that sin which they bring with them at birth? And therefore to these also applies what follows: " Therefore we are buried with Him by bap- tism into death; that, like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in new- ness of life. For if we have been planted to- gether in the likeness of His death, we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection: knowing this, that our old man is crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be de- stroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin. Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him: knowing that Christ, being raised from the dead, dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over Him. For in that He died, He died unto sin once; but in that He liveth, He liveth unto God. Likewise reckon ye also your- selves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord." Now he had commenced with proving that we must not continue in sin that grace may abound, and had said: " How shall we that are dead to sin live any longer therein?" And to show that we are dead to sin, he added: "Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ, were bap- tized into His death? " And so he concludes this whole passage just as he began it. For he has brought in the death of Christ in such a way as to imply that Christ Himself also died to sin. To what sin did He die if not to the flesh, in which there was not sin, but the likeness of sin, and which was therefore called by the name of sin? To those who are baptized into the death of Christ, then, — and this class includes not adults only, but infants as well, — he says: " Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord." s chap. 53. — Christ's cross and burial, re- surrection, ASCENSION, AND SITTING DOWN AT THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD, ARE IMAGES OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE.
All the events, then, of Christ's crucifixion, 5 Rom. vi. 1-11.
Chap. LVL] ENCHIRIDION.
255 of His burial, of His resurrection the third day, of His ascension into heaven, of His sitting down at the right hand of the Father, were so ordered, that the life which the Chris- tian leads here might be modelled upon them, not merely in a mystical sense, but in reality. For in reference to His crucifixion it is said: "They that are Christ's have crucified the flesh, with the affections and lusts. ' ' * And in reference to His burial: "We are buried with Him by baptism into death." 2 In ref- erence to His resurrection: "That, like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life."3 And in reference to His ascension into heaven and sitting down at the right hand of the Father: " If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God."4 chap. 54. — Christ's second coming does not belong to the past, but will take place at the end of the world.
But what we believe as to Christ's action in the future, when He shall come from heaven to judge the quick and the dead, has no bear- ing upon the life which we now lead here; for it forms no part of what He did upon earth, but is part of what He shall do at the end of the world. And it is to this that the apostle refers in what immediately follows the pas- sage quoted above: "When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, tljen shall ye also appear with Him in glory." s CHAP. 55. — THE EXPRESSION, "CHRIST SHALL JUDGE THE QUICK AND THE DEAD," MAY BE UNDERSTOOD IN EITHER OF TWO SENSES.
Now the expression, "to judge the quick and the dead," may be interpreted in two ways: either we may understand by the " quick " those who at His advent shall not yet have died, but whom He shall find alive in the flesh, and by the "dead" those who have departed from the body, or who shall have departed before His coming; or we may understand the "quick" to mean the right- eous, and the "dead" the unrighteous; for the righteous shall be judged as well as others. Now the judgment of God is sometimes taken in a bad sense, as, for example, " They that have done evil unto the resurrection of judg- ment;"6 sometimes in a good sense, as, " Save me, O God, by Thy name, and judge me by Thy strength." 7 This is easily under- stood when we consider that it is the judg- ment of God which separates the good from the evil, and sets the good at His right hand, that they may be delivered from evil, and not destroyed with the wicked; and it is for this reason that the Psalmist cried, "Judge me, O God," and then added, as if in explan- ation, " and distinguish my cause from that of an ungodly nation."8 CHAP. 56. — THE HOLY SPIRIT AND THE CHURCH. THE CHURCH IS THE TEMPLE OF GOD.
And now, having spoken of Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, our Lord, with the brev- ity suitable to a confession of our faith, we go on to say that we believe also in the Holy Ghost, — thus completing the Trinity which constitutes the Godhead. Then we mention the Holy Church. And thus we are made to understand that the intelligent creation, which constitutes the free Jerusalem,9 ought to be subordinate in the order of speech to the Creator, the Supreme Trinity: for all that is said of the man Christ Jesus has reference, of course, to the unity of the person of the Only-begotten. Therefore the true order of the Creed demanded that the Church should be made subordinate to the Trinity, as the house to Him who dwells in it, the temple to God who occupies it, and the city to its builder. And we are here to understand the whole Church, not that part of it only which wanders as a stranger on the earth, praising the name of God from the rising of the sun to the going down of the same, and singing a new song of deliverance from its old captiv- ity; but that part also which has always from its creation remained steadfast to God in heaven, and has never experienced the misery consequent upon a fall. This part is made up of the holy angels, who enjoy uninterrupted happiness; and (as it is bound to do) it ren- ders assistance to. the part which is still wan- dering among strangers: for these two parts shall be one in the fellowship of eternity, and now they are one in the bonds of love, the whole having been ordained for the worship of the one God. Wherefore, neither the whole Church, nor any part of it, has any desire to be worshipped instead of God, nor to be God to any one who belongs to the temple of God — that temple which is built up of the saints who were created by the uncreated God. And therefore the Holy Spirit, if a creature, could not be the Creator, but would be a part 7 Ps. liv. 1.
(" Plead my cause against an ungodly nation," 9 Gal. iv. 26.
256 THE WORKS OF ST. AUGUSTIN.
[Chap. LIX.
of the intelligent creation. He would simply be the highest creature, and therefore would not be mentioned in the Creed before the Church; for He Himself would belong to the Church, to that part of it which is in the heavens. And He would not have a temple, for He Himself would be part of a temple. Now He has a temple, of which the apostle says: " Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost, which is in you, which ye have of God? " * Of which body he says in another place: " Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ?"2 How, then, is He not God, seeing that He has a temple? and how can He be less than Christ, whose members are His temple? Nor has He one temple, and God another, seeing that the same apostle says: " Know ye not that ye are the temple of God? " 3 and adds, as proof of this, " and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you."4 God, then, dwells in His temple: not the Holy Spirit only, but the Father also, and the Son, who says of His own body, through which He was made Head of the Church upon earth (" that in all things He might have the pre-eminence): " 5 " De- stroy this temple, and in three days 1 will raise it up."6 The temple of God, then, that is, of the Supreme Trinity as a whole, is the Holy Church, embracing in its full extent both heaven and earth.
CHAP. 57. — THE CONDITION OF THE CHURCH IN HEAVEN.
But of that par*- of the Church which is in heaven what can we say, except that no wicked one is found in it, and that no one has fallen from it, or shall ever fall from it, since the time that ' God spared not the angels that sinned," as the Apostle Peter writes, "but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment?"7 CHAP. 58. WE HAVE NO CERTAIN KNOWLEDGE OF THE ORGANIZATION OF THE ANGELIC SOCIETY.
Now, what the organization is of that su- premely happy society in heaven: what the differences of rank are, which explain the fact that while all are called by the general name angels, as we read in the Epistle to the He- brews, " but to which of the angels said God at any time, Sit on my right hand?"8 (this form of expression being evidently designed to embrace all the angels without exception), we yet find that there are some called arch- angels; and whether the archangels are the same as those called hosts, so that the expres- sion, " Praise ye Him, all His angels: praise ye Him, all His hosts," 9 is the same as if it had been said, " Praise ye Him, all His angels: praise ye Him, all His archangels;" and what are the various significations of those four names under which the apostle seems to embrace the whole heavenly company without exception, "whether they be thrones, or do- minions, or principalities, or powers: " I0 — let those who are able answer these questions, if they can also prove their answers to be true; but as for me, I confess my ignorance. I am not even certain upon this point: whether the sun, and the moon, and all the stars, do not form part of this same society, though many consider them merely luminous bodies, with- out either sensation or intelligence.
CHAP. 59. THE BODIES ASSUMED BY ANGELS RAISE A VERY DIFFICULT, AND NOT VERY USEFUL, SUBJECT OF DISCUSSION.
Further, who will tell with what sort of bodies it was that the angels appeared to men, making themselves not only visible, but tangible; and again, how it is that, not through material bodies, but by spiritual power, they present visions not to the bodily eyes, but to the spiritual eyes of the mind, or speak some- thing not into the ear from without, but from within the soul of the man, they themselves being stationed there too, as it is written in the prophet, "And the angel that spake in me said unto me"11 (he does not say, "that spake to me," but " that* spake in me"); or appear to men in sleep, and make communi- cations through dreams, as we read in the Gospel, " Behold, the angel of the Lord ap- peared unto him in a dream, saying"?12 For these methods of communication seem to im- ply that the angels have not tangible bodies, and make it a very difficult question to solve how the patriarchs washed their feet,13 and how it was that Jacob wrestled with the angel in a way so unmistakeably material.14 To ask questions like these, and to make such guesses as we can at the answers, is a useful exercise for the intellect, if the discussion be kept within proper bounds, and if we avoid the error of supposing ourselves to know what we do not know. For what is the necessity for affirming, or denying, or defining with accuracy on these subjects, and others like them, when we may without blame be en- tirely ignorant of them?
11 Zech. i. 9 (" The angel that talked with me," A. V.)_ Chap. LXIIL] ENCHIRIDION.
257 CHAP. 60. IT IS MORE NECESSARY TO BE ABLE TO DETECT THE WILES OF SATAN WHEN HE TRANSFORMS HIMSELF INTO AN ANGEL OF LIGHT.
It is more necessary to use all our powers of discrimination and judgment when Satan transforms himself into an angel of light,1 lest by his wiles he should lead us astray into hurtful courses. For, while he only deceives the bodily senses, and does not pervert the mind from that true and sound judgment which enables a man to lead a life of faith, there is no danger to religion; or if, feigning himself to be good, he does or says the things that befit good angels, and we believe him to be good, the error is not one that is hurtful or dangerous to Christian faith. But when, through these means, which are alien to his nature, he goes on to lead us into courses of his own, then great watchfulness is necessary to detect, and refuse to follow, him. Bat how many men are fit to evade all his deadly wiles, unless God restrains and watches over them? The very difficulty of the matter, however, is useful in this respect, that it prevents men from trusting in themselves or in one another, and leads all to place their confidence in God alone. And certainly no pious man can doubt that this is most expedient for us.
CHAP. 6l. THE CHURCH ON EARTH HAS BEEN REDEEMED FROM SIN BY THE BLOOD OF A MEDIATOR.
This part of the Church, then, which is made up of the holy angels and the hosts of God, shall become known to us in its true nature, when, at tlie end of the world, we shall be united with it in the common posses- sion of everlasting happiness. But the other part, which, separated from it, wanders as a stranger on the earth, is better known to us, both because we belong to it, and because it is composed of men, and we too are men. This section of the Church has been redeemed from all sin by the blood of a Mediator who had no sin, and its song is: "If God be for us, who can be against us? He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all."2 Now it was not for the angels that Christ died. Yet what was done for the re- demption of man through His death was in a sense done for the angels, because the enmity which sin had put between men and the holy angels is removed, and friendship is restored between them, and by the redemption of man the gaps which the great apostasy left in the angelic host are filled up.
1 2 Cor. xi. 14.
2 Rom. viii. 31, CHAP. 62. BY THE SACRIFICE OF CHRIST ALL THINGS ARE RESTORED, AND PEACE IS MADE BETWEEN EARTH AND HEAVEN.
And, of course, the holy angels, taught by God, in the eternal contemplation of whose truth their happiness consists, know how great a number of the human race are to sup- plement their ranks, and fill up the full tale of their citizenship. Wherefore the apostle says, that "all things are gathered together in one in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth/'3 The things which are in heaven are gathered together when what was lost therefrom in the fall of the angels is restored from among men; and the things which are on earth are gathered to- gether, when those who are predestined to eternal life are redeemed from their old cor- ruption. And thus, through that single sacri- fice in which the Mediator was offered up, the one sacrifice of which the many victims under the law were types, heavenly things are brought into peace with earthly things, and earthly things with heavenly. Wherefore, as the same apostle says: " For it pleased the Father that in Him should all fullness dwell: and, having made peace through the blood of His cross, by Him to reconcile all things to Himself: by Him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven."4 CHAP. 63.— THE PEACE OF GOD, WHICH REIGN- ETH IN HEAVEN, PASSETH ALL UNDERSTAND- ING.
This peace, as Scripture saith, " passeth all understanding,"5 and cannot be known by us until we have come into the full possession of it. For in what sense are heavenly things reconciled, except they be reconciled to us, viz. by coming into harmony with us? For in heaven there is unbroken peace, both be- tween all the intelligent creatures that exist there, and between these and their Creator. And this peace, as is said, passeth all under- standing; but this, of course, means our un- derstanding, not that of those who always behold the face of their Father. We now, however great may be our human understand- ing, know but in part, and see through a glass darkly.6 But when we shall be equal unto the angels of God7 then we shall see face to face, as they do; and we shall have as great peace towards them as they have towards us, because we shall love them as much as we are loved by them. And so their peace shall be known to us: for our own peace shall be like to theirs, and as great as theirs, nor shall it 258 THE WORKS OF ST. AUGUSTIN.
[Chap. LXVI then pass our understanding. But the peace of God, the peace which He cherisheth towards us, shall undoubtedly pass not our under- standing only, but theirs as well. And this must be so: for every rational creature which is happy derives its happiness from Him; He does not derive His from it. And in this view it is better to interpret "all" in the passage, " The peace of God passeth all un- derstanding," as admitting of no exception even in favor of the understanding of the holy angels: the only exception that can be made is that of God Himself. For, of course, His peace does not pass His own understanding.
CHAP. 64. PARDON OF SIN EXTENDS OVER THE WHOLE MORTAL LIFE OF THE SAINTS, WHICH, THOUGH FREE FROM CRIME, IS NOT FREE FROM SIN.
But the angels even now are at peace with us when our sins are pardoned. Hence, in the order of the Creed, after the mention of the Holy Church is placed the remission of sins. For it is by this that the Church on earth stands: it is through this that what had been lost, and was found, is saved from being lost again. For, setting aside the grace of baptism, which is given as an antidote to original sin, so that what our birth imposes upon us, our new birth relieves us from (this grace, however, takes away all the actual sins also that have been committed in thought, word, and deed): setting aside, then, this great act of favor, whence commences man's restoration, and in which all our guilt, both original and actual, is washed away, the rest of our life from the time that we have the use of reason provides constant occasion for the remission of sins, however great may be our advance in righteousness. For the sons of God, as long as they live in this body of death, are in conflict with death. And although it is truly said of them, "As many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God," * yet they are led by the Spirit of God, and as the sons of God advance towards God under this drawback, that they are led also by their own spirit, weighted as it is by the corruptible body;2 and that, as the sons of men, under the influence of human affections, they fall back to their old level, and so sin. There is a difference, however. For although every crime is a sin, every sin is not a crime. And so we say that the life of holy men, as long as they remain in this mortal body, may be found without crime; but, as the Apostle John says, "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us."3 * Rom. viii. 14, a Wisd. ix. 15.
3 1 John i. 8.
CHAP. 65. GOD PARDONS SINS, BUT ON CONDI- TION OF PENITENCE, CERTAIN TIMES FOR WHICH HAVE BEEN FIXED BY THE LAW OF THE CHURCH.
But even crimes themselves, however great, may be remitted in the Holy Church; and the mercy of God is never to be despaired of by men who truly repent, each according to the measure of his sin. And in the act of re- pentance, where a crime has been committed of such a nature as to cut off the sinner from the body of Christ, we are not to take account so much of the measure of time as of the measure of sorrow; for a broken and a con- trite heart God doth not despise.4 But as the grief of one heart is frequently hid from another, and is not made known to others by words or other signs, when it is manifest to Him of whom it is said, " My groaning is not hid from Thee,"5 those who govern the Church have rightly appointed tunes of peni- tence, that the Church in which the sins are remitted may be satisfied; and outside the Church sins are not remitted. For the Church alone has received the pledge of the Holy Spirit, without which there is no remission of sins — such, at least, as brings the pardoned to eternal life.