Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, First Series • VOLUME 5
Augustine — Anti-Pelagian Writings
SECTION 361
Chapter 8.--All Righteous Men Before and After Abraham are Children of the Promise and of Grace.
Chapter 8.--All Righteous Men Before and After Abraham are Children of the Promise and of Grace. Whether, then, Abraham, or righteous men before him or after him, even to Moses himself, by whom was given the testament gendering to bondage from Mount Sinai, or the rest of the prophets after him, and the holy men of God till John…
1,111 wordsSECTION 362Chapter 11.--Distinction Between the Children of the Old and of the New Testaments.
Chapter 11.--Distinction Between the Children of the Old and of the New Testaments. But there is plainly this great difference, that they who are established under the law, whom the letter killeth, do these things either with the desire of gaining, or with the fear of losing earthly happiness; and that thus they do not truly do…
1,050 wordsSECTION 363Chapter 13.--Why One of the Covenants is Called Old, the Other New.
Chapter 13.--Why One of the Covenants is Called Old, the Other New. But some one will say, "In what way is that called the old which was given by Moses four hundred and thirty years after; and that called the new which was given so many years before to Abraham?" Let him who on this subject is disturbed, not litigiously but earn…
796 wordsSECTION 364Chapter 14 [V.]--Calumny Concerning the Righteousness of the Prophets and Apostles.
Chapter 14 [V.]--Calumny Concerning the Righteousness of the Prophets and Apostles. They say, moreover, "that all the apostles or prophets are not defined as entirely holy by us, but that we say that they were less wicked in comparison with those that were worse; and that this is the righteousness to which God affords His testi…
723 wordsSECTION 365Chapter 15.--The Perfection of Apostles and Prophets.
Chapter 15.--The Perfection of Apostles and Prophets. Since, then, all righteous men, both the more ancient and the apostles, lived from a right faith which is in Christ Jesus our Lord; and had with their faith morals so holy, that although they might not be of such perfect virtue in this life as that which should be after this…
889 wordsSECTION 366Chapter 17 [VII.]--Their Calumny About the Fulfilment of Precepts in the Life to Come.
Chapter 17 [VII.]--Their Calumny About the Fulfilment of Precepts in the Life to Come. But who can bear their objecting to us, "that we say that after the resurrection such is to be our progress, that there men can begin to fulfil the commands of God, which they would not here;" since we say that there there will be no sin at a…
1,104 wordsSECTION 367Chapter 19.--In What Sense the Righteousness of Man in This Life is Said to Be Perfect.
Chapter 19.--In What Sense the Righteousness of Man in This Life is Said to Be Perfect. From this it results that the virtue which is now in the righteous man is named perfect up to this point, that to its perfection belong both the true knowledge and humble confession of even imperfection itself. For, in respect to this infirm…
1,151 wordsSECTION 368Chapter 21.--That Righteousness is Never Perfected in This Life.
Chapter 21.--That Righteousness is Never Perfected in This Life. Now, according to this righteousness of God, that is, which we have from God, faith now worketh by love. But it worketh that, in what way man can attain to Him on whom now, not seeing, he believes; and when he shall see Him, then that which was in faith through a …
1,363 wordsSECTION 369Chapter 23.--There is No True Righteousness Without the Faith of the Grace of Christ.
Chapter 23.--There is No True Righteousness Without the Faith of the Grace of Christ. Wherefore he who lives according to the righteousness which is in the law, without the faith of the grace of Christ, as the apostle declares that he lived blameless, must be accounted to have no true righteousness; not because the law is not t…
967 wordsSECTION 370Chapter 25 [IX.]--He Shows that the Opinion of the Catholics is the Mean Between that of the Manicheans and Pelagians, and Refutes Both.
Chapter 25 [IX.]--He Shows that the Opinion of the Catholics is the Mean Between that of the Manicheans and Pelagians, and Refutes Both. But since, in these five particulars which I have set forth, in which they seek lurking-places, and from which they weave misrepresentations, they are forsaken and convicted by the divine writ…
930 wordsSECTION 371Book IV.
Book IV. After having set aside in the former books the calumnies hurled against the Catholics, Augustin here proceeds to open up the snares which lie hidden in the remaining part of the second epistle of the Pelagians, in the five heads of their doctrine--in the praise, to wit, of the creature, the praise of marriage, the prai…
1,406 wordsSECTION 372Chapter 3 [III.]--The Catholics Praise Nature, Marriage, Law, Free Will, and the Saints, in Such Wise as to Condemn as Well Pelagians as Manicheans.
Chapter 3 [III.]--The Catholics Praise Nature, Marriage, Law, Free Will, and the Saints, in Such Wise as to Condemn as Well Pelagians as Manicheans. Let every one who, with a catholic mind, shudders at these impious and damnable doctrines, in this tripartite division, shun the lurking-places and snares of this fivefold error, a…
1,085 wordsSECTION 373Chapter 5.--What is the Special Advantage in the Pelagian Opinions?
Chapter 5.--What is the Special Advantage in the Pelagian Opinions? What advantage, then, is it to them that they say "that all sin descends not from nature, but from the will," and resist by the truth of this judgment the Manicheans, who say that evil nature is the cause of sin; when by being unwilling to admit original sin al…
1,205 wordsSECTION 374Chapter 8.--Death Passed Upon All by Sin.
Chapter 8.--Death Passed Upon All by Sin. But on account of what does the same apostle say, that we are reconciled to God by Christ, except on account of what we had become enemies? And what is this but sin? Whence also the prophet says, "Your sins separate between you and God." [2787] On account of this separation, therefore, …
757 wordsSECTION 375Chapter 10.--Of the Praise of the Law.
Chapter 10.--Of the Praise of the Law. Once more, in the praise of the law, what advantage is it to them that, in opposition to the Manicheans, they say the truth when they wish to bring men from that view to this which they hold falsely against the catholics? For they say, "We confess that even the old law, according to the ap…
1,060 wordsSECTION 376Chapter 12 [VI.]--Of the Praise of Free Will.
Chapter 12 [VI.]--Of the Praise of Free Will. Moreover, that, in opposition to the Manicheans, they praise free will, making use of the prophetic testimony, "If ye shall be willing and will hear me, ye shall eat what is good in the land; but if ye shall be unwilling and will not hear me, the sword shall consume you:" [2809] wha…
1,246 wordsSECTION 377Chapter 15.--From Such Scriptures Grace is Proved to Be Gratuitous and Effectual.
Chapter 15.--From Such Scriptures Grace is Proved to Be Gratuitous and Effectual. What remained to the carrion skin whence it might be puffed up, and could disdain when it glories to glory in the Lord? [2824] What remained to it, when whatsoever it shall have said that it has done in such a way that after that preceding merit o…
787 wordsSECTION 378Chapter 16.--Why God Makes of Some Sheep, Others Not.
Chapter 16.--Why God Makes of Some Sheep, Others Not. But wherefore does God make these men sheep, and those not, since with Him there is no acceptance of persons? This is the very question which the blessed apostle thus answers to those who propose it with more curiosity than propriety, "O man, who art thou that repliest again…
946 wordsSECTION 379Chapter 18.--The Opinion of the Saints Themselves About Themselves.
Chapter 18.--The Opinion of the Saints Themselves About Themselves. It is to be confessed that "the Holy Spirit, even in the old times," not only "aided good dispositions," which even they allow, but that it even made them good, which they will not have. "That all, also, of the prophets and apostles or saints, both evangelical …
1,235 wordsSECTION 380Chapter 22.--Further References to Cyprian.
Chapter 22.--Further References to Cyprian. For he says also this in the epistle whose title is inscribed, "On the Mortality:" [2844] "The kingdom of God, beloved brethren, is beginning to be at hand; the reward of life, and the rejoicing of eternal salvation and perpetual gladness, and the possession formerly lost of Paradise,…
972 wordsSECTION 381Chapter 24.--The Dilemma Proposed to the Pelagians.
Chapter 24.--The Dilemma Proposed to the Pelagians. What will be said to such things as these, by those who are not only the forsakers, but also the persecutors of God's grace? What will they say to such things as these? On what ground is the "possession of Paradise" restored to us? How are we restored to Paradise if we have ne…
1,604 wordsSECTION 382Chapter 26.--Further Appeals to Cyprian's Teaching.
Chapter 26.--Further Appeals to Cyprian's Teaching. Does that holy and so memorable instructor of the Churches in the word of truth, deny that there is free will in men, because he attributes to God the whole of your righteous living? Does he reproach God's law, because he intimates that man is not justified by it, seeing that …
1,570 wordsSECTION 383Chapter 28.--Cyprian's Orthodoxy Undoubted.
Chapter 28.--Cyprian's Orthodoxy Undoubted. Let the Pelagians say, if they dare, that this man of God was perverted by the error of the Manicheans, in so praising the saints as yet to confess that no one in this life had attained to such a perfection of righteousness as to have no sin at all, confirming his judgment by the clea…
840 wordsSECTION 384Chapter 29 [XI.]--The Testimonies of Ambrose Against the Pelagians and First of All Concerning Original Sin.
Chapter 29 [XI.]--The Testimonies of Ambrose Against the Pelagians and First of All Concerning Original Sin. But now also to the most glorious martyr Cyprian, let me add, for the sake of more amply confuting these men, the most blessed Ambrose; because even Pelagius praised him so much as to say that in his writings could be fo…
1,387 wordsSECTION 385Chapter 31.--The Testimonies of Ambrose on the Imperfection of Present Righteousness.
Chapter 31.--The Testimonies of Ambrose on the Imperfection of Present Righteousness. But now, since the Pelagians say that there either are or have been righteous men in this life who have lived without any sin, to such an extent that the future life which is to be hoped for as a reward cannot be more advanced or more perfect,…
1,387 wordsSECTION 386Chapter 32 [XII.]--The Pelagian's Heresy Arose Long After Ambrose.
Chapter 32 [XII.]--The Pelagian's Heresy Arose Long After Ambrose. It would be too long if I were to seek to mention everything which the holy Ambrose said and wrote against this heresy of the Pelagians, which was to arise so long afterwards; not indeed with a view to answer them, but with a view to declare the catholic faith, …
932 wordsSECTION 387Book II. Chap. 66,
Book II. Chap. 66, On the Following Treatise, "de gratia et libero arbitrio." ------------------------ There are some persons who suppose that the freedom of the will is denied whenever God's grace is maintained, and who on their side defend their liberty of will so peremptorily as to deny the grace of God. This grace, as th…
2,047 wordsSECTION 388Letter II.
Letter II. [The 215th of Augustin's Epistles.] To my very dear lord and most honoured brother among the members of Christ, Valentinus, and to the brethren that are with you, Augustin sends greeting in the Lord. 1. That Cresconius and Felix, and another Felix, the servants of God, who came to us from your brotherhood, have spe…
2,529 wordsSECTION 389Chapter 1 [I.]--The Occasion and Argument of This Work.
Chapter 1 [I.]--The Occasion and Argument of This Work. With reference to those persons who so preach and defend man's free will, as boldly to deny, and endeavour to do away with, the grace of God which calls us to Him, and delivers us from our evil deserts, and by which we obtain the good deserts which lead to everlasting life…
788 wordsSECTION 390Chapter 3.--Sinners are Convicted When Attempting to Excuse Themselves by Blaming God, Because They Have Free Will.
Chapter 3.--Sinners are Convicted When Attempting to Excuse Themselves by Blaming God, Because They Have Free Will. There are, however, persons who attempt to find excuse for themselves even from God. The Apostle James says to such: "Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God; for God cannot be tempted with evil, ne…
1,110 wordsSECTION 391Chapter 5.--He Shows that Ignorance Affords No Such Excuse as Shall Free the Offender from Punishment; But that to Sin with Knowledge is a Graver Thing Than to Sin in Ignorance.
Chapter 5.--He Shows that Ignorance Affords No Such Excuse as Shall Free the Offender from Punishment; But that to Sin with Knowledge is a Graver Thing Than to Sin in Ignorance. The excuse such as men are in the habit of alleging from ignorance is taken away from those persons who know God's commandments. But neither will those…
751 wordsSECTION 392Chapter 6 [IV.]--God's Grace to Be Maintained Against the Pelagians; The Pelagian Heresy Not an Old One.
Chapter 6 [IV.]--God's Grace to Be Maintained Against the Pelagians; The Pelagian Heresy Not an Old One. It is, however, to be feared lest all these and similar testimonies of Holy Scripture (and undoubtedly there are a great many of them), in the maintenance of free will, be understood in such a way as to leave no room for God…
775 wordsSECTION 393Chapter 8.--Conjugal Chastity is Itself the Gift of God.
Chapter 8.--Conjugal Chastity is Itself the Gift of God. It is concerning conjugal chastity itself that the apostle treats, when he says, "Let him do what he will, he sinneth not if he marry;" [3000] and yet this too is God's gift, for the Scripture says, "It is by the Lord that the woman is joined to her husband." Accordingly …
811 wordsSECTION 394Chapter 10 [V.]--Free Will and God's Grace are Simultaneously Commended.
Chapter 10 [V.]--Free Will and God's Grace are Simultaneously Commended. When God says, "Turn ye unto me, and I will turn unto you," [3011] one of these clauses--that which invites our return to God--evidently belongs to our will; while the other, which promises His return to us, belongs to His grace. Here, possibly, the Pelagi…
749 wordsSECTION 395Chapter 12.--He Proves Out of St. Paul that Grace is Not Given According to Men's Merits.
Chapter 12.--He Proves Out of St. Paul that Grace is Not Given According to Men's Merits. Now there was, no doubt, a decided merit in the Apostle Paul, but it was an evil one, while he persecuted the Church, and he says of it: "I am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the Church of God." [3020] And it was whi…
1,043 wordsSECTION 396Chapter 14.--Paul First Received Grace that He Might Win the Crown.
Chapter 14.--Paul First Received Grace that He Might Win the Crown. Let us return now to the Apostle Paul, who, as we have found, obtained God's grace, who recompenses good for evil, without any good merits of his own, but rather with many evil merits. Let us see what he says when his final sufferings were approaching, writing …
1,052 wordsSECTION 397Chapter 17.--The Faith that He Kept Was the Free Gift of God.
Chapter 17.--The Faith that He Kept Was the Free Gift of God. His last clause runs thus: "I have kept the faith." But he who says this is the same who declares in another passage, "I have obtained mercy that I might be faithful." [3046] He does not say, "I obtained mercy because I was faithful," but "in order that I might be fa…
715 wordsSECTION 398Chapter 20.--The Question Answered. Justification is Grace Simply and Entirely, Eternal Life is Reward and Grace.
Chapter 20.--The Question Answered. Justification is Grace Simply and Entirely, Eternal Life is Reward and Grace. This question, then, seems to me to be by no means capable of solution, unless we understand that even those good works of ours, which are recompensed with eternal life, belong to the grace of God, because of what i…
1,103 wordsSECTION 399Chapter 22 [X.]--Who is the Transgressor of the Law? The Oldness of Its Letter. The Newness of Its Spirit.
Chapter 22 [X.]--Who is the Transgressor of the Law? The Oldness of Its Letter. The Newness of Its Spirit. Therefore, brethren, you ought by free will not do evil but do good; this, indeed, is the lesson taught us in the law of God, in the Holy Scriptures--both Old and New. Let us, however, read, and by the Lord's help understa…
1,030 wordsSECTION 400Chapter 24 [XII.]--Who May Be Said to Wish to Establish Their Own Righteousness. "God's Righteousness," So Called, Which Man Has from God.
Chapter 24 [XII.]--Who May Be Said to Wish to Establish Their Own Righteousness. "God's Righteousness," So Called, Which Man Has from God. As many, therefore, as are led by their own spirit, trusting in their own virtue, with the addition merely of the law's assistance, without the help of grace, are not the sons of God. Such a…
1,037 wordsSource & rights
Historical text source: Christian Classics Ethereal Library. The downloaded text itself records Public Domain.