Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, First Series • VOLUME 4
Augustine — Against the Manichaeans and Donatists
SECTION 41
Chapter 12.--Manichæan Subterfuge.
Chapter 12.--Manichæan Subterfuge. 25. For this gives rise to the question, which used to throw us into great perplexity even when we were your zealous disciples, nor could we find any answer,--what the race of darkness would have done to God, supposing He had refused to fight with it at the cost of such calamity to part of Him…
1,218 wordsSECTION 42Chapter 14.--Three Good Reasons for Abstaining from Certain Kinds of Food.
Chapter 14.--Three Good Reasons for Abstaining from Certain Kinds of Food. 31. But, you reply, the apostle says, "It is good, brethren, neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine." [172] No one denies that this is good, provided that it is for the end already mentioned, of which it is said, "Make not provision for the flesh to ful…
1,794 wordsSECTION 43Chapter 15.--Why the Manichæans Prohibit the Use of Flesh.
Chapter 15.--Why the Manichæans Prohibit the Use of Flesh. 36. It is worth while to take note of the whole reason for their superstitious abstinence, which is given as follows:--Since, we are told, the member of God has been mixed with the substance of evil, to repress it and to keep it from excessive ferocity,--for that is wha…
2,353 wordsSECTION 4445. What are we to say of wood and leaves, which in course of time become dry, but cannot be the worse on that account in your estimation? F
45. What are we to say of wood and leaves, which in course of time become dry, but cannot be the worse on that account in your estimation? For while they lose that which produces smoke, they retain that from which a bright flame arises; and, to judge by the clearness, which you think so much of, there is more good in the dry tha…
2,049 wordsSECTION 45Chapter 17.--Description of the Symbol of the Hands Among the Manichæans.
Chapter 17.--Description of the Symbol of the Hands Among the Manichæans. 54. We must now notice and discuss the symbol of the hands. And, in the first place, your abstaining from the slaughter of animals and from injuring plants is shown by Christ to be mere superstition; for, on the ground that there is no community of rights…
2,467 wordsSECTION 46Chapter 18.--Of the Symbol of the Breast, and of the Shameful Mysteries of the Manichæans.
64. Here we may use the gradation which often perplexed us when we were your followers. For if a flea may be killed on account of its small size, so may the fly which is bred in beans. And if this, so also may one of a little larger size, for its size at birth is even less. Then again, a bee may be killed, for its young is no la…
864 wordsSECTION 47Chapter 19.--Crimes of the Manichæans.
Chapter 19.--Crimes of the Manichæans. 67. We see then, now, the nature of your three symbols. These are your customs. This is the end of your notable precepts, in which there is nothing sure, nothing steadfast, nothing consistent, nothing irreproachable, but all doubtful, or rather undoubtedly and entirely false, all contradic…
1,539 wordsSECTION 48Chapter 20.--Disgraceful Conduct Discovered at Rome.
Chapter 20.--Disgraceful Conduct Discovered at Rome. 74. What more shall I say of your customs? I have mentioned what I found myself when I was in the city when the things were done. To go through all that happened at Rome in my absence would take a long time. I will, however, give a short account of it; for the matter became s…
826 wordsSECTION 49St. AUGUSTIN:
St. AUGUSTIN: on two souls, against the manichæans. [de duabus animabus contra manichæos]. A.D. 391. translated by albert h. newman, d.d., ll.d., professor of church history and comparative religion, in toronto baptist (theological) college, toronto, canada. Concerning Two Souls, Against the Manichæans. [De Duabus Anima…
1,308 wordsSECTION 50Chapter 3.--How It is Proved that Every Body Also is from God. That the Soul Which is Called Evil by the Manichæans is Better Than Light.
Chapter 3.--How It is Proved that Every Body Also is from God. That the Soul Which is Called Evil by the Manichæans is Better Than Light. They also affirm that the light is from the Father of Christ: should I then have doubted that every soul is from Him? But not even then, as a man forsooth so inexperienced and so youthful as …
790 wordsSECTION 51Chapter 5.--How Vicious Souls, However Worthy of Condemnation They May Be, Excel the Light Which is Praiseworthy in Its Kind.
Chapter 5.--How Vicious Souls, However Worthy of Condemnation They May Be, Excel the Light Which is Praiseworthy in Its Kind. Certainly nobody doubts that whatever is an object of intellectual perception, by virtue of divine laws surpasses in excellence every sensible object and consequently also this light. For what, I ask, do…
2,212 wordsSECTION 52Chapter 7.--How Evil Men are of God, and Not of God.
Chapter 7.--How Evil Men are of God, and Not of God. They might have cited against me those words of the gospel: "Ye therefore do not hear, because ye are not of God;" "Ye are of your father the devil." [199] I also should have cited: "All things were made by Him and without Him was not anything made," [200] and this of the Apo…
1,939 wordsSECTION 53Chapter 10.--Sin is Only from the Will. His Own Life and Will Best Known to Each Individual. What Will is.
Chapter 10.--Sin is Only from the Will. His Own Life and Will Best Known to Each Individual. What Will is. For let any men whatever, if only no madness has broken them loose from the common sense of the human race, bring whatever zeal they like for judging, whatever ignorance, nay whatever slowness of mind, I should like to fin…
2,083 wordsSECTION 54Chapter 11.--What Sin is.
Chapter 11.--What Sin is. Some one will say: What assistance would this have furnished you against the Manichæans? Wait a moment; permit me first also to define sin, which, every mind reads divinely written in itself, cannot exist apart from will. Sin therefore is the will to retain and follow after what justice forbids, and fr…
2,357 wordsSECTION 5520. However even if it be conceded to them that we are enticed to shameful deeds by another inferior kind of souls, they do not thence make
20. However even if it be conceded to them that we are enticed to shameful deeds by another inferior kind of souls, they do not thence make it evident that those enticing are evil by nature, or those enticed, supremely good. For it may be, the former of their own will, by striving after what was not lawful, that is, by sinning, …
800 wordsSECTION 56Chapter 14.--Again It is Shown from the Utility of Repenting that Souls are Not by Nature Evil. So Sure a Demonstration is Not Contradicted Except from the Habit of Erring.
Chapter 14.--Again It is Shown from the Utility of Repenting that Souls are Not by Nature Evil. So Sure a Demonstration is Not Contradicted Except from the Habit of Erring. 22. Like the foregoing considerations is what I shall now say about repenting. For as among all sane people it is agreed, and this the Manichæans themselves…
868 wordsSECTION 57St. AUGUSTIN:
St. AUGUSTIN: acts or disputation against fortunatus the manichæan. [acta seu disputatio contra fortunatum manichæum]. A.D. 392. translated by albert h. newman, d.d., ll.d., professor of church history and comparative religion, in toronto baptist (theological) college, toronto, canada. Acts or Disputation Against Fortu…
2,222 wordsSECTION 5812. Augustin said: I have denied that the soul is the substance of God in the sense of its being God; but yet I hold that it is from God as
12. Augustin said: I have denied that the soul is the substance of God in the sense of its being God; but yet I hold that it is from God as its author, because it was made by God. The Maker is one thing, the thing made is another. He who made cannot be corruptible at all, but what He made cannot be at all equal to Him who made i…
2,397 wordsSECTION 59Fortunatussaid: You assert that according to the flesh Christ was of the seed of David, when it should be asserted that he was born of a vir
Fortunatussaid: You assert that according to the flesh Christ was of the seed of David, when it should be asserted that he was born of a virgin, [238] and should be magnified as Son of God. For this cannot be, unless as what is from spirit may be held to be spirit, so also what is from flesh may be known to be flesh. [239] Again…
2,305 wordsSECTION 60Fortunatussaid: We say this, that the soul is compelled by contrary nature to transgress, for which transgression you maintain there is no r
Fortunatussaid: We say this, that the soul is compelled by contrary nature to transgress, for which transgression you maintain there is no root save the evil that dwells in us; for it is certain that apart from our bodies evil things dwell in the whole world. For not those things alone that we have in our bodies, dwell in the wh…
2,213 wordsSECTION 6126. Augustin said: This cause I ask of you, that is, if God could not suffer injury, wherefore He sent us hither?
26. Augustin said: This cause I ask of you, that is, if God could not suffer injury, wherefore He sent us hither? Fortunatus said: It is inquired of us, if evil cannot injure God, wherefore the soul was sent hither, or for what reason was it mingled with the world? Which is manifest in what the apostle says: "Shall the thing fo…
1,199 wordsSECTION 62St. AUGUSTIN:
St. AUGUSTIN: against the epistle of manichæus, called fundamental. [contra epistolam manichæi quam vocant fundamentum]. A.D. 397. translated by rev. richard stothert, m.a., bombay Against the Epistle of Manichæus Called Fundamental. [263] [Contra Epistolam Manichæi Quam Vocant Fundamentum.] a.d. 397. Chapter 1.--To H…
823 wordsSECTION 63Chapter 3.--Augustin Once a Manichæan.
Chapter 3.--Augustin Once a Manichæan. 3. For my part, I,--who, after much and long-continued bewilderment, attained at last, to the discovery of the simple truth, which is learned without being recorded in any fanciful legend; who, unhappy that I was, barely succeeded, by God's help, in refuting the vain imaginations of my min…
746 wordsSECTION 64Chapter 5.--Against the Title of the Epistle of Manichæus.
Chapter 5.--Against the Title of the Epistle of Manichæus. 6. Let us see then what Manichæus teaches me; and particularly let us examine that treatise which he calls the Fundamental Epistle, in which almost all that you believe is contained. For in that unhappy time when we read it we were in your opinion enlightened. The epist…
814 wordsSECTION 65Chapter 6.--Why Manichæus Called Himself an Apostle of Christ.
Chapter 6.--Why Manichæus Called Himself an Apostle of Christ. 7. For I am at a loss to see why this epistle begins, "Manichæus, an apostle of Jesus Christ," and not Paraclete, an apostle of Jesus Christ. Or if the Paraclete sent by Christ sent Manichæus, why do we read, "Manichæus, an apostle of Jesus Christ," instead of Manic…
845 wordsSECTION 66Chapter 8.--The Festival of the Birth-Day of Manichæus.
Chapter 8.--The Festival of the Birth-Day of Manichæus. 9. In adding the words, "by the providence of God the Father," what else did Manichæus design but that, having got the name of Jesus Christ, whose apostle he calls himself, and of God the Father, by whose providence he says he was sent by the Son, we should believe himself…
1,255 wordsSECTION 67Chapter 10.--The Holy Spirit Twice Given.
Chapter 10.--The Holy Spirit Twice Given. 11. 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 John: "The Holy Ghost was not yet given, because that Jesus was not yet glorified." [275] Now if the reason why He was not given wa…
850 wordsSECTION 68Chapter 12.--The Wild Fancies of Manichæus. The Battle Before the Constitution of the World.
Chapter 12.--The Wild Fancies of Manichæus. The Battle Before the Constitution of the World. 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 were produced by a word or sprung from matter, I will answer you as…
745 wordsSECTION 69Chapter 14.--Manichæus Promises the Knowledge of Undoubted Things, and Then Demands Faith in Doubtful Things.
Chapter 14.--Manichæus Promises the Knowledge of Undoubted Things, and Then Demands Faith in Doubtful Things. In the next place, if faith is what is required 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 th…
1,007 wordsSECTION 70Chapter 16.--The Soul, Though Mutable, Has No Material Form. It is All Present in Every Part of the Body.
Chapter 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 which 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 extension in space? For whatever consists of any ki…
920 wordsSECTION 71Chapter 18.--The Understanding Judges of the Truth of Things, and of Its Own Action.
Chapter 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 d…
937 wordsSECTION 72Chapter 21.--This Region of Light Must Be Material If It is Joined to the Region of Darkness. The Shape of the Region of Darkness Joined to the Region of Light.
Chapter 21.--This Region of Light Must Be Material If It is Joined to the Region of Darkness. The Shape of the Region of Darkness Joined to the Region of Light. What, then, bordered on the side of the region which you call shining and sacred? The region, you reply, of darkness. Do you then allow this latter region to have been …
1,306 wordsSECTION 73Chapter 24.--Of the Number of Natures in the Manichæan Fiction.
Chapter 24.--Of the Number of Natures in the Manichæan Fiction. 26. Again, I wish to know, when I read of God the Father and His kingdoms founded on the shining and happy region, whether the Father and His kingdoms, and the region, are all of the same nature and substance. If they are, then it is not another nature or sort of b…
2,432 wordsSECTION 74Chapter 28.--Manichæus Places Five Natures in the Region of Darkness.
Chapter 28.--Manichæus Places Five Natures in the Region of Darkness. 31. "There dwelt," he says, "in that region fiery bodies, destructive races." By speaking of dwelling, he must mean that those bodies were animated and in life. But, not to appear to cavil at a word, let us see how he divides into five classes all these inhab…
1,364 wordsSECTION 75Chapter 31.--The Same Subject Continued.
Chapter 31.--The Same Subject Continued. 34. And even in the prince of smoke himself, instead of mentioning only his ferocity as a bad quality, ought you not to have taken notice of the other things in his nature which you must allow to be commendable? For he had a soul and a body; the soul life-giving, and the body endowed wit…
1,265 wordsSECTION 76Chapter 33.--Every Nature, as Nature, is Good.
Chapter 33.--Every Nature, as Nature, is Good. 36. But the consideration we wish most to urge is the truth of the Catholic doctrine, if they can understand it, that God is the author of all natures. I urged this before when I said, I join with you in your condemnation of destructiveness, of blindness, of dense muddiness, of ter…
1,233 wordsSECTION 77Chapter 35.--Evil Alone is Corruption. Corruption is Not Nature, But Contrary to Nature. Corruption Implies Previous Good.
Chapter 35.--Evil Alone is Corruption. Corruption is Not Nature, But Contrary to Nature. Corruption Implies Previous Good. 39. For who can doubt that the whole of that which is called evil is nothing else than corruption? Different evils may, indeed, be called by different names; but that which is the evil of all things in whic…
881 wordsSECTION 78Chapter 37.--God Alone Perfectly Good.
Chapter 37.--God Alone Perfectly Good. 42. What harm, you ask, would follow if those things too were perfectly good? Still, should any one, who admits and believes the perfect goodness of God the Father, inquire what source we should reverently assign to any other perfectly good thing, supposing it to exist, our only correct re…
734 wordsSECTION 79Chapter 38.--Nature Made by God; Corruption Comes from Nothing.
Chapter 38.--Nature Made by God; Corruption Comes from Nothing. 44. In this way, though corruption is an evil, and though it comes not from the Author of natures, but from their being made out of nothing, still, in God's government and control over all that He has made, even corruption is so ordered that it hurts only the lowes…
1,126 wordsSECTION 80Chapter 41.--Corruption is by God's Permission, and Comes from Us.
Chapter 41.--Corruption is by God's Permission, and Comes from Us. 47. You ask, Why does corruption take from nature what God has given to it? It takes nothing but where God permits; and He permits in righteous and well-ordered judgment, according to the degrees of non-intelligent and the deserts of intelligent creatures. The w…
962 wordsSource & rights
Historical text source: Christian Classics Ethereal Library. The downloaded text itself records Public Domain.