Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, First Series • VOLUME 5
Augustine — Anti-Pelagian Writings
SECTION 1
A SELECT LIBRARY
Title: NPNF1-05. St. Augustine: Anti-Pelagian Writings Creator(s): Schaff, Philip (1819-1893) (Editor) Print Basis: New York: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1886 Rights: Public Domain CCEL Subjects: All; Proofed; Early Church LC Call no: BR60 LC Subjects: Christianity Early Christian Literature. Fathers of the Church, et…
2,438 wordsSECTION 2This new heresiarch came, at the opening of the fifth century, in the person of the British monk, Pelagius. The novelty of the doctrine whic
This new heresiarch came, at the opening of the fifth century, in the person of the British monk, Pelagius. The novelty of the doctrine which he taught is repeatedly asserted by Augustin [1] , and is evident to the historian; but it consisted not in the emphasis that he laid on free will, but rather in the fact that, in emphasiz…
2,441 wordsSECTION 3In defending their theory, as we are told by Augustin, there were five claims that they especially made for it. [26] It allowed them to prai
In defending their theory, as we are told by Augustin, there were five claims that they especially made for it. [26] It allowed them to praise as was their due, the creature that God had made, the marriage that He had instituted, the law that He had given, the free will which was His greatest endowment to man, and the saints who…
3,027 wordsSECTION 4The appeal to the civil power, by whomsoever made, was, of course, indefensible, although it accorded with the opinions of the day, and was
The appeal to the civil power, by whomsoever made, was, of course, indefensible, although it accorded with the opinions of the day, and was entirely approved by Augustin. But it was the ruin of the Pelagian cause. Zosimus found himself forced either to go into banishment with his wards, or to desert their cause. He appears never…
2,835 wordsSECTION 5It was not long, however, before the controversy was driven out of the region of sermons into that of regular treatises. The occasion for Au
It was not long, however, before the controversy was driven out of the region of sermons into that of regular treatises. The occasion for Augustin's first appearance in a written document bearing on the controversy, was given by certain questions which were sent to him for answer by "the tribune and notary" Marcellinus, with who…
2,577 wordsSECTION 6By this work, Augustin completed, in his treatment of Pelagianism, the circle of that triad of doctrines which he himself looked upon as mos
By this work, Augustin completed, in his treatment of Pelagianism, the circle of that triad of doctrines which he himself looked upon as most endangered by this heresy, [57] --original sin, the imperfection of human righteousness, the necessity of grace. In his mind, the last was the kernel of the whole controversy; and this was…
2,659 wordsSECTION 7Augustin himself gives us a view of the progress of the controversy at this time in a letter written in 414. [67] The Pelagians had everywhe
Augustin himself gives us a view of the progress of the controversy at this time in a letter written in 414. [67] The Pelagians had everywhere scattered the seeds of their new error; and although some, by his ministry and that of his brother workers, had, "by God's mercy," been cured of their pest, yet they still existed in Afri…
2,861 wordsSECTION 8The treatise On Nature and Grace was as yet unfinished, when the over-busy [76] scriptorium at Hippo was invaded by another young man seekin
The treatise On Nature and Grace was as yet unfinished, when the over-busy [76] scriptorium at Hippo was invaded by another young man seeking instruction. This time it was a zealous young presbyter from the remotest part of Spain, "from the shore of the ocean,"--Paulus Orosius by name, whose pious soul had been afflicted with gr…
2,544 wordsSECTION 9At about this same time (417), the tireless bishop sent a short letter [87] to a Hilary, who seems to be Hilary of Norbonne, which is intere
At about this same time (417), the tireless bishop sent a short letter [87] to a Hilary, who seems to be Hilary of Norbonne, which is interesting from its undertaking to convey a characterization of Pelagianism to one who was as yet ignorant of it. It thus brings out what Augustin conceived to be its essential features. "An effo…
2,635 wordsSECTION 10The sharpest period of the whole conflict was now drawing on. [96] Innocent's death brought Zosimus to the chair of the Roman See, and the e
The sharpest period of the whole conflict was now drawing on. [96] Innocent's death brought Zosimus to the chair of the Roman See, and the efforts which he made to re-instate Pelagius and Coelestius now began (September, 417). How little the Africans were likely to yield to his remarkable demands, may be seen from a sermon [97] …
2,336 wordsSECTION 11The object of the second book--On Original Sin--is to show, that, in spite of Pelagius' admissions as to the baptism of infants, he yet deni
The object of the second book--On Original Sin--is to show, that, in spite of Pelagius' admissions as to the baptism of infants, he yet denies that they inherit original sin and contends that they are born free from corruption. The book opens by pointing out that there is no question as to Coelestius' teaching in this matter (2-…
3,164 wordsSECTION 12Augustin was not less busy with his pen, during these months, than with his voice. Quite a series of letters belong to the last half of 418,
Augustin was not less busy with his pen, during these months, than with his voice. Quite a series of letters belong to the last half of 418, in which he argues to his distant correspondents on the same themes which he was so iterantly trying to make clear to his Carthaginian auditors. One of the most interesting of these was wri…
2,342 wordsSECTION 13By the same messenger who carried this important letter to Sixtus, Augustin sent also a letter to Mercator, [114] an African layman who was
By the same messenger who carried this important letter to Sixtus, Augustin sent also a letter to Mercator, [114] an African layman who was then apparently at Rome, but who was afterwards (in 429) to render service by instructing the Emperor Theodosius as to the nature and history of Pelagianism, and so preventing the appeal of …
3,182 wordsSECTION 14The controversy now entered upon a new stage. Among the evicted bishops of Italy who refused to sign Zosimus' Epistola Tractoria, Julian of
The controversy now entered upon a new stage. Among the evicted bishops of Italy who refused to sign Zosimus' Epistola Tractoria, Julian of Eclanum was easily the first, and at this point he appears as the champion of Pelagianism. It was a sad fate that arrayed this beloved son of his old friend against Augustin, just when there…
2,460 wordsSECTION 15These books were written late in 420, or early in 421, and Alypius appears to have conveyed them to Italy during the latter year. Before its
These books were written late in 420, or early in 421, and Alypius appears to have conveyed them to Italy during the latter year. Before its close, Augustin, having obtained and read the whole of Julian's attack on the first book of his work On Marriage and Concupiscence, wrote out a complete answer to it, [125] --a task that he…
2,271 wordsSECTION 16The one request that Augustin made, on sending this work to Valentinus, was that Florus, through whom the controversy had arisen, should be
The one request that Augustin made, on sending this work to Valentinus, was that Florus, through whom the controversy had arisen, should be sent to him, that he might converse with him and learn whether he had been misunderstood, or himself had misunderstood Augustin. In due time Florus arrived at Hippo, bringing a letter [133] …
2,802 wordsSECTION 17Augustin's answer to these appeals was a work in two books, On the Predestination of the Saints, the second book of which is usually known u
Augustin's answer to these appeals was a work in two books, On the Predestination of the Saints, the second book of which is usually known under the separate title of The Gift of Perseverance. The former book begins with a careful discrimination of the position of his new opponents: they have made a right beginning in that they …
2,206 wordsSECTION 18[65] Sermon 294.
[65] Sermon 294. [66] The passage is quoted at length in On the Merits and Remission of Sins, iii. 10. Compare Against Two Letters of the Pelagians, iv. 23. [67] Epistle 157, 22. [68] Epistle 156, among Augustin's Letters. [69] Epistle, 157, 22. [70] Epistles 177, 6; and 179, 2. [71] Epistle 168. On the Proceedings of Pela…
2,724 wordsSECTION 19In its nature, grace is assistance, help from God; and all divine aid may be included under the term,--as well what may be called natural, a
In its nature, grace is assistance, help from God; and all divine aid may be included under the term,--as well what may be called natural, as what may be called spiritual, aid. [164] Spiritual grace includes, no doubt, all external help that God gives man for working out his salvation, such as the law, the preaching of the gospe…
2,518 wordsSECTION 20Thus, although Augustin's theology had a very strong churchly element within it, it was, on the side that is presented in the controversy ag
Thus, although Augustin's theology had a very strong churchly element within it, it was, on the side that is presented in the controversy against Pelagianism, distinctly anti-ecclesiastical. Its central thought was the absolute dependence of the individual on the grace of God in Jesus Christ. It made everything that concerned sa…
1,194 wordsSECTION 21TO The Right Reverend The Lord Bishop OF Exeter.
TO The Right Reverend The Lord Bishop OF Exeter. My Dear Lord,--I gladly avail myself of your permission to dedicate this volume to you. In the course of a professional life of nearly the third of a century, which has not been idly spent, I have never failed to find pleasure in theological pursuits. In the intervals of most pre…
2,376 wordsSECTION 22§ 5. The difference in the characters of the two leaders in this heresy contributed to different results in their earlier proceedings. We ha
§ 5. The difference in the characters of the two leaders in this heresy contributed to different results in their earlier proceedings. We have seen the disastrous issue to Coelestius at Carthage, from his outspoken and unyielding conduct. The more reserved Pelagius, resorting to a dexterous management of sundry favourable circum…
2,398 wordsSECTION 23§ 11. But Rationalism is not always so exaggerated as this: in its ordinary development, indeed, it stops short of open warfare with Revelat
§ 11. But Rationalism is not always so exaggerated as this: in its ordinary development, indeed, it stops short of open warfare with Revelation, and (at whatever cost of logical consistency) it will accommodate its discussions to the form of Scripture. This adaptation gives it double force: there is its own intrinsic principle o…
1,101 wordsSECTION 24Preface to Volume II. Of the Edinburgh Edition.
Preface to Volume II. Of the Edinburgh Edition. ------------------------ This volume contains a translation of the three following treatises by St. Augustin on the Pelagian controversy:-- De Gratia Christi, et De Peccato originali contra Pelagium et Coelestium, ad Albinam, Pinianum, et Melaniam; libri duo, scripti anno Christ…
1,568 wordsSECTION 25Book II. Chap. 23,
Book II. Chap. 23, On the Following Treatise, "De Peccatorum Meritis Et Remissione." ------------------------ A Necessity arose which compelled me to write against the new heresy of Pelagius. Our previous opposition to it was confined to sermons and conversations, as occasions suggested, and according to our respective abili…
977 wordsSECTION 26Chapter 2 [II.]--If Adam Had Not Sinned, He Would Never Have Died.
Chapter 2 [II.]--If Adam Had Not Sinned, He Would Never Have Died. They who say that Adam was so formed that he would even without any demerit of sin have died, not as the penalty of sin, but from the necessity of his being, endeavour indeed to refer that passage in the law, which says: "On the day ye eat thereof ye shall surel…
791 wordsSECTION 27Chapter 4 [IV.]--Even Bodily Death is from Sin.
Chapter 4 [IV.]--Even Bodily Death is from Sin. But in addition to the passage where God in punishment said, "Dust thou art, unto dust shalt thou return," [219] --a passage which I cannot understand how any one can apply except to the death of the body,--there are other testimonies likewise, from which it most fully appears tha…
1,112 wordsSECTION 28Chapter 7 [VII.]--The Life of the Body the Object of Hope, the Life of the Spirit Being a Prelude to It.
Chapter 7 [VII.]--The Life of the Body the Object of Hope, the Life of the Spirit Being a Prelude to It. Although I am much afraid that so clear a matter may rather be obscured by exposition, I must yet request your attention to the luminous statement of the apostle. "But if Christ," says he, "be in you, the body indeed is dead…
706 wordsSECTION 29Chapter 9 [IX.]--Sin Passes on to All Men by Natural Descent, and Not Merely by Imitation.
Chapter 9 [IX.]--Sin Passes on to All Men by Natural Descent, and Not Merely by Imitation. You tell me in your letter, that they endeavour to twist into some new sense the passage of the apostle, in which he says: "By one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin;" [235] yet you have not informed me what they suppose to …
763 wordsSECTION 30Chapter 11 [X.]--Distinction Between Actual and Original Sin. [242]
Chapter 11 [X.]--Distinction Between Actual and Original Sin. [242] Again, in the clause which follows, "In which all have sinned," how cautiously, rightly, and unambiguously is the statement expressed! For if you understand that sin to be meant which by one man entered into the world, "In which [sin] all have sinned," it is su…
1,157 wordsSECTION 31Chapter 14.--Superabundance of Grace.
Chapter 14.--Superabundance of Grace. "But," says he, "not as the offence so also is the free gift. For if, through the offence of one, many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by One Man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many." [257] Not many more, that is, many more men, for there are not more…
723 wordsSECTION 32Chapter 17.--Whom Sinners Imitate.
Chapter 17.--Whom Sinners Imitate. "For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of righteousness shall reign in life by one, even Jesus Christ." [260] Why did death reign on account of the sin of one, unless it was that men were bound by the chain of death in that one ma…
839 wordsSECTION 33Chapter 19 [XV.]--Sin is from Natural Descent, as Righteousness is from Regeneration; How "All" Are Sinners Through Adam, and "All" Are Just Through Christ.
Chapter 19 [XV.]--Sin is from Natural Descent, as Righteousness is from Regeneration; How "All" Are Sinners Through Adam, and "All" Are Just Through Christ. Now if it is imitation only that makes men sinners through Adam, why does not imitation likewise alone make men righteous through Christ? "For," he says, "as by the offence…
820 wordsSECTION 34Chapter 21 [XVI.]--Unbaptized Infants Damned, But Most Lightly; [275] The Penalty of Adam's Sin, the Grace of His Body Lost.
Chapter 21 [XVI.]--Unbaptized Infants Damned, But Most Lightly; [275] The Penalty of Adam's Sin, the Grace of His Body Lost. It may therefore be correctly affirmed, that such infants as quit the body without being baptized will be involved in the mildest condemnation of all. That person, therefore, greatly deceives both himself…
783 wordsSECTION 35Chapter 23 [XVIII.]--He Refutes Those Who Allege that Infants are Baptized Not for the Remission of Sins, But for the Obtaining of the Kingdom of Heaven. [282]
Chapter 23 [XVIII.]--He Refutes Those Who Allege that Infants are Baptized Not for the Remission of Sins, But for the Obtaining of the Kingdom of Heaven. [282] But those persons raise a question, and appear to adduce an argument deserving of consideration and discussion, who say that new-born infants receive baptism not for the…
894 wordsSECTION 36Chapter 25.--Infants are Described as Believers and as Penitents. Sins Alone Separate Between God and Men.
Chapter 25.--Infants are Described as Believers and as Penitents. Sins Alone Separate Between God and Men. Some one will say: How then are mere infants called to repentance? How can such as they repent of anything? The answer to this is: If they must not be called penitents because they have not the sense of repenting, neither …
942 wordsSECTION 37Chapter 28.--Baptized Infants, of the Faithful; Unbaptized, of the Lost.
Chapter 28.--Baptized Infants, of the Faithful; Unbaptized, of the Lost. Hence also that other statement: "The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into His hand. He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life; while he that believeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him." [295] No…
1,725 wordsSECTION 38Chapter 32.--The Case of Certain Idiots and Simpletons.
Chapter 32.--The Case of Certain Idiots and Simpletons. Now a good deal may be said of men's strange vocations,--either such as we have read about, or have experienced ourselves,--which go to overthrow the opinion of those persons who think that, previous to the possession of their bodies, men's souls passed through certain liv…
1,001 wordsSECTION 39Chapter 34 [XXIV.]--Baptism is Called Salvation, and the Eucharist, Life, by the Christians of Carthage.
Chapter 34 [XXIV.]--Baptism is Called Salvation, and the Eucharist, Life, by the Christians of Carthage. The Christians of Carthage have an excellent name for the sacraments, when they say that baptism is nothing else than "salvation," and the sacrament of the body of Christ nothing else than "life." Whence, however, was this d…
909 wordsSECTION 40Chapter 37.--How God Enlightens Every Person.
Chapter 37.--How God Enlightens Every Person. That statement, therefore, which occurs in the gospel, "That was the true Light, which lighteth every one that cometh into the world," [324] has this meaning, that no man is illuminated except with that Light of the truth, which is God; so that no person must think that he is enligh…
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Historical text source: Christian Classics Ethereal Library. The downloaded text itself records Public Domain.