XI. Peccatum enim originis non est quoddam delictum, quod actu perpetratur, sed intime inhæret infixum ipsi naturæ, substantiæ et essentiæ hominis. Et quidem, si maxime nulla unquam prava cogitatio in corde hominis corrupti exoriretur, si nullum verbum otiosum proferretur, si nullum malum opus aut facinus designaretur: tamen natura nihilominus corrupta est per originate peccatum, quod nobis ratione corrupti seminis agnatum est, quod ipsum etiam scaturigo est omnium aliorum actualium peccatorum, ut sunt pravæ cogitationes, prava colloquia, prave et scelerate facta. Sic enim scriptum legimus (Matt. xv. 19): 'Ex corde oriuntur cogitationes malæ.' Et alibi (Gen. vi. 5; viii. 21): 'Omne figmentum cordis tantummodo malum est, a pueritia.' XI. For Original Sin is not a particular transgression which is perpetrated in act, but intimately inheres, being infixed in the very nature, substance, and essence of man. And, indeed, if no depraved thought at all should ever arise in the heart of fallen man, if no idle word were uttered, if no evil work or deed were perpetrated by him: yet, nevertheless, the nature is corrupted by Original Sin, which is innate in ns by reason of the corrupted seed from which we spring, and is, moreover, a fountain of all other actual sins, such as evil thoughts, evil discoursings, evil and abominable deeds. For thus it is written, as we read in Matthew xv. 19: 'For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts.' And elsewhere (Gen. vi. 5; viii. 21): 'Every imagination of the thought of man's heart is only evil from his youth.' XII. Est etiam diligenter observanda varia significatio vocabuli 'naturæ' cujus æquivocatione Manichæi abutentes, errorem suum occultant, multosque simplices homines in errorem inducunt. Quandoque enim 'natura' ipsam hominis substantiam significat, ut, cum dicimus: Deus humanam naturam creavit. Interdum vero vocabulum naturæ, intelligitur XII. We must also diligently observe the various significations of the word nature, which equivocal meaning the Manichæans abusing, thereby disguise their error, and lead many simple men astray. For sometimes nature signifies the very substance of man, as when we say: God created human nature. Sometimes, on the other hand, by the word nature there is understood
ingenium, conditio, defectus, aut vitium alicujus rei, in ipsa natura insitum et inhærens, ut cum dicimus: Serpentis natura est icere, hominis natura est peccare et peccatum. Et in hac posteriore significatione vocabulum (naturæ) non ipsam hominis substantiam, sed aliquid, quod in natura aut substantia fixum inhæret, denotat. the temper, condition, defect, or vice of any thing implanted and inhering in the nature, as when we say: The serpent's nature is to strike, man's nature is to sin and is sin. And in this latter signification the word nature denotes, not the very nature of man, but something which inheres and is fixed in his nature or substance. XIII. Quod vero ad Latina vocabula substantiæ et accidentis attinet, cum ea non sint Scripturæ Sacræ vocabula, præterea etiam a plebe non intelligantur, abstinendum est ab illis in publicis sacris concionibus, ubi indocta plebs docetur; et hac in re simplicium et rudiorum merito habenda est ratio. XIII. But as respects the Latin words substantia and accidens, since these are not expressions of Holy Scripture, and moreover are not understood by the common people, we ought to abstain from them in public preaching devoted to the instruction of the unlearned multitude, and in this matter account should rightly be taken of the more simple and untaught. In scholis autem, et apud homines doctos (quibus horum vocabulorum significatio nota est, et qui iisdem recte atque citra abusum uti possunt, proprie discernentes essentiam alicujus rei ab eo, quod aliunde ei accidit et per accidens inhæret) in disputatione de peccato originis retinenda sunt. But in schools and among learned men (to whom the signification of these words is known, and who can use them correctly and without danger of misuse, properly discriminating the essence of any thing from that which has been added to it from without, and inheres in it by way of accident) they are to be retained in the discussion concerning Original Sin. Nam hisce vocabulis discrimen inter opus Dei, et inter opus Diaboli quam maxime perspicue For by means of these terms the distinction between the work of God and the work of the devil can
explicari potest. Diabolus enim substantiam nullam creare, sed tantummodo per accidens, permittente Domino, substantiam a Deo creatam depravare potest. be set forth with the greatest clearness. For the devil can not create any substance, but can only, by way of accident, under the permission of the Lord, deprave a substance created by God. Art. II. Art. II. DE LIBERO ARBITRIO. OF FREE WILL. Status Controversiæ. Statement of the Controversy. Cum hominis voluntas quadruplicem habeat considerationem [in vier ungleichen Ständen]: primo, ante lapsum; secundo, post lapsum; tertio, post regenerationem y quarto, post resurrectionem carnis: nunc quæstio præcipua est tantum de voluntate et viribus hominis in secundo statu, quasnam vires post lapsum primorum parentum nostrorum, ante regenerationem, ex seipso habeat, in rebus spiritualibus: an propriis viribus, antequam per Spiritum Dei fuerit regeneratus, possit sese ad gratiam Dei applicare et præparare [sich zur Gnade Gottes schicken und bereiten], [49] et num gratiam divinam (quæ illi per Spiritum Sanctum in verbo et Sacramentis divinitus institutis offertur) accipere et apprehendere possit, nec ne. Since the will of man is to be considered under a fourfold view [in four dissimilar states]: first, before the fall; secondly, since the fall; thirdly, after regeneration; fourthly, after the resurrection of the body: the chief present inquiry regards the will and powers of man in the second state, what manner of powers since the fall of our first parents he has of himself in spiritual things antecedently to regeneration : whether by his own proper powers, before he has been regenerated by the Spirit of God, he can apply and prepare himself unto the grace of God, and whether he can receive and apprehend the divine grace (which is offered to him through the Holy Ghost in the word and sacraments divinely instituted), or not?
Affirmativa. Affirmative.
Sincera doctrina de hoc articulo, cum immota regula verbi divini congruens.
The sound doctrine concerning this article, agreeable to the steadfast rule of the divine Word. I. De hoc negotio hæc est fides, doctrina et confessio nostra: quod videlicet hominis intellectus et ratio in rebus spiritualibus prorsus sint cæca, nihilque propriis viribus intelligere possint. Sicut scriptum est(1 Cor. ii. 14): 'Animalis homo non percipit ea, quæ sunt Spiritus; stultitia illi est, et non potest intelligere, quia de spiritualibus examinatur' [wann er wird von geistlichen Sachen gefraget]. [50] I. Concerning this matter, the following is our faith, doctrine, and confession, to wit: that the understanding and reason of man in spiritual things are wholly blind, and can understand nothing by their proper powers. As it is written (1 Cor. ii. 14): 'The natural man perceiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because he is examined concerning spiritual things.' [51] II. Credimus, docemus et confitemur etiam, voluntatem hominis nondum renatam, non tantum a Deo esse aversam, verum etiam, inimicam Deo factam, ita, ut tantummodo ea velit et cupiat, iisque delectetur, quæ mala sunt et voluntati divinæ repugnant. Scriptum est enim (Gen. viii. 21): 'Sensus et cogitatio humani cordis in malum prona sunt ab adolescentia sua.' Item (Rom. viii. 7): 'Affectus carnis inimicitia est adversus Deum, neque II. We believe, teach, and confess, moreover, that the yet unregenerate will of man is not only averse from God, but has become even hostile to God, so that it only wishes and desires those things, and is delighted with them, which are evil and opposite to the divine will. For it is written (Gen. viii. 21): 'For the imagination and thought of man's heart are prone to evil from his youth.' Also (Rom. viii. 7): 'The carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not
enim legi subjicitur, ac ne potest id quidem.' subject to the law, neither indeed can be.' Itaque credimus, quantum abest, ut corpus mortuum seipsum vivificare, atque sibiipsi corporalem vitam restituere possit, tantum abesse, ut homo, qui ratione peccati spiritualiter mortuus est, seipsum in vitam spiritualem revocandi ullam facultatem habeat; sicut scriptum est (Eph. ii. 5): 'Cum essemus mortui in peccatis, convivificavit nos cum Christo,' etc. (2 Cor. iii. 5): 'Itaque etiam ex nobismetipsis, tanquam ex nobis, non sumus idonei, ut aliquid boni [etwas Guts] [52] cogitemus; quod vero idonei sumus, id ipsum a Deo est.' Therefore we believe that by how ranch it is impossible that a dead body should vivify itself and restore corporal life to itself, even so impossible is it that man, who by reason of sin is spiritually dead, should have any faculty of recalling himself into spiritual life; as it is written ( Eph. ii. 5): 'Even when we were dead in sins, he hath quickened us together with Christ.' (2 Cor. iii. 5): 'Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing good [53] as of ourselves; but that we are sufficient is itself of God.' III. Conversionem autem hominis operatur Spiritus Sanctus non sine mediis, sed ad eam efficiendam uti solet prædicatione et auscultatione verbi Dei, sicut scriptum est (Rom. i. 16): 'Evangelion est potentia Dei ad salutem omni credenti? Et (Rom. x. 17): 'Fides est ex auditu verbi Dei.' Et sane vult Dominus, ut ipsius verbum audiatur, neque ad illius prædicationem aures obdurentur (Psa. xcv. 8). Huic verbo adest præsens Spiritus Sanctus, et corda hominum aperit, ut, sicut Lydia in Actis III. Nevertheless the Holy Spirit effects the conversion of man not without means, but is wont to use for effecting it preaching and the hearing of the Word of God, as it is written ( Rom. i. 16): 'The gospel is a power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth.' And ( Rom. x. 17): 'Faith cometh by hearing of the Word of God.' And without question it is the will of the Lord that his Word should be heard, and that our ears should not be stopped when it is preached ( Psa. xcv. 8). With this Word is present the Holy Spirit, who opens
Apostolicis (xvi. 14), diligenter attendant, et ita convertantur, sola gratia et virtute Spiritus Sancti, cujus unius et solius opus est hominis conversio. Si enim Spiritus Sancti gratia absit (Rom. ix. 16), nostrum velle et currere (1 Cor. iii. 7), nostrum plantare, seminare et rigare, prorsus frustranea sunt; si videlicet ille incrementum non largiatur, sicut Christus inquit (John xv. 5): 'Sine me nihil potestis facere.' Et his quidem paucis verbis Christus libero arbitrio omnes vires derogat, omniaque gratiæ divinæ adscribit (1 Cor. i. 29; 2 Cor. xii. 5; Jer. ix. 23): 'Ne quis coram Deo habeat, de quo glorietur.' the hearts of men, in order that, as Lydia did (Acts xvi. 14), they may diligently attend, and thus may be converted by the sole grace and power of the Holy Spirit, whose work, and whose work alone, the conversion of man is. For if the grace of the Holy Spirit is absent, our willing and running, our planting, sowing, and watering, are wholly in vain (Rom. ix. 16; 1 Cor. iii. 7); if, that is, he do not give the increase, as Christ says (John xv. 5): 'Without me ye can do nothing.' And, indeed, in these few words Christ denies to free-will all power whatever, and ascribes all to divine grace, 'that no one may have whereof he may glory before God' (1 Cor. i. 29; 2 Cor. xii. 5; Jer. ix. 23). Negativa. Negative. Rejectio contrariæ et falsæ doctrinæ. Rejection of contrary and false doctrine. Repudiamus igitur et damnamus omnes, quos recitabimus, errores, cum verbi divini regula non congruentes. We repudiate, therefore, and condemn all the errors which we will now recount, as not agreeing with the rule of the divine word: I. Primo delirum Philosophorum Stoicorum dogma, quemadmodum et Manichæorum furorem, qui docuerunt, omnia, quæ eveniant, necessario fieri, et aliter fieri prorsus non posse, et hominem omnia coactum facere, etiam ea, quæ in rebus externis agat, eumque ad designanda mala I. First, the insane dogma of the Stoic philosophers, as also the madness of the Manichæans, who taught that all things which come to pass take place by necessity, and can not possibly be otherwise; and that man does all things by constraint, even those things which he transacts in outward matters, and that he is