Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, First Series • VOLUME 5
Augustine — Anti-Pelagian Writings
SECTION 161
Chapter XVI.--(37.) The Sixth Passage.
Chapter XVI.--(37.) The Sixth Passage. He has also adduced this passage of Scripture, which is very commonly quoted against his party: "For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not." [1542] And he makes a pretence of answering it by other passages,--how, "the Lord says concerning holy Job, Hast thou …
1,499 wordsSECTION 162Chapter XIX--(40.) The Ninth Passage.
Chapter XIX--(40.) The Ninth Passage. "This passage, too," says he, "is quoted by them: It is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy.'" [1563] And he observes that the answer to be given to them is derived from the same apostle's words in another passage: "Let him do what he will." [1564…
1,441 wordsSECTION 163Chapter XX.--(43.) No Man is Assisted Unless He Does Himself Also Work. Our Course is a Constant Progress.
Chapter XX.--(43.) No Man is Assisted Unless He Does Himself Also Work. Our Course is a Constant Progress. But what is the import of the last statement which he has made: "If any one say, May it possibly be that a man sin not even in word?' then the answer," says he, "which must be given is, Quite possible, if God so will; and …
1,178 wordsSECTION 164Book II. Chap. 45,
Book II. Chap. 45, On the Following Treatise, "De gestis pelagii." ------------------------ "About the same time, in the East (that is to say, in Palestinian Syria), Pelagius was summoned by certain catholic brethren [1606] before a tribunal of bishops, and was heard on his trial by fourteen prelates, in the absence of his a…
1,310 wordsSECTION 165Chapter 1.--Introduction.
Chapter 1.--Introduction. After there came into my hands, holy father Aurelius, the ecclesiastical proceedings, by which fourteen bishops of the province of Palestine pronounced Pelagius a catholic, my hesitation, in which I was previously reluctant to make any lengthy or confident statement about the defence which he had made,…
1,187 wordsSECTION 166Chapter 4 [II.]--The Same Continued.
Chapter 4 [II.]--The Same Continued. If Pelagius, as he possibly might, were to say in reply to this, that that very thing was what he meant by "the knowledge of the law, without which a man is unable to be free from sins," which is communicated by the teaching of faith to converts and to babes in Christ, and in which candidate…
924 wordsSECTION 167Chapter 6.--Pelagius' Answer Examined.
Chapter 6.--Pelagius' Answer Examined. Indeed, in this very book which contains these statements, after laying down the position, "All men are governed by their own will, and every one is submitted to his own desire," Pelagius goes on to adduce the testimony of Scripture, from which it is evident enough that no man ought to tru…
827 wordsSECTION 168Chapter 8.--The Same Continued.
Chapter 8.--The Same Continued. This being the case, how must God's children, who have learned the truth of all this and rejoice at being ruled and led by the Spirit of God, have been affected when they heard or read that Pelagius had declared in writing that "all men are governed by their own will, and that every one is submit…
912 wordsSECTION 169Chapter 11.--The Same Continued.
Chapter 11.--The Same Continued. But how this judgment is to be accomplished, it is not easy to understand from Holy Scripture; for there are many modes therein of describing that which is to come to pass only in one mode. In one place the Lord declares that He will "shut the door" against those whom He does not admit into His …
968 wordsSECTION 170Chapter 13 [V.]--The Fifth Item of the Accusation; And Pelagius' Answer.
Chapter 13 [V.]--The Fifth Item of the Accusation; And Pelagius' Answer. After the judges had accorded their approbation to this answer of Pelagius, another passage which he had written in his book was read aloud: "The kingdom of heaven was promised even in the Old Testament." Upon this, Pelagius remarked in vindication: "This …
1,063 wordsSECTION 171Chapter 15.--The Same Continued.
Chapter 15.--The Same Continued. How then should there not be a feeling of just disquietude entertained by the children of promise, children of the free Jerusalem, which is eternal in the heavens, when they see that by the words of Pelagius the distinction which has been drawn by Apostolic and catholic authority is abolished, a…
805 wordsSECTION 172Chapter 17.--Examination of the Sixth Charge and Answers.
Chapter 17.--Examination of the Sixth Charge and Answers. Well, now, had the judges either the power or the right to condemn these unrecognised and vague words, when no person on the other side was present to assert that Pelagius had written the very culpable sentences which were alleged to have been addressed by him to the wid…
963 wordsSECTION 173Chapter 19.--The Same Continued.
Chapter 19.--The Same Continued. Now it so happened that, while we were reading this defence of Pelagius in the small paper which we received at first, [1654] there were present certain holy brethren, who said that they had in their possession some hortatory or consolatory works which Pelagius had addressed to a widow lady whos…
982 wordsSECTION 174Chapter 21 [VIII.]--The Same Continued.
Chapter 21 [VIII.]--The Same Continued. It is not nature, therefore, which, sold as it is under sin and wounded by the offence, longs for a Redeemer and Saviour; nor is it the knowledge of the law--through which comes the discovery, not the expulsion, of sin--which delivers us from the body of this death; but it is the Lord's g…
944 wordsSECTION 175Chapter 23 [XI.]--The Seventh Item of the Accusation: the Breviates of Coelestius Objected to Pelagius.
Chapter 23 [XI.]--The Seventh Item of the Accusation: the Breviates of Coelestius Objected to Pelagius. Then follow sundry statements charged against Pelagius, which are said to be found among the opinions of his disciple Coelestius: how that "Adam was created mortal, and would have died whether he had sinned or not sinned; tha…
773 wordsSECTION 176Chapter 25.--The Pelagians Falsely Pretended that the Eastern Churches Were on Their Side.
Chapter 25.--The Pelagians Falsely Pretended that the Eastern Churches Were on Their Side. Now, by reason of these questions, and the very contentious assertions of these tenets, which are everywhere accompanied with heated feelings, many weak brethren were disturbed. We have accordingly, in the anxiety of that love which it be…
753 wordsSECTION 177Chapter 27 [XII.]--The Eighth Item in the Accusation.
Chapter 27 [XII.]--The Eighth Item in the Accusation. Pelagius was charged with having said: "That the Church here is without spot or wrinkle." It was on this point that the Donatists also were constantly at conflict with us in our conference. We used, in their case, to lay especial stress on the mixture of bad men with good, l…
762 wordsSECTION 178Chapter 29 [XIII.]--The Ninth Item of the Accusation; And Pelagius' Reply.
Chapter 29 [XIII.]--The Ninth Item of the Accusation; And Pelagius' Reply. The next objections were urged out of the book of Coelestius, following the contents of each several chapter, but rather according to the sense than the words. These indeed he expatiates on rather fully; they, however, who presented the indictment agains…
947 wordsSECTION 179Chapter 31.--Remarks on the Tenth Item.
Chapter 31.--Remarks on the Tenth Item. I shall make my next remark with greater satisfaction. In a former section I expressed a fear [1689] that, when Pelagius said that "a man was able by the help of God's grace to live without sin," he perhaps meant by the term "grace" the capability possessed by nature as created by God wit…
1,511 wordsSECTION 180Chapter 33.--Discussion of the Eleventh Item Continued.
Chapter 33.--Discussion of the Eleventh Item Continued. What, then, is the reason why, as I said just now, I felt anxious on the subject of this head of his doctrine? It is occasioned by what Pelagius says in these words: "That God gives to the man who has proved himself worthy to receive them, all graces, even as He conferred …
849 wordsSECTION 181Chapter 35.--The Same Continued.
Chapter 35.--The Same Continued. "What, then, is the meaning of that which the same apostle says: I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day;' [1713] if these are not rec…
1,241 wordsSECTION 182Chapter 37--The Same Continued. John, Bishop of Jerusalem, and His Examination.
Chapter 37--The Same Continued. John, Bishop of Jerusalem, and His Examination. With great propriety, as the proceedings show, did John, the holy overseer of the Church of Jerusalem, employ the authority of this same passage of the apostle, as he himself told our brethren the bishops who were his assessors at that trial, on the…
902 wordsSECTION 183Chapter 40 [XVII.]--The Same Continued.
Chapter 40 [XVII.]--The Same Continued. Since, then, Pelagius was present when these passages of the Scriptures were discussed, and by his silence acknowledged having said that he entertained the same view of their meaning, how happens it, that, after reconsidering the apostle's testimony, as he had just done, and finding that …
787 wordsSECTION 184Chapter 42 [XVIII.]--The Twelfth Item in the Accusation. Other Heads of Coelestius' Doctrine Abjured by Pelagius.
Chapter 42 [XVIII.]--The Twelfth Item in the Accusation. Other Heads of Coelestius' Doctrine Abjured by Pelagius. For it was objected that in the sixth chapter of Coelestius' work there was laid down this position: "Men cannot be called sons of God, unless they have become entirely free from all sin." It follows from this state…
919 wordsSECTION 185Chapter 46 [XXII.]--How Pelagius Became Known to Augustin; Coelestius Condemned at Carthage.
Chapter 46 [XXII.]--How Pelagius Became Known to Augustin; Coelestius Condemned at Carthage. Now, that I may especially refer to my own relation to him, I first became acquainted with Pelagius' name, along with great praise of him, at a distance, and when he was living at Rome. Afterwards reports began to reach us, that he disp…
870 wordsSECTION 186Chapter 48 [XXIV.]--A Letter Written by Timasius and Jacobus to Augustin on Receiving His Treatise "On Nature and Grace."
Chapter 48 [XXIV.]--A Letter Written by Timasius and Jacobus to Augustin on Receiving His Treatise "On Nature and Grace." "To his lordship, the truly blessed and deservedly venerable father, Bishop Augustin, Timasius and Jacobus send greeting in the Lord. We have been so greatly refreshed and strengthened by the grace of God, w…
892 wordsSECTION 187Chapter 51 [XXVI.]--The Nature of Augustin's Letter to Pelagius.
Chapter 51 [XXVI.]--The Nature of Augustin's Letter to Pelagius. For my own part, indeed, in my letter which he produced, I not only abstained from all praises of him, but I even exhorted him, with as much earnestness as I could, short of actually mooting the question, to cultivate right views about the grace of God. In my salu…
1,016 wordsSECTION 188Chapter 54 [XXX.]--On the Letter of Pelagius, in Which He Boasts that His Errors Had Been Approved by Fourteen Bishops.
Chapter 54 [XXX.]--On the Letter of Pelagius, in Which He Boasts that His Errors Had Been Approved by Fourteen Bishops. For I will not be silent as to the transactions which took place after this trial, and which rather augment the suspicion against him. A certain epistle found its way into our hands, which was ascribed to Pela…
1,531 wordsSECTION 189Chapter 56 [XXXI.]--Is Pelagius Sincere?
Chapter 56 [XXXI.]--Is Pelagius Sincere? How, then, can it be believed that Pelagius (if indeed this epistle is his) could have been sincere, when he acknowledged the grace of God, which is not nature with its free will, nor the knowledge of the law, nor simply the forgiveness of sins, but a something which is necessary to each…
722 wordsSECTION 190Chapter 58.--The Same Continued.
Chapter 58.--The Same Continued. He has, moreover, in this same paper, huddled together afterwards many of the points which were objected against him out of the "Chapters," of Coelestius' book; nor has he kept distinct, at the intervals which separate them in the Proceedings, the two answers in which he anathematized these very…
757 wordsSECTION 191Chapter 59 [XXXIV.]--Although Pelagius Was Acquitted, His Heresy Was Condemned.
Chapter 59 [XXXIV.]--Although Pelagius Was Acquitted, His Heresy Was Condemned. Now, with respect to this treatise of mine, which perhaps is not unreasonably lengthy, considering the importance and extent of its subject, I have wished to inscribe it to your Reverence, in order that, if it be not displeasing to your mind, it may…
1,563 wordsSECTION 192Chapter 63.--The Same Continued. The Dogmas of Coelestius Laid to the Charge of Pelagius, as His Master, and Condemned.
Chapter 63.--The Same Continued. The Dogmas of Coelestius Laid to the Charge of Pelagius, as His Master, and Condemned. Of the opinions which Coelestius has said or written, and which were objected against Pelagius, on the ground that they were the dogmas of his disciple, he acknowledged some as entertained also by himself; but…
1,293 wordsSECTION 193Chapter 66.--The Harsh Measures of the Pelagians Against the Holy Monks and Nuns Who Belonged to Jerome's Charge.
Chapter 66.--The Harsh Measures of the Pelagians Against the Holy Monks and Nuns Who Belonged to Jerome's Charge. Certain followers of Pelagius are said to have carried their support of his cause after these judicial proceedings to an incredible extent of perverseness and audacity. They are said [1783] to have most cruelly beat…
893 wordsSECTION 194Book I.
Book I. On the Grace of Christ. Wherein he shows that Pelagius is disingenuous in his confession of grace, inasmuch as he places grace either in nature and free will, or in law and teaching; and, moreover, asserts that it is merely the "possibility" (as he calls it) of will and action, and not the will and action itself, which…
814 wordsSECTION 195Chapter 3 [III.]--Grace According to the Pelagians.
Chapter 3 [III.]--Grace According to the Pelagians. But why should we wonder at this? For the same Pelagius, who in the Proceedings of the episcopal synod unhesitatingly condemned those who say "that God's grace and assistance are not given for single acts, but consist in free will, or in law and teaching," [1787] upon which po…
996 wordsSECTION 196Chapter 6 [V.]--Pelagius and Paul of Different Opinions.
Chapter 6 [V.]--Pelagius and Paul of Different Opinions. The whole of this dogma of Pelagius, observe, is carefully expressed in these words, and none other, in the third book of his treatise in defence of the liberty of the will, in which he has taken care to distinguish with so great subtlety these three things,--the "capacit…
781 wordsSECTION 197Chapter 8.--Grace, According to the Pelagians, Consists in the Internal and Manifold Illumination of the Mind.
Chapter 8.--Grace, According to the Pelagians, Consists in the Internal and Manifold Illumination of the Mind. As to this natural capacity which, he allows, is assisted by the grace of God, it is by no means clear from the passage either what grace he means, or to what extent he supposes our nature to be assisted by it. But, as…
1,054 wordsSECTION 198Chapter 10 [IX.]--What Purpose the Law Subserves.
Chapter 10 [IX.]--What Purpose the Law Subserves. What object, then, can this man gain by accounting the law and the teaching to be the grace whereby we are helped to work righteousness? For, in order that it may help much, it must help us to feel our need of grace. No man, indeed, is able to fulfil the law through the law. "Lo…
796 wordsSECTION 199Chapter 12 [XI.]--The Same Continued: "He Reveals Wisdom."
Chapter 12 [XI.]--The Same Continued: "He Reveals Wisdom." But what shall I say about the revelation of wisdom? For there is no man who can in the present life very well hope to attain to the great revelations which were given to the Apostle Paul; and of course it is impossible to suppose that anything was accustomed in these r…
1,193 wordsSECTION 200Chapter 15 [XIV.]--He Who Has Been Taught by Grace Actually Comes to Christ.
Chapter 15 [XIV.]--He Who Has Been Taught by Grace Actually Comes to Christ. Now as touching this kind of teaching, the Lord also says: "Every man that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me." [1819] Of the man, therefore, who has not come, it cannot be correctly said: "Has heard and has learned that it is h…
768 wordsSource & rights
Historical text source: Christian Classics Ethereal Library. The downloaded text itself records Public Domain.