to be baptized with the Floly Spirit, whom also ye shall receive after not many days, that is, at Pentecost. When they had come, they asked him, saying. Lord, wilt Thou at this time manifest Thyself? And when will be the kingdom of Israel? And He said unto them. No one can know the time which the Father hath put in His own power. But ye shall receive the power of the Holy Ghost coming upon you, and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth."' Behold you have here the Lord reminding His disciples of the promise of the Father, which they had heard from His mouth, of the coming of the Holy Spirit. Let us now see when He was sent; for shortly after we read as follows: " And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues, like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven. And when the sound was heard, the multitude came to- gether, and were confounded, because every man heard them speak in his own language. And they were all amazed, and marvelled, saying one to another. Are not all these which speak Galilseans? and how heard we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born? Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, in Armenia, and in Cappadocia, in Pontus, Asia, Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the regions of Africa about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews, natives, Cretes, and Arabians, they heard them speak in their own tongues the wonderful works of God. And they were all amazed, and were in doubt on account of what had happened, saying. What meaneth this? But others, mocking, said. These men are full of new wine."- You see when the Holy Spirit came. What more do you wish? If the Scriptures are credible, should not I be- lieve most readily in these Acts, which have the strongest testimony in their support, and which have had the advantage of becoming generally known, and o( being handed down and of being publicly taught along with the gospel itself, which contains the promise of the Holy Spirit, which also we believe? On I Acts i. 1-8 » Acts ii. I -13.
134 THE WORKS OF ST. AUGUSTIN.
[Chap. XII.
reading, then, these Acts of the Apostles, which stand, as regards authority, on a level with the gospel, I find that not only was the Holy Spirit promised to these true apostles, but that He was also sent so manifestly, that no room was left for errors on tliis subject.
CHAP. lO. — THE HOLY SPIRIT TWICE GIVEN.
1 1. For the glorification of our Lord among men is His resurrection from the dead and His ascension 'to heaven. For it is written in the Gospel according to Joiin: " The Holy Ghost was not yet given, because that Jesus was not yet glorified."' Now if the reason why He was not given was that Jesus was not yet glorified, He was given immediately on the glorification of Jesus. And since that glorification was twofold, as regards man and as regards Ciod, twice also was the Holy Spirit given: once, when, after His resurrec- tion from the dead. He breathed on the face of His disciples, saying, "Receive ye the Holy Ghost; "=^ and again, ten days after His ascension to heaven. This number ten signifies perfection; for to the number seven, which embraces all created things, is added the trinity of the Creator. ^ On these things there is much pious and sober discourse among' spiritual men. But I must keep to my point; for my business at present is not to teach you, which you might think pre- sumptuous, but to take the part of an in- quirer, and learn from you, as I tried to do for nine years without success. Now, there- fore, I have a document to believe on the subject of the Holy Spirit's advent; and if you bid me not to believe this document, as your usual advice is not to believe ignorantly, without consideration/ much less will I be- liev^e your documents. Away, then, with all books, and disclose the truth with logical clearness, so as to leave no doubt in my mind; or bring forward books where I shall find not an imperious demand for my belief, but a trustworthy statement of what I may learn. Perhaps you say this epistle is also of this character. Let me, then, no longer stop at the threshold: let us see the contents.
CHAP. II. MANICH^US PROMISES TRUTH, BUT DOES NOT MAKE GOOD HIS WORD.
12. "These," he says, "are wholesome.
3 [This is, of course, fanciful; but is quite in accordance with the exegetical methods of the time.— A. H. N.]
4 [The Manichseans assumed the role of rationalists and scorned the credulity of ordinary believers. Yet they required in their followers an amount of credulity which only persons of a peculiar turn of mind could furnish. The same thing applies to modern rationalistic anti-Christian systems. 'I'he fact is that it requires infinitely less credulity to believe in historical Christian- ity than to disbelieve in it. — A. H. N.]
words from the perennial and living fountain; and whoever shall have heard them, and shall have first believed them, and then shall have observed the truths they set forth, shall never suffer death, but shall enjoy eternal life in glory. For he is to be judged truly blessed who has been instructed in this divine knowl- edge, by which he is made free and shall abide in everlasting life." And this, as you see, is a promise of truth, but not the be- stowal of it. And you yourselves can easily see that any errors whatever might be dressed up in this fashion, so as under cover of a showy exterior to steal in unawares into the minds of the ignorant. Were he to say, These are pestiferous words from a poisonous fountain; and whoever shall have heard them, and shall have first believed them, and then have observed what they set forth, shall never be restored to life, but shall suffer a woful death as a criminal: for assuredly he is to be pronounced miserable who falls into this in- fernal error, in which he will sink so as to abide in everlasting torments; — were he to say this, he would say the truth; but instead of gaining any readers for his book, he would excite the greatest aversion in the minds of all into whose hands the book might come.
Let us then pass on to what follows; nor let us be deceived by words which may be used alike by good and bad, by learned and un- learned. What, then, comes next?
13. " May the peace," he says, "of the in- visible God, and the knowledge of the truth, be with the holy and beloved brethren who both believe and also yield obedience to the divine precepts." Amen, say we. For the prayer is a most amiable and commendable one. Only we must bear in mind that these words might be used by false teachers as well as by good ones. So, if he said nothing more than this, all might safely read and embrace it. Nor should I disapprove of what follows: "May also the right hand of light protect you, and deliver you from every hostile as- sault, and from the snares of the world." In fact, I have no fault to find with the begin- ning of this epistle, till we come to the main subject of it. For I wish not to spend time on minor points. Now, then, for this writer's plain statement of what is to be expected from him.
CHAP 12. THE AVILD FANCIES OF MANICH.EUS.
■ THE BATTLE BEFORE THE CONSTITUTION OF THE AVORLD.
14. "Of that matter, " he says, "beloved brother of Patticus, of which you told me, saying that you desired to know the manner of the birth of Adam and Eve, whether they: li Chap. XIV.]
AGAINST THE EPISTLE OF MANICH.EUS.
135 135 were produced by a word or sprung from nat- ter, I will answer you as is fit. For in va- rious writings and narratives we find different assertions made and different descriptions given by many authors. Now the real truth on the subject is unknown to all peoples, even to those wlio have long and frequently treated of it. For had they arrived at a clear knowl- edge of the generation of Adam and Eve, they would not have remained liable to cor- ruption and death. " Here, then, is a promise to us of clear knowledge of this matter, so that we shall not be liable to corruption and death. And if this does not suffice, see what follows: "Necessarily," he says, "many things have to be said by way of preface, before a dis- covery of this mystery free from all uncer- tainty can be made. " This is precisely what I asked for, to have such evidence of the truth as to free my knowledge of it from all uncer- tainty. And even were the promise not made by this writer himself, it was proper for me to demand and to insist upon this, so that no opposition should make me ashamed of be- coming a Manichffian from a Catholic Chris- tian, in view of such a gain as that of per- fectly clear and certain truth. Now, then, let us hear what he has to state.
15. " Accordingly," he says, " hear first, if you please, what happened before the con- stitution of the world, and how the battle \v:ts carried on, that you may be able to dis- tinguish the nature of light from that of dark- ness." Such are the utterly false and incredi- ble statements which this writer makes. Who can believe that any battle was fought before the constitution of the world? And even supposing it credible, we wish now to get something to know, not to believe. For to say that the Persians and Scythians long ago fought with one another is a credible state- ment; but while we "believe it when we read or hear it, we cannot know it as a fact of experience or as a truth of the understand- ing. So, then, as I would repudiate any such statement on the ground that I have been promised something, not that I must believe on authority, but that I shall understand without any ambiguity; still less will I receive statements Vhich are not only uncertain, but incredible. But what if he have some evi- dence to make these things clear and intelli- gible? Let us hear, then, if we can, what ifollows with all possible patience and forbear- lance.
fHAV. 13. TWO OPPOSITE SUBSTANCES. THE KINGDOM OF LIGHT. MANICH.^iUS TEACHES , UNCERTAINTIES INSTEAD OK CERTAINTIES.
16. "In the beginning, then," he says, " these two substances were divided. The empire of light was held by God the Father, who is perpetual in holy origin, magnificent in virtue, true in His very nature, ever re- joicing in His own eternity, possessing in Himself wisdom and the vital senses, by which He also includes the twelve members of His light, which are the plentiful re- sources of his kingdom. Also in each of His members are stored thousands of untold and priceless treasures. But the Father Himself, chief in praise, incomprehensible in greatness, has united to Himself happ}^ and glorious worlds, incalculable in number and duration, along with which this holy and illustrious Father and Progenitor resides, no poverty or infirmity being admitted in His magnificent realms. And these matchless realms are so founded on the region of light and bliss, that no one can ever move or disturb them."'
17. Where is the proof of all this? And where did Manichaeus learn it? Do not frighten me with the name of the Paraclete. For, in the first place, I have come not to put faith in unknown things, but to get the knowledge of undoubted truths, according to the caution enjoined on me by yourselves. For you know how bitterly you taunt those who believe without consideration. And what is more, this writer, who here begms to tell of very doubtful things, himself prom- ised a little before to give complete and well- grounded knowledge.
CHAP. 14. MANICH/EUS PROMISES THE KNOWL- EDGE OF UNDOUBTED THINGS, AND THEN DEMANDS FAITH IN DOUBTFUL THINGS.
In the next place, if faith is what is re- quired of me, I should prefer to keep to the Scripture, which tells me that the Holy Spirit came and inspired the apostles, to whom the Lord had promised to send Him. You must therefore prove, either that what Manichasus says is true, and so make clear to me what I am unable to believe; or that Manichasus is the Holy Spirit, and so lead me to believe in what you cannot make clear. For I profess the Catholic faith, and by it I expect to attain certain knowl- edge. Since, then, you try to overthrow my faith, you must supply me with certain knowledge, if you can, that 3'ou may convict me of having adopted my present belief with- out consideration. You make two distinct propositions, — one when you say that the speaker is the Holy Spirit, and another when you say that what the speaker teaches is • [Compare the fuller account from the Fihrist in the Introduc- tion—A. H. N.]
136 THE WORKS OF ST. AUGUSTIN.
[Chap. XVI.
eviclentl3arue. I might fairly ask undeniable j proof for both propositions. But I am not greedy and require to be convinced only of one. Prove this person to be the Holy Spirit, and I will believe what he says to be true, even without understanding it; or ^ prove that what he says is true, and I will believe him to be the Holy Spirit, even without evidence. Could anything be fairer or kinder than this? But you cannot prove either one or other of these propositions. You can find nothing better than to praise your own faith and ridicule mine. So, after having in my turn praised my belief and ridiculed yours, what result do you think we shall arrive at as regards our judgment and our conduct, but to part company with those who promise the knowledge of indubi- table tilings, and then demand from us faith in doubtful things? while we shall follow those who invite us to begin with believing what we cannot yet fully perceive, that, strengthened by this very faith, we may come into a position to know what we believe by the inward illumination and confirmation of our minds, due no longer to men, but to God Himself.
18. And as I have asked this writer to prove these things to me, I ask him now where he learned them himself. If he replies that they were revealed to him by the Holy Spirit, and that his mind was divinel)^ enlight- ened that he might know them to be certain and evident, he himself points to the distinc- tion between knowing and believing. The knowledge is his to whom these things are fully made known as proved; but in the case of those who only hear his account of these things, there is no knowledge imparted, but only a believing acquiescence required. Who- ever thoughtlessly yields this becomes a Man- ichcean, not by knowing undoubted truth, but by believing doubtful statements. Such were we when in our inexperienced youth we were deceived. Instead, therefore, of promising knowledge, or clear evidence, or the settle- ment of the question free from all uncertain- ty, Manichaeus ought to have said that these things were clearly proved to him, but that those who hear his account of them must be- lieve him without evidence. But were he to say this, who would not reply to him. If I must believe without knowing, why should I not prefer to believe those thmgs which have a wide-spread notoriety from the consent of learned and unlearned, and which among all nations are established by the weightiest au- thority? From fear of having this said to him, Manicliteus bewilders the inexperienced by first promising the knowledge of certain truths, and then demanding faith in doubtful things. And then, if he is asked to make it plain that these things have been proved to himself,.he fails again, and bids us believe this too. Who can tolerate such imposture and arrogance?
CHAP. 15. — THE DOCTRINE OF NOT ONLY UNCERTAIN, BUT FALSE MANICH^US HIS AB- SURD FANCY OF A LAND AND RACE OF DARK- NESS BORDERING ON THE HOLY REGION AND THE SUBSTANCE OF GOD. THE ERROR, FIRST OF ALL, OF GIVING TO THE NATURE OF GOD LIMITS AND BORDERS, AS IF GOD WERE A MATERIAL SUBSTANCE, HAVING EXTENSION IN SPACE.
19. What if I shall have shown, with the help of God and of our Tord, that this writer's statements are false as well as uncertain? What more unfortunate thing can be found than that superstition which not only fsils to impart the knowledge and the truth which it promises, but also teaches what is directly opposed to knowledge and truth? This will appear more clearly from what follows: " In one di- rection on the border of this bright and holy land there was a land of darkness deep and vast in extent, where abode fiery bodies, des- tructive races. Here was boundless darkness, flowing from the same source in immeasurable abundance, with the productions properly be- longing to it. Beyond this were muddy tur- bid waters with their inhabitants; and inside of them winds terrible and violent with their prince and their progenitors. Then again a fiery region of destruction, with its chiefs and peoples. And similarly inside of this a race full of smoke and gloom, where abode the dreadful prince and chief of all, having around him innumerable princes, himself the mind and source of them all. Such are the five natures of the pestiferous land."
20. To speak of God as an aerial or even as an ethereal body is absurd in the view of all who, with a clear mind, possessing some measure of discernment, can perceive the na- ture of wisdom and truth as not extended or scattered in space, but as great, and impart- ing ereatness without material size, nor con- fined more or less in any direction, but throughout co- extensive with the Father of all, nor having one thing here and another there, but everywhere perfect, everywhere present.'
CHAP. 16. — THE SOUL, THOUGH MUTABLE, HAS NO MATERIAL FORM. IT IS ALL PRESENT IN EVERY PART OF THE BODY.
But why speak of truth and wisdom wliich I [This exalted view of God Augustin held in common with the Neo-Platonists. — A. H. N.]
Chap. XVIII. ] AGAINST THE EPISTLE OF MANICHyEUS.
^Z7 surpass all the powers of the soul, when the nature of the soul itself, which is known to be mutable, still has no kind of material ex- tension in space.' For whatever consists of any kind of gross matter must necessarily be divisible into parts, having one in one place, and another in another. Thus, the finger is less than the whole hand, and one finger is less than two; and there is one place for this finger, and another for that, and another for the rest of the hand. And this applies not to organized bodies only, but also to the earth, each part of which has its own place, so that one cannot be where the other is. So in moisture, the smaller quantity occupies a smaller space, and the larger quantity a larger space; and one part is at the bottom of the cup, and another part near the mouth. So in air, each part has its own place; and it is im- possible for the air in this house to have along with itself, in the same house at the same moment, the air that the neighbors have. And even as regards light itself, one part pours through one window, and another through another; and a greater through the larger, and a smaller through the smaller. Nor, in fact, can there be any bodily sub- stance, whether celestial or terrestrial, whether aerial or moist, which is not less in part than in whole, or which can possibly have one part in the place of another at the same time; but, having one thing in one place and another in another, its extension in space is a substance which has distinct limits and parts, or, so to speak, sections. The nature of the soul, on the other hand, though we leave out of account its power of perceiving truth, and consider only its inferior power of giving unity to the body, d of sensation in the body, does not ap- j.car to have any material extension in space. For it is all present in each separate part of its body when it is all present in any sensa- tion. There is not a smaller part in the fin- ger, and a larger in the arm, as the bulk of the finger is less than that of the arm; but the quantity everywhere is the same, for the whole is present everywhere. For when the finger is touched, the whole mind feels, though the sensation is not through the whole body. No part of the mind is unconscious of the touch, which proves the presence of the whole. And yet it is not so present in the finger or in the sensation as to abandon the rest of the body, or to gather itself up into the one place where the sensation occurs. For when it is all present in the sensation in a finger, if another part, say the foot, be touched, it does not fail to be all present in lis sensation too: so that at the same mo- iient it is all present in different places, without leaving one in order to be in the other, and without having one part in one, and an- other in the other; but by this power sliow- ing itself to be all present at the same moment in separate places. Since it is all present in the sensations of these places, it proves that it is not bound by the conditions of space.'
CHAP. 17. THE MEMORY CONTAINS THE IDEAS OF PLACES OK THE GREATEST SIZE.
Again, if we consider the mind's power of remembering not the objects of the intellect, but material objects, such as we see brutes also remembering (for cattle find their way without mistake in familiar places, and ani- mals return to their cribs, and dogfs recognize the persons of their masters, and when asleep they often growl, or break out into a bark, which could not be unless their mind retained the images of things before seen or perceived by some bodily sense), who can conceive rightly where these images are contained, where they are kept, or where they are formed? If, indeed, these images were no larger than the size of our body, it might be said that the mind shapes and retains them in the bodily space which contains itself. But while the body occupies a small material space, the mind revolves images of vast extent, of heaven and earth, with no want of room, though they come and go in crowds; so that clearly, the mind is not diffused through space: for in- stead of being contained in images of the largest spaces, it rather contains them; not, however, in any material receptacle, but by a mysterious faculty or power, by which it can increase or diminish them, can contract them within narrow limits, or expand them indefinitely, can arrange or disarrange them at pleasure, can multiply them or reduce them to a few or to one.
CHAP. 18. THE UNDERSTANDING JUDGES OF THE TRUTH OF THINGS, AND OF ITS OWN- ACTION.
What, then, must be said of the power of perceiving truth, and of making a vigorous resistance against these very images which take their shape from impressions on the bodily senses, when they are opposed to the truth? This power discerns the difference be- tween, to take a particular example, the true Carthage and its own imaginary one, which it changes as it pleases with perfect ease. It I fMncIern mental physiologists differ amonjr themselves as re- gards the prcsrnce ot the mind throtighoiit the entire nervous sys- tem; sonic maintaining the view here presented, and others making the brain to be the seat of sensation, and the nerves telegraphic lines, so to spiak, for the communication of impressions from the various parts of the body to the brain. Compare CARrENTKK; Mental Physiology, a.r\(X Caluerwood: Mind ami Brain. — A. H. N.j I3S THE WORICS OF ST. AUGUSTIN.
[Chai>. XXI.
shows that the countless worlds of Epicurus, in which his fancy roamed without restraint, are duo to the same power of imagination, and, not to multiply examples, that we get from the same source that land of light, with its boundless extent, and the five dens of the race of darkness, with their inmates, in which the fancies of Manichseus have dared to usurp for themselves the name of truth. What then is this power wliich discerns these things? Clearly, whatever its extent may be, it is greater than all these things, and is conceived of without any such material images. Find, if you can, space for this power; give it a material extension; provide it with a body of huge size. Assuredly if you think well, you cannot. For of everything of this corporeal nature your mind forms an opinion as to its divisibility, and you make of such things one part greater and another less, as much as you like; while that by which you form a judg- ment of these things you perceive to be above them, not in local loftiness of place, but in dignity of power.
CHAP. 19. IF THE MIND HAS NO MATERIAL EX- TENSION, MUCH LESS HAS GOD.
21. So then, if the mind, so liable to change, whether from a multitude of dissimilar desires, or from feelings varying according to the abundance or the want of desirable things, or from these endless sports of the fancy, or from forgetfulness and remembrance, or from learning and ignorance; if the mind, I say, exposed to frequent change from these and the like causes, is perceived to be without any local or material extension, and to have a vigor of action which surmounts these ma- terial conditions, what must we think or con- clude of God Himself, who remains superior to all intelligent beings in His freedom from perturbation and from change, giving to every one what is due? Him the mind dares to ex- press more easily than. to see; and the clearer the sight, the less is the power of expression. And yet this God, if, as the Manichcean fables are constantly asserting, He were limited in extension in one direction and un- limited in others, could be measured by so many subdivisions or fractions of greater or less size, as ever}' one might fancy; so that, for example, a division of the extent of two feet would be less by eight parts than one of ten feet. For this is the property of all