Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, First Series • VOLUME 5
Augustine — Anti-Pelagian Writings
SECTION 121
Chapter 10 [IX.]--He Could Not Be Justified, Who Had Not Heard of the Name of Christ; Rendering the Cross of Christ of None Effect.
Chapter 10 [IX.]--He Could Not Be Justified, Who Had Not Heard of the Name of Christ; Rendering the Cross of Christ of None Effect. But they say: "He is not condemned; because the statement that all sinned in Adam, was not made because of the sin which is derived from one's birth, but because of imitation of him." If, therefore…
754 wordsSECTION 122Chapter 12 [XI.]--In Our Discussions About Grace, We Do Not Speak of that Which Relates to the Constitution of Our Nature, But to Its Restoration.
Chapter 12 [XI.]--In Our Discussions About Grace, We Do Not Speak of that Which Relates to the Constitution of Our Nature, But to Its Restoration. I confess to your love, that when I read those words I was filled with a sudden joy, because he did not deny the grace of God by which alone a man can be justified; for it is this wh…
1,030 wordsSECTION 123Chapter 16 [XV.]--Pelagius Corrupts a Passage of the Apostle James by Adding a Note of Interrogation.
Chapter 16 [XV.]--Pelagius Corrupts a Passage of the Apostle James by Adding a Note of Interrogation. Now that passage, in which the Apostle James says: "But the tongue can no man tame," [1161] does not appear to me to be capable of the interpretation which he would put upon it, when he expounds it, "as if it were written by wa…
870 wordsSECTION 124Chapter 18 [XVII.]--Who May Be Said to Be in the Flesh.
Chapter 18 [XVII.]--Who May Be Said to Be in the Flesh. There is a passage which nobody could place against these texts with the similar purpose of showing the impossibility of not sinning: "The wisdom of the flesh is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be; so then they that are in th…
1,224 wordsSECTION 125Chapter 22 [XX.]--How Our Nature Could Be Vitiated by Sin, Even Though It Be Not a Substance.
Chapter 22 [XX.]--How Our Nature Could Be Vitiated by Sin, Even Though It Be Not a Substance. Now, do you not perceive the tendency and direction of this controversy? Even to render of none effect the Scripture where it is said "Thou shalt call His name Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sins." [1179] For how is He …
744 wordsSECTION 126Chapter 24 [XXII.]--Sin and the Penalty of Sin the Same.
Chapter 24 [XXII.]--Sin and the Penalty of Sin the Same. "The very matter," says he, "of sin is its punishment, if the sinner is so much weakened that he commits more sins." He does not consider how justly the light of truth forsakes the man who transgresses the law. When thus deserted he of course becomes blinded, and necessar…
1,289 wordsSECTION 127Chapter 26 [XXIV.]--Christ Died of His Own Power and Choice.
Chapter 26 [XXIV.]--Christ Died of His Own Power and Choice. As to his statement, indeed, that "the Lord was able to die without sin;" His being born also was of the ability of His mercy, not the demand of His nature: so, likewise, did He undergo death of His own power; and this is our price which He paid to redeem us from deat…
719 wordsSECTION 128Chapter 29 [XXVI.]--A Simile to Show that God's Grace is Necessary for Doing Any Good Work Whatever. God Never Forsakes the Justified Man If He Be Not Himself Forsaken. [1203]
Chapter 29 [XXVI.]--A Simile to Show that God's Grace is Necessary for Doing Any Good Work Whatever. God Never Forsakes the Justified Man If He Be Not Himself Forsaken. [1203] Observe, indeed, how cautiously he expresses himself: "God, no doubt, applies His mercy even to this office, whenever it is necessary because man after s…
1,060 wordsSECTION 129Chapter 32 [XXVIII.]--God Forsakes Us to Some Extent that We May Not Grow Proud.
Chapter 32 [XXVIII.]--God Forsakes Us to Some Extent that We May Not Grow Proud. Therefore it is not said to a man: "It necessary for you to sin that you may not sin;" but it is said to a man: "God in some degree forsakes you, in consequence of which you grow proud, that you may know that you are not your own,' but are His, [12…
734 wordsSECTION 130Chapter 34 [XXX.]--A Man's Sin is His Own, But He Needs Grace for His Cure.
Chapter 34 [XXX.]--A Man's Sin is His Own, But He Needs Grace for His Cure. Well, but what does he mean when he says: "Then again, how can one be subjected to God for the guilt of that sin, which he knows is not his own? For," says he, "his own it is not, if it is necessary. Or, if it is his own, it is voluntary: and if it is v…
1,390 wordsSECTION 131Chapter 37 [XXXIII.]--Being Wholly Without Sin Does Not Put Man on an Equality with God.
Chapter 37 [XXXIII.]--Being Wholly Without Sin Does Not Put Man on an Equality with God. But God forbid that we should meet him with such an assertion as he says certain persons advance against him: "That man is placed on an equality with God, if he is described as being without sin;" as if indeed an angel, because he is withou…
740 wordsSECTION 132Chapter 40 [XXXV.]--Why There is a Record in Scripture of Certain Men's Sins, Recklessness in Sin Accounts It to Be So Much Loss Whenever It Falls Short in Gratifying Lust.
Chapter 40 [XXXV.]--Why There is a Record in Scripture of Certain Men's Sins, Recklessness in Sin Accounts It to Be So Much Loss Whenever It Falls Short in Gratifying Lust. He who has a sound judgment says soundly, "that the examples of certain persons, of whose sinning we read in Scripture, are not recorded for this purpose, t…
813 wordsSECTION 133Chapter 43 [XXXVII.]--Why Scripture Has Not Mentioned the Sins of All.
Chapter 43 [XXXVII.]--Why Scripture Has Not Mentioned the Sins of All. "But perhaps," says he, "they will ask me: Could not the Scripture have mentioned sins of all of these?" And surely they would say the truth, whoever should put such a question to him; and I do not discover that he has anywhere given a sound reply to them, a…
1,201 wordsSECTION 134Chapter 46 [XXXIX.]--Shall We Follow Scripture, or Add to Its Declarations?
Chapter 46 [XXXIX.]--Shall We Follow Scripture, or Add to Its Declarations? It is, to be sure, a grand sentence with which he concluded this passage, when he says: "What we read, therefore, let us believe; and what we do not read, let us deem it wicked to add; and let it suffice to have said this of all cases." On the contrary,…
1,024 wordsSECTION 135Chapter 49 [XLII.]--A Man Can Be Sinless, But Only by the Help of Grace. In the Saints This Possibility Advances and Keeps Pace with the Realization.
Chapter 49 [XLII.]--A Man Can Be Sinless, But Only by the Help of Grace. In the Saints This Possibility Advances and Keeps Pace with the Realization. "Well, be it so," says he, "I agree; he testifies to the fact that all were sinners. He says, indeed, what they have been, not that they might not have been something else. Wheref…
854 wordsSECTION 136Chapter 52.--The Whole Discussion is About Grace.
Chapter 52.--The Whole Discussion is About Grace. Let us, however, observe what our author answers, after laying before himself the question wherein he seems indeed so intolerable to Christian hearts. He says: "But you will tell me this is what disturbs a great many,--that you do not maintain that it is by the grace of God that…
750 wordsSECTION 137Chapter 54 [XLVI.]--There is No Incompatibility Between Necessity and Free Will.
Chapter 54 [XLVI.]--There is No Incompatibility Between Necessity and Free Will. Now how does all this apply to our subject? Let us see what he makes out of it. "Whatever," says he, "is fettered by natural necessity is deprived of determination of will and deliberation." Well, now, here lies a question; for it is the height of …
853 wordsSECTION 138Chapter 57 [XLIX.]--It Does Not Detract from God's Almighty Power, that He is Incapable of Either Sinning, or Dying, or Destroying Himself.
Chapter 57 [XLIX.]--It Does Not Detract from God's Almighty Power, that He is Incapable of Either Sinning, or Dying, or Destroying Himself. "Inasmuch," says he, "as not to sin is ours, we are able to sin and to avoid sin." What, then, if another should say: "Inasmuch as not to wish for unhappiness is ours, we are able both to w…
781 wordsSECTION 139Chapter 59 [LI.]--In What Sense Pelagius Attributed to God's Grace the Capacity of Not Sinning.
Chapter 59 [LI.]--In What Sense Pelagius Attributed to God's Grace the Capacity of Not Sinning. In order, however, to escape from the odium wherewith Christians guard their salvation, he parries their question when they ask him, "Why do you affirm that man without the help of God's grace is able to avoid sin?" by saying, "The a…
851 wordsSECTION 140Chapter 61 [LIII.]--Paul Asserts that the Flesh is Contrary Even in the Baptized.
Chapter 61 [LIII.]--Paul Asserts that the Flesh is Contrary Even in the Baptized. Now let us see whether we anywhere read about the flesh being contrary in the baptized also. And here, I ask, to whom did the apostle say, "The flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to t…
799 wordsSECTION 141Chapter 63 [LIV.]--Does God Create Contraries?
Chapter 63 [LIV.]--Does God Create Contraries? He next endeavours, by much quotation from the apostle, about which there is no controversy, to show "that the flesh is often mentioned by him in such a manner as proves him to mean not the substance, but the works of the flesh." What is this to the point? The defects of the flesh …
1,044 wordsSECTION 142Chapter 65 [LV.]--"This Body of Death," So Called from Its Defect, Not from Its Substance.
Chapter 65 [LV.]--"This Body of Death," So Called from Its Defect, Not from Its Substance. Now, I ask, when did our nature lose that liberty, which he craves to be given to him when he says: "Who shall liberate me?" [1283] For even he finds no fault with the substance of the flesh when he expresses his desire to be liberated fr…
716 wordsSECTION 143Chapter 67 [LVII.]--Who May Be Said to Be Under the Law.
Chapter 67 [LVII.]--Who May Be Said to Be Under the Law. But even our author should observe that it is to persons who have been already baptized that it was said: "The flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh, so that ye cannot do the things that ye would." [1293] And lest he should make them slothful …
750 wordsSECTION 144Chapter 69 [LIX.]--Pelagius Puts Nature in the Place of Grace.
Chapter 69 [LIX.]--Pelagius Puts Nature in the Place of Grace. In opposition, however, to those who ask, "And who would be unwilling to be without sin, if it were put in the power of a man?" he rightly contends, saying "that by this very question they acknowledge that the thing is not impossible; because so much as this, many, …
1,101 wordsSECTION 145Chapter 72 [LXI.]--Hilary. The Pure in Heart Blessed. The Doing and Perfecting of Righteousness.
Chapter 72 [LXI.]--Hilary. The Pure in Heart Blessed. The Doing and Perfecting of Righteousness. He quotes the following words from the blessed Hilary: "It is only when we shall be perfect in spirit and changed in our immortal state, which blessedness has been appointed only for the pure in heart, [1308] that we shall see that …
781 wordsSECTION 146Chapter 74 [LXIII.]--Ambrose.
Chapter 74 [LXIII.]--Ambrose. St. Ambrose, however, really opposes those who say that man cannot exist without sin in the present life. For, in order to support his statement, he avails himself of the instance of Zacharias and Elisabeth, because they are mentioned as "having walked in all the commandments and ordinances" of the…
779 wordsSECTION 147Chapter 76 [LXIV.]--John of Constantinople.
Chapter 76 [LXIV.]--John of Constantinople. He quotes also John, bishop of Constantinople, as saying "that sin is not a substance, but a wicked act." Who denies this? "And because it is not natural, therefore the law was given against it, and because it proceeds from the liberty of our will." [1324] Who, too, denies this? Howev…
858 wordsSECTION 148Chapter 79 [LXVI.]--A Certain Necessity of Sinning.
Chapter 79 [LXVI.]--A Certain Necessity of Sinning. But let us revert to the apostle's assertion: "The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us." [1333] By whom given if not by Him who "ascended up on high, led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men?" [1334] Forasmuch, however, as th…
1,424 wordsSECTION 149Chapter 82 [LXVIII.]--How to Exhort Men to Faith, Repentance, and Advancement.
Chapter 82 [LXVIII.]--How to Exhort Men to Faith, Repentance, and Advancement. If, therefore, we wish "to rouse and kindle cold and sluggish souls by Christian exhortations to lead righteous lives," [1343] we must first of all exhort them to that faith whereby they may become Christians, and be subjects of His name and authorit…
845 wordsSECTION 150Chapter 84 [LXX.]--The Degrees of Love are Also Degrees of Holiness.
Chapter 84 [LXX.]--The Degrees of Love are Also Degrees of Holiness. Inchoate love, therefore, is inchoate holiness; advanced love is advanced holiness; great love is great holiness; "perfect love is perfect holiness,"--but this "love is out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned," [1358] "which in th…
1,796 wordsSECTION 151Chapter I.
Chapter I. Your love, which in both of you is so great and so holy that it is a delight to obey its commands, has laid me under an obligation to reply to some definitions which are said to be the work of Coelestius; for so runs the title of the paper which you have given me, "The definitions, so it is said, of Coelestius." As f…
1,256 wordsSECTION 152Chapter III.--(5.) The Fifth Breviate.
Chapter III.--(5.) The Fifth Breviate. V. "We must again," he says, "inquire whether a man ought to be without sin. Beyond doubt he ought. If he ought, he is able; if he is not able, then he ought not. Now if a man ought not to be without sin, it follows that he ought to be with sin,--and then it ceases to be sin at all, if it …
757 wordsSECTION 153Chapter IV.--(9.) The Ninth Breviate.
Chapter IV.--(9.) The Ninth Breviate. IX. "The next question we shall require to be solved," says he, "is this: By what means is it brought about that man is with sin?--by the necessity of nature, or by the freedom of choice? If it is by the necessity of nature, he is blameless; if by the freedom of choice, then the question ar…
1,182 wordsSECTION 154Chapter VI.--(12.) The Twelfth Breviate.
Chapter VI.--(12.) The Twelfth Breviate. XII. "Again the question arises," he says, "how it is that man is unable to be without sin,--by his will, or by nature? If by nature, it is not sin; if by his will, then will can very easily be changed by will." We answer by reminding him how he ought to reflect on the extreme presumptio…
910 wordsSECTION 155Chapter VII.--(16.) The Sixteenth Breviate.
Chapter VII.--(16.) The Sixteenth Breviate. XVI. After all these disputations, their author introduces himself in person as arguing with another, and represents himself as under examination, and as being addressed by his examiner: "Show me the man who is without sin." He answers: "I show you one who is able to be without sin." …
2,008 wordsSECTION 156Chapter IX.--(20.) Who May Be Said to Walk Without Spot; Damnable and Venial Sins.
Chapter IX.--(20.) Who May Be Said to Walk Without Spot; Damnable and Venial Sins. Having premised these remarks, let us carefully attend to the passages which he whom we are answering has produced, as if we ourselves had quoted them. "In Deuteronomy, Thou shalt be perfect before the Lord thy God.' [1428] Again, in the same boo…
1,851 wordsSECTION 157Chapter XI.--(23.) Passages of Scripture Which, When Objected Against Him by the Catholics, Coelestius Endeavours to Elude by Other Passages: the First Passage.
Chapter XI.--(23.) Passages of Scripture Which, When Objected Against Him by the Catholics, Coelestius Endeavours to Elude by Other Passages: the First Passage. After this he adduced the passages which are usually quoted against them. He does not attempt to explain these passages, but, by quoting what seem to be contrary ones, …
1,902 wordsSECTION 158Chapter XII.--(29.) The Second Passage. Who May Be Said to Abstain from Every Evil Thing.
Chapter XII.--(29.) The Second Passage. Who May Be Said to Abstain from Every Evil Thing. "They are in the habit of next quoting," says he, "the passage: Every man is a liar.'" [1486] But here again he offers no solution of words which are quoted against himself even by himself; all he does is to mention other apparently opposi…
1,542 wordsSECTION 159Chapter XIV.--(32.) The Fourth Passage. In What Sense God Only is Good. With God to Be Good and to Be Himself are the Same Thing.
Chapter XIV.--(32.) The Fourth Passage. In What Sense God Only is Good. With God to Be Good and to Be Himself are the Same Thing. "They likewise," says he, "quote what the Saviour says: Why callest thou me good? There is none good save one, that is, God?'" [1504] This statement, however, he makes no attempt whatever to explain;…
892 wordsSECTION 160Chapter XV.--(34.) The Opposing Passages.
Chapter XV.--(34.) The Opposing Passages. And yet the passages are true which he goes on to adduce by way of answer, saying: "The Saviour in the gospel declares, Blessed are the pure in heart; for they shall see God.' [1522] David also says, Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? or who shall stand in His holy place? He th…
1,253 wordsSource & rights
Historical text source: Christian Classics Ethereal Library. The downloaded text itself records Public Domain.