Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, First Series • VOLUME 1
Augustine — Confessions & Letters
SECTION 201
Letter XLII.
Letter XLII. (a.d. 397.) To Paulinus and Therasia, My Brother and Sister in Christ, Worthy of Respect and Praise, Most Eminent for Piety, Augustin Sends Greeting in the Lord. Could this have been hoped or expected by us, that now by our brother Severus we should have to claim the answer which your love has not yet written to …
2,307 wordsSECTION 2028. This consideration ought to have weighed much with Secundus, who was at that time Primate, if his desire, as president of the Council, wa
8. This consideration ought to have weighed much with Secundus, who was at that time Primate, if his desire, as president of the Council, was to promote peace; for he might perhaps have quieted or restrained the mouths of those who were raging against men who were absent, if he had spoken thus: "Ye see, brethren, how after so gr…
2,300 wordsSECTION 20315. Your own prudence may enable you to remark here both the obstinacy of these men, and the wisdom of the judges, who to the last persisted
15. Your own prudence may enable you to remark here both the obstinacy of these men, and the wisdom of the judges, who to the last persisted in refusing to admit accusations against Cæcilianus from the populace who were of the faction of Majorinus, who had no legal standing in the case. You will also remark how they were require…
2,357 wordsSECTION 20422. If they have ears, let them hear what the Spirit saith to the churches. For in the Apocalypse of John we read: "Unto the angel of the Ch
22. If they have ears, let them hear what the Spirit saith to the churches. For in the Apocalypse of John we read: "Unto the angel of the Church of Ephesus write: These things saith He that holdeth the seven stars in His right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks; I know thy works, and thy labour, and …
2,207 wordsSECTION 205Letter XLIV.
[1633] Rom. ii. 1. [1634] Ecclus. xi. 7. [1635] Ungulæ, mentioned in Codex Justinianus. ix. 18. 7. [1636] Ordained by the Donatists bishop of Carthage in room of Cæcilianus. [1637] Matt. xiii. 29. [1638] Augustin translates ebastasas (E. V. "hast laboured") by "sustinuisti eos"--"hast tolerated them;" and upon this his argu…
2,341 wordsSECTION 2068. He also related that, in the infancy of their schism, his predecessors, being anxious to devise some way of hushing up the fault of Cæcil
8. He also related that, in the infancy of their schism, his predecessors, being anxious to devise some way of hushing up the fault of Cæcilianus, lest a schism should take place, had appointed over the people belonging to his communion in Carthage an interim bishop before Majorinus was ordained in opposition to Cæcilianus. He a…
2,248 wordsSECTION 207Letter XLV.
[1653] 1 Kings xviii. 40. [1654] Qui novit cui etiam prosit occidi. [1655] Let. XLIII. pp. 283, 284. [1656] Matt. xxvi. 20-28. [1657] John iv. 1, 2. [1658] John iii. 29. [1659] John xiii. 10. [1660] Eph. iv. 2, 3. [1661] Ezek. xviii. 4. [1662] The Coelicolæ are mentioned in some laws of Honorius as heretics whose heresy…
1,781 wordsSECTION 208Letter XLVII.
Letter XLVII. (a.d. 398.) To the Honourable Publicola, My Much Beloved Son, Augustin Sends Greeting in the Lord. 1. Your perplexities have, since I learned them by your letter, become mine also, not because all those things by which you tell me that you are disturbed, disturb my mind: but I have been much perplexed, I confess…
2,222 wordsSECTION 209Letter XLVIII.
6. I have now only to notice (unless I am mistaken) the case which you mentioned of a Christian on a journey overcome by the extremity of hunger; whether, if he could find nothing to eat but meat placed in an idol's temple, and there was no man near to relieve him, it would be better for him to die of starvation than to take tha…
1,341 wordsSECTION 210Letter XLIX.
Letter XLIX. This letter, written to Honoratus, a Donatist bishop, contains nothing on the Donatist schism which is not already found in Letters XLIII. and XLIV., or supplied in Letter LIII. Letter L. [1697] (a.d. 399.) To the Magistrates and Leading Men, or Elders, of the Colony of Suffectum, Bishop Augustin Sends Greeting.…
2,250 wordsSECTION 211Letter LII.
[1699] Jer. xxxvi. 23. [1700] Num. xvi. 31-35. [1701] Dominici libri. [1702] Felicianus and Prætextatus were two of the twelve bishops by whom Maximianus was ordained. They were condemned by the Donatist Council of Bagæ; but finding it impossible to eject them from their sees, the Donatists yielded after a time, and restored …
2,194 wordsSECTION 212Letter LIV.
Letter LIV. Styled also Book I. of Replies to Questions of Januarius. (a.d. 400.) To His Beloved Son Januarius, Augustin Sends Greeting in the Lord. Chap. I. 1. In regard to the questions which you have asked me, I would like to have known what your own answers would have been; for thus I might have made my reply in fewer w…
2,299 wordsSECTION 2138. Must we therefore censure the universal Church because the sacrament is everywhere partaken of by persons fasting? Nay, verily, for from
8. Must we therefore censure the universal Church because the sacrament is everywhere partaken of by persons fasting? Nay, verily, for from that time it pleased the Holy Spirit to appoint, for the honour of so great a sacrament, that the body of the Lord should take the precedence of all other food entering the mouth of a Christ…
886 wordsSECTION 214Letter LV.
Letter LV. Or Book II. of Replies to Questions of Januarius. (a.d. 400.) Chap. I. 1. Having read the letter in which you have put me in mind of my obligation to give answers to the remainder of those questions which you submitted to me a long time ago, I cannot bear to defer any longer the gratification of that desire for in…
2,212 wordsSECTION 215Chap. V.
Chap. V. 8. Now mark what is said in Proverbs: "The wise man is fixed like the sun; but the fool changes like the moon." [1761] And who is the wise that has no changes, but that Sun of Righteousness of whom it is said, "The Sun of righteousness has risen upon me," and of which the wicked shall say, when mourning in the day of j…
2,258 wordsSECTION 21615. But who can fail to perceive how great is the difference between useful observations of the heavenly bodies in connection with the weath
15. But who can fail to perceive how great is the difference between useful observations of the heavenly bodies in connection with the weather, such as farmers or sailors make; or in order to mark the part of the world in which they are, and the course which they should follow, such as are made by pilots of ships or men going th…
2,646 wordsSECTION 217Chap. XIV.
Chap. XIV. 24. Consider now with attention these three most sacred days, the days signalized by the Lord's crucifixion, rest in the grave, and resurrection. Of these three, that of which the cross is the symbol is the business of our present life: those things which are symbolized by His rest in the grave and His resurrection w…
2,429 wordsSECTION 21830. Read the book of Exodus, and observe the number of days between the first passover and the giving of the Law. God speaks to Moses in the
30. Read the book of Exodus, and observe the number of days between the first passover and the giving of the Law. God speaks to Moses in the desert of Sinai on the first day of the third month. Mark, then, this as one day of the month, and then observe what (among other things) the Lord said on that day: "Go unto the people, and…
2,368 wordsSECTION 21939. I beseech you therefore also, my dearly beloved, whether studying these or other writings, so to read and so to learn as to bear in mind
39. I beseech you therefore also, my dearly beloved, whether studying these or other writings, so to read and so to learn as to bear in mind what hath been most truly said, "Knowledge puffeth up, but charity edifieth;" [1854] but charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up. Let knowledge therefore be used as a kind of scaffold…
1,170 wordsSECTION 220Letters LVI. And LVII.
Letters LVI. And LVII. are addressed (a.d. 400) to Celer, exhorting him to forsake the Donatist schismatics. They may be omitted, being brief, and containing no new argument. Letter LVIII. (a.d. 401.) To My Noble and Worthy Lord Pammachius, My Son, Dearly Beloved in the Bowels of Christ, Augustin Sends Greeting in the Lord. …
815 wordsSECTION 221Letter LIX.
Letter LIX. (a.d. 401.) To My Most Blessed Lord and Venerable Father Victorinus, My Brother in the Priesthood, Augustin Sends Greeting in the Lord. 1. Your summons to the Council reached me on the fifth day before the Ides of November, in the evening, and found me very much indisposed, so that I could not possibly attend. How…
1,090 wordsSECTION 222Letter LXI.
Letter LXI. (a.d. 401.) To His well-Beloved and honourable Brother Theodorus, Bishop Augustin Sends Greeting in the Lord. 1. I have resolved to commit to writing in this letter what I said when you and I were conversing together as to the terms on which we would welcome clergy of the party of Donatus desiring to become Cathol…
1,364 wordsSECTION 223Letter LXIII.
Letter LXIII. (a.d. 401.) To Severus, My lord Most Blessed and Venerable, a Brother Worthy of Being Embraced with Unfeigned Love, and Partner in the Priestly Office, and to the Brethren that are With Him, Augustin and the Brethren with Him Send Greeting in the Lord. 1. If I frankly say all that this case compels me to say, yo…
1,131 wordsSECTION 224Letter LXIV.
Letter LXIV. (a.d. 401.) To My Lord Quintianus, My Most Beloved Brother and Fellow-Presbyter, Augustin Sends Greeting in the Lord. 1. We do not disdain to look upon bodies which are defective in beauty, especially seeing that our souls themselves are not yet so beautiful as we hope that they shall be when He who is of ineffab…
1,278 wordsSECTION 225Letter LXV.
Letter LXV. (a.d. 402.) To the Aged [1874] Xantippus, My Lord Most Blessed and Worthy of Veneration, and My Father and Colleague in the Priestly Office, Augustin Sends Greeting in the Lord. 1. Saluting your Excellency with the respect due to your worth, and earnestly seeking an interest in your prayers, I beg to submit to the…
871 wordsSECTION 226Letter LXVI.
Letter LXVI. (a.d. 402.) Addressed, Without Salutation, to Crispinus, the Donatist Bishop of Calama. 1. You ought to have been influenced by the fear of God; but since, in your work of rebaptizing the Mappalians, [1877] you have chosen to take advantage of the fear with which as man you could inspire them, let me ask you what…
765 wordsSECTION 227Letter LXVII.
Letter LXVII. (a.d. 402.) To My Lord Most Beloved and Longed For, My Honoured Brother in Christ, and Fellow-Presbyter, Jerome, Augustin Sends Greeting in the Lord. Chap. I. 1. I have heard that my letter has come to your hand. I have not yet received a reply, but I do not on this account question your affection; doubtless so…
1,264 wordsSECTION 228Letter LXIX.
Letter LXIX. (a.d. 402.) To Their Justly Beloved Lord Castorius, Their Truly Welcomed and Worthily Honoured Son, Alypius and Augustin Send Greeting in the Lord. 1. An attempt was made by the enemy of Christians to cause, by occasion of our very dear and sweet son your brother, the agitation of a most dangerous scandal within …
996 wordsSECTION 229Letter LXX.
Letter LXX. (a.d. 402.) This letter is addressed by Alypius and Augustin to Naucelio, a person through whom they had discussed the question of the Donatist schism with Clarentius, an aged Donatist bishop (probably the same with the Numidian bishop of Tabraca, who took part in the Conference at Carthage in 411 a.d.). The ground…
1,630 wordsSECTION 230Letter LXXII.
Letter LXXII. (a.d. 404.) To Augustin, My Lord Truly Holy, and Most Blessed Father, Jerome Sends Greeting in the Lord. Chap. I. 1. You are sending me letter upon letter, and often urging me to answer a certain letter of yours, a copy of which, without your signature, had reached me through our brother Sysinnius, deacon, as I…
1,523 wordsSECTION 231Letter LXXIII.
Letter LXXIII. (a.d. 404.) To Jerome, My Venerable and Most Esteemed Brother and Fellow-Presbyter Augustin Sends Greeting in the Lord. Chap. I. 1. Although I suppose that, before this reaches you, you have received through our son the deacon Cyprian, a servant of God, the letter which I sent by him, from which you would be a…
2,304 wordsSECTION 2328. When by these words, now mine not less than yours, I am gladdened and refreshed, and when I am comforted not a little by the fact that in
8. When by these words, now mine not less than yours, I am gladdened and refreshed, and when I am comforted not a little by the fact that in both of us a desire for mutual fellowship exists, though meanwhile unsatisfied, it is not long before I am pierced through by darts of keenest sorrow when I consider Rufinus and you, to who…
1,406 wordsSECTION 233Letter LXXIV.
Letter LXXIV. (a.d. 404.) To My Lord Præsidius, Most Blessed, My Brother and Partner in the Priestly Office, Truly Esteemed, Augustin Sends Greeting in the Lord. 1. I write to remind you of the request which I made to you as a sincere friend when you were here, that you would not refuse to send a letter of mine to our holy br…
2,255 wordsSECTION 2347. Lest, however, I should seem to rest my answer to your reasoning wholly on the number of witnesses who are on my side, and to use the nam
7. Lest, however, I should seem to rest my answer to your reasoning wholly on the number of witnesses who are on my side, and to use the names of illustrious men as a means of escaping from the truth, not daring to meet you in argument, I shall briefly bring forward some examples from the Scriptures. In the Acts of the Apostles…
2,508 wordsSECTION 23513. The matter in debate, therefore, or I should rather say your opinion regarding it, is summed up in this: that since the preaching of the
13. The matter in debate, therefore, or I should rather say your opinion regarding it, is summed up in this: that since the preaching of the gospel of Christ, the believing Jews do well in observing the precepts of the law, i.e. in offering sacrifices as Paul did, in circumcising their children, as Paul did in the case of Timoth…
2,467 wordsSECTION 23618. I ask you, therefore, and with all urgency press the request, that you forgive me this humble attempt at a discussion of the matter; and
18. I ask you, therefore, and with all urgency press the request, that you forgive me this humble attempt at a discussion of the matter; and wherein I have transgressed, lay the blame upon yourself who compelled me to write in reply, and who made me out to be as blind as Stesichorus. And do not bring the reproach of teaching the…
2,202 wordsSECTION 237Letter LXXVI.
[1931] Letter XL. 4, p. 273. [1932] 1 Cor. ix. 20. [1933] Rom. x. 4. [1934] Matt. xi. 13 and Luke xvi. 16. [1935] John v. 18. [1936] John i. 16, 17. [1937] Jer. xxxi. 31, 32. [1938] Gal. v. 2, 4, 18. [1939] Dispensative. [1940] Ezek. xx. 25. [1941] Gal. iv. 4. [1942] Letter XL. sec. 5, p. 273. [1943] Rom. x. 3. [194…
1,933 wordsSECTION 238Letter LXXVII.
Letter LXXVII. (a.d. 404.) To Felix and Hilarinus, My Lords most Beloved, and Brethren Worthy of All Honour, Augustin Sends Greeting in the Lord. 1. I do not wonder to see the minds of believers disturbed by Satan, whom resist, continuing in the hope which rests on the promises of God, who cannot lie, who has not only condesc…
2,207 wordsSECTION 2395. Wherefore, my brethren who fear God, remember what the Apostle Peter says: Your adversary, the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, s
5. Wherefore, my brethren who fear God, remember what the Apostle Peter says: Your adversary, the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour." [1980] When he cannot devour a man through seducing him into iniquity, he attempts to injure his good name, that if it be possible, he may give way under the repr…
1,937 wordsSECTION 240Letter LXXIX.
Letter LXXIX. (a.d. 404.) A short and stern challenge to some Manichæan teacher who had succeeded Fortunatus (supposed to be Felix). Your attempts at evasion are to no purpose: your real character is patent even a long way off. My brethren have reported to me their conversation with you. You say that you do not fear death; it…
841 wordsSource & rights
Historical text source: Christian Classics Ethereal Library. The downloaded text itself records Public Domain.