Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, First Series • VOLUME 3
Augustine — Trinity, Doctrinal & Moral Treatises
SECTION 121
Chapter 16.--How the Image of God is Formed Anew in Man.
[903] 1 Cor. iv. 7 [904] [In the case of knowledge that is remembered, there is something latent and potential--as when past acquisitions are recalled by a voluntary act of recollection. The same is true of innate ideas--these also are latent, and brought into consciousness by reflection. But no man can either remember, or elic…
1,062 wordsSECTION 122Chapter 17.--How the Image of God in the Mind is Renewed Until the Likeness of God is Perfected in It in Blessedness.
Chapter 17.--How the Image of God in the Mind is Renewed Until the Likeness of God is Perfected in It in Blessedness. 23. Certainly this renewal does not take place in the single moment of conversion itself, as that renewal in baptism takes place in a single moment by the remission of all sins; for not one, be it ever so small,…
1,069 wordsSECTION 123Chapter 19.--John is Rather to Be Understood of Our Perfect Likeness with the Trinity in Life Eternal. Wisdom is Perfected in Happiness.
Chapter 19.--John is Rather to Be Understood of Our Perfect Likeness with the Trinity in Life Eternal. Wisdom is Perfected in Happiness. 25. But in respect to that image indeed, of which it is said, "Let us make man after our image and likeness," [928] we believe,--and, after the utmost search we have been able to make, underst…
977 wordsSECTION 124Book XV.
Book XV. ------------------------ Begins by setting forth briefly and in sum the contents of the previous fourteen books. The argument is then shown to have reached so far as to allow of our now inquiring concerning the Trinity, which is God, in those eternal, incorporeal, and unchangeable things themselves, in the perfect con…
1,126 wordsSECTION 125Chapter 3.--A Brief Recapitulation of All the Previous Books.
Chapter 3.--A Brief Recapitulation of All the Previous Books. 4. But since the necessities of our discussion and argument have compelled us to say a great many things in the course of fourteen books, which we cannot view at once in one glance, so as to be able to refer them quickly in thought to that which we desire to grasp, I…
1,527 wordsSECTION 126Chapter 4.--What Universal Nature Teaches Us Concerning God.
Chapter 4.--What Universal Nature Teaches Us Concerning God. 6. Let us, then, now seek the Trinity which is God, in the things themselves that are eternal, incorporeal, and unchangeable; in the perfect contemplation of which a blessed life is promised us, which cannot be other than eternal. For not only does the authority of th…
1,314 wordsSECTION 127Chapter 6.--How There is a Trinity in the Very Simplicity of God. Whether and How the Trinity that is God is Manifested from the Trinities Which Have Been Shown to Be in Men.
Chapter 6.--How There is a Trinity in the Very Simplicity of God. Whether and How the Trinity that is God is Manifested from the Trinities Which Have Been Shown to Be in Men. 9. When, then, we say, Eternal, wise, blessed, are these three the Trinity that is called God? We reduce, indeed, those twelve to this small number of thr…
1,250 wordsSECTION 128Chapter 7.--That It is Not Easy to Discover the Trinity that is God from the Trinities We Have Spoken of.
Chapter 7.--That It is Not Easy to Discover the Trinity that is God from the Trinities We Have Spoken of. 11. But these three are in such way in man, that they are not themselves man. For man, as the ancients defined him, is a rational mortal animal. These things, therefore, are the chief things in man, but are not man themselv…
1,692 wordsSECTION 129Chapter 8.--How the Apostle Says that God is Now Seen by Us Through a Glass.
Chapter 8.--How the Apostle Says that God is Now Seen by Us Through a Glass. 14. I know that wisdom is an incorporeal substance, and that it is the light by which those things are seen that are not seen by carnal eyes; and yet a man so great and so spiritual [as Paul] says, "We see now through a glass, in an enigma, but then fa…
1,520 wordsSECTION 130Chapter 10.--Concerning the Word of the Mind, in Which We See the Word of God, as in a Glass and an Enigma.
Chapter 10.--Concerning the Word of the Mind, in Which We See the Word of God, as in a Glass and an Enigma. 17. But let us now speak of those things of which we think as known, and have in our knowledge even if we do not think of them; whether they belong to the contemplative knowledge, which, as I have argued, is properly to b…
2,536 wordsSECTION 131Chapter 12.--The Academic Philosophy.
21. When, therefore, this image shall have been renewed to perfection by this transformation, then we shall be like God, because we shall see Him, not through a glass, but "as He is;" [985] which the Apostle Paul expresses by "face to face." [986] But now, who can explain how great is the unlikeness also, in this glass, in this …
1,564 wordsSECTION 132Chapter 13.--Still Further of the Difference Between the Knowledge and Word of Our Mind, and the Knowledge and Word of God.
Chapter 13.--Still Further of the Difference Between the Knowledge and Word of Our Mind, and the Knowledge and Word of God. But is it so, that God the Father, from whom is born the Word that is God of God,--is it so, then, that God the Father, in respect to that wisdom which He is to Himself, has learned some things by His bodi…
747 wordsSECTION 133Chapter 14.--The Word of God is in All Things Equal to the Father, from Whom It is.
Chapter 14.--The Word of God is in All Things Equal to the Father, from Whom It is. 23. The Word of God, then, the only-begotten Son of the Father, in all things like and equal to the Father, God of God, Light of Light, Wisdom of Wisdom, Essence of Essence, is altogether that which the Father is, yet is not the Father, because …
1,673 wordsSECTION 134Chapter 16.--Our Word is Never to Be Equalled to the Divine Word, Not Even When We Shall Be Like God.
Chapter 16.--Our Word is Never to Be Equalled to the Divine Word, Not Even When We Shall Be Like God. Wherefore that Word of God is in such wise so called, as not to be called a thought of God, lest we believe that there is anything in God which can be revolved, so that it at one time receives and at another recovers a form, so…
2,380 wordsSECTION 135Chapter 18.--No Gift of God is More Excellent Than Love.
[996] 1 John iv. 16 [997] Ps. lxxi. 5 [998] Ps. lxii. 5 [999] Ps. xci. 9 [1000] Ps. lix. 17 [1001] John iv. 24 [1002] Isa. xxviii. 11 and 1 Cor. xiv. 21 [1003] John xv. 25 [1004] Ps. xxxv. 19 [1005] Matt. xi. 13 [1006] Matt. xxii. 40 [1007] Luke xxiv. 44 [1008] 1 Cor. i. 24 [1009] 1 John iv. 10 [1010] 1 John iv. 7-…
2,375 wordsSECTION 136Chapter 20.--Against Eunomius, Saying that the Son of God is the Son, Not of His Nature, But of His Will. Epilogue to What Has Been Said Already.
37. Wherefore, if Holy Scripture proclaims that God is love, and that love is of God, and works this in us that we abide in God and He in us, and that hereby we know this, because He has given us of His Spirit, then the Spirit Himself is God, who is love. Next, if there be among the gifts of God none greater than love, and there…
1,449 wordsSECTION 137Chapter 21.--Of the Likeness of the Father and of the Son Alleged to Be in Our Memory and Understanding. Of the Likeness of the Holy Spirit in Our Will or Love.
Chapter 21.--Of the Likeness of the Father and of the Son Alleged to Be in Our Memory and Understanding. Of the Likeness of the Holy Spirit in Our Will or Love. 40. I have undoubtedly taken pains so far as I could, not indeed so that the thing might be seen face to face, but that it might be seen by this likeness in an enigma, …
1,934 wordsSECTION 138Chapter 24.--The Infirmity of the Human Mind.
Chapter 24.--The Infirmity of the Human Mind. They, then, who see their own mind, in whatever way that is possible, and in it that Trinity of which I have treated as I could in many ways, and yet do not believe or understand it to be an image of God, see indeed a glass, but do not so far see through the glass Him who is now to …
760 wordsSECTION 139Chapter 26.--The Holy Spirit Twice Given by Christ. The Procession of the Holy Spirit from the Father and from the Son is Apart from Time, Nor Can He Be Called the Son of Both.
Chapter 26.--The Holy Spirit Twice Given by Christ. The Procession of the Holy Spirit from the Father and from the Son is Apart from Time, Nor Can He Be Called the Son of Both. Further, in that Highest Trinity which is God, there are no intervals of time, by which it could be shown, or at least inquired, whether the Son was bor…
2,493 wordsSECTION 14049. But if they are not competent to gaze upon this image, and to see how true these things are which are in their mind, and yet which are n
49. But if they are not competent to gaze upon this image, and to see how true these things are which are in their mind, and yet which are not so three as to be three persons, but all three belong to a man who is one person; why do they not believe what they find in the sacred books respecting that highest Trinity which is God, …
1,352 wordsSECTION 141Chapter 28.--The Conclusion of the Book with a Prayer, and an Apology for Multitude of Words.
Chapter 28.--The Conclusion of the Book with a Prayer, and an Apology for Multitude of Words. 51. O Lord our God, we believe in Thee, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. For the Truth would not say, Go, baptize all nations in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, unless Thou wast a Trinity. Nor w…
1,449 wordsSECTION 142Chapter 1.--The Author Desires the Gift of True Wisdom for Laurentius.
Chapter 1.--The Author Desires the Gift of True Wisdom for Laurentius. I Cannot express, my beloved son Laurentius, the delight with which I witness your progress in knowledge, and the earnest desire I have that you should be a wise man: not one of those of whom it is said, "Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the …
741 wordsSECTION 143Chapter 5.--Brief Answers to These Questions.
Chapter 5.--Brief Answers to These Questions. Moreover, when the mind has been imbued with the first elements of that faith which worketh by love, [1094] it endeavors by purity of life to attain unto sight, where the pure and perfect in heart know that unspeakable beauty, the full vision of which is supreme happiness. Here sure…
1,290 wordsSECTION 144Chapter 9.--What We are to Believe. In Regard to Nature It is Not Necessary for the Christian to Know More Than that the Goodness of the Creator is the Cause of All Things.
Chapter 9.--What We are to Believe. In Regard to Nature It is Not Necessary for the Christian to Know More Than that the Goodness of the Creator is the Cause of All Things. When, then, the question is asked what we are to believe in regard to religion, it is not necessary to probe into the nature of things, as was done by those…
947 wordsSECTION 145Chapter 13.--There Can Be No Evil Where There is No Good; And an Evil Man is an Evil Good.
Chapter 13.--There Can Be No Evil Where There is No Good; And an Evil Man is an Evil Good. Accordingly, there is nothing of what we call evil, if there be nothing good. But a good which is wholly without evil is a perfect good. A good, on the other hand, which contains evil is a faulty or imperfect good; and there can be no evi…
800 wordsSECTION 146Chapter 15.--The Preceding Argument is in No Wise Inconsistent with the Saying of Our Lord: "A Good Tree Cannot Bring Forth Evil Fruit."
Chapter 15.--The Preceding Argument is in No Wise Inconsistent with the Saying of Our Lord: "A Good Tree Cannot Bring Forth Evil Fruit." But when we say that evil springs out of good, let it not be thought that this contradicts our Lord's saying: "A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit." [1106] For, as He who is the Truth sa…
1,169 wordsSECTION 147Chapter 18.--It is Never Allowable to Tell a Lie; But Lies Differ Very Much in Guilt, According to the Intention and the Subject.
Chapter 18.--It is Never Allowable to Tell a Lie; But Lies Differ Very Much in Guilt, According to the Intention and the Subject. But here arises a very difficult and very intricate question, about which I once wrote a large book, finding it necessary to give it an answer. The question is this: whether at any time it can become…
1,226 wordsSECTION 148Chapter 20.--Every Error is Not a Sin. An Examination of the Opinion of the Academic Philosophers, that to Avoid Error We Should in All Cases Suspend Belief.
Chapter 20.--Every Error is Not a Sin. An Examination of the Opinion of the Academic Philosophers, that to Avoid Error We Should in All Cases Suspend Belief. I am not sure whether mistakes such as the following,--when one forms a good opinion of a bad man, not knowing what sort of man he is; or when, instead of the ordinary per…
1,027 wordsSECTION 149Chapter 22.--A Lie is Not Allowable, Even to Save Another from Injury.
Chapter 22.--A Lie is Not Allowable, Even to Save Another from Injury. But every lie must be called a sin, because not only when a man knows the truth, but even when, as a man may be, he is mistaken and deceived, it is his duty to say what he thinks in his heart, whether it be true, or whether he only think it to be true. But e…
714 wordsSECTION 150Chapter 25.--God's Judgments Upon Fallen Men and Angels. The Death of the Body is Man's Peculiar Punishment.
Chapter 25.--God's Judgments Upon Fallen Men and Angels. The Death of the Body is Man's Peculiar Punishment. And yet such a nature, in the midst of all its evils, could not lose the craving after happiness. Now the evils I have mentioned are common to all who for their wickedness have been justly condemned by God, whether they …
704 wordsSECTION 151Chapter 28.--When the Rebellious Angels Were Cast Out, the Rest Remained in the Enjoyment of Eternal Happiness with God.
Chapter 28.--When the Rebellious Angels Were Cast Out, the Rest Remained in the Enjoyment of Eternal Happiness with God. Whilst some of the angels, then, in their pride and impiety rebelled against God, and were cast down from their heavenly abode into the lowest darkness, the remaining number dwelt with God in eternal and unch…
885 wordsSECTION 152Chapter 31.--Faith Itself is the Gift of God; And Good Works Will Not Be Wanting in Those Who Believe.
Chapter 31.--Faith Itself is the Gift of God; And Good Works Will Not Be Wanting in Those Who Believe. And lest men should arrogate to themselves the merit of their own faith at least, not understanding that this too is the gift of God, this same apostle, who says in another place that he had "obtained mercy of the Lord to be f…
884 wordsSECTION 153Chapter 33.--Men, Being by Nature the Children of Wrath, Needed a Mediator. In What Sense God is Said to Be Angry.
Chapter 33.--Men, Being by Nature the Children of Wrath, Needed a Mediator. In What Sense God is Said to Be Angry. And so the human race was lying under a just condemnation, and all men were the children of wrath. Of which wrath it is written: "All our days are passed away in Thy wrath; we spend our years as a tale that is told…
748 wordsSECTION 154Chapter 35.--Jesus Christ, Being the Only Son of God, is at the Same Time Man.
Chapter 35.--Jesus Christ, Being the Only Son of God, is at the Same Time Man. Wherefore Christ Jesus, the Son of God, is both God and man; God before all worlds; man in our world: God, because the Word of God (for "the Word was God" [1149] ); and man, because in His one person the Word was joined with a body and a rational sou…
747 wordsSECTION 155Chapter 37.--The Same Grace is Further Clearly Manifested in This, that the Birth of Christ According to the Flesh is of the Holy Ghost.
Chapter 37.--The Same Grace is Further Clearly Manifested in This, that the Birth of Christ According to the Flesh is of the Holy Ghost. For the same Jesus Christ who is the only-begotten, that is, the only Son of God, our Lord, was born of the Holy Ghost and of the Virgin Mary. And we know that the Holy Spirit is the gift of G…
792 wordsSECTION 156Chapter 39.--Not Everything that is Born of Another is to Be Called a Son of that Other.
Chapter 39.--Not Everything that is Born of Another is to Be Called a Son of that Other. We need not therefore take for granted, that whatever is born of a thing is forthwith to be declared the son of that thing. For, to pass over the fact that a son is born of a man in a different sense from that in which a hair or a louse is …
857 wordsSECTION 157Chapter 42.--The Sacrament of Baptism Indicates Our Death with Christ to Sin, and Our Resurrection with Him to Newness of Life.
Chapter 42.--The Sacrament of Baptism Indicates Our Death with Christ to Sin, and Our Resurrection with Him to Newness of Life. And this is the meaning of the great sacrament of baptism which is solemnized among us, that all who attain to this grace should die to sin, as He is said to have died to sin, because He died in the fl…
982 wordsSECTION 158Chapter 47.--It is Difficult to Decide Whether the Sins of a Man's Other Progenitors are Imputed to Him.
Chapter 47.--It is Difficult to Decide Whether the Sins of a Man's Other Progenitors are Imputed to Him. But about the sins of the other progenitors who intervene between Adam and a man's own parents, a question may very well be raised. Whether every one who is born is involved in all their accumulated evil acts, in all their m…
724 wordsSECTION 159Chapter 50.--Christ Took Away Not Only the One Original Sin, But All the Other Sins that Have Been Added to It.
Chapter 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: "And not as it was by one that sinned, so is…
954 wordsSECTION 160Chapter 53.--Christ's Cross and Burial, Resurrection, Ascension, and Sitting Down at the Right Hand of God, are Images of the Christian Life.
Chapter 53.--Christ's Cross and Burial, Resurrection, Ascension, and Sitting Down at the Right Hand of God, are Images of the Christian Life. All the events, then, of Christ's crucifixion, 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…
1,260 wordsSource & rights
Historical text source: Christian Classics Ethereal Library. The downloaded text itself records Public Domain.