Augustine: Earlier Writings (continued)
pure heart. Whatever the true view may be in this matter, we must hold with unshaken faith that the Father is God and the Son is God and the Holy Spirit is God; that there are not three Gods, but that the Trinity is One God; that the persons are not diverse in nature but are of the same substance; that the Father is not now the Son and now the Holy Spirit; but that the Father is always the Father and the Son always the Son and the Holy
Spirit always the Holy Spirit. We must not rashly affirm anything about invisible things as ifwe knew, but only as those who believe. These things can only be seen by the pure heart. He who, in this life, sees them in part and in an enigma, as it is written, cannot by speaking about them let another see them, who is hindered by uncleanness of heart. "Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God" (Matt. 5:8). This is our faith concerning God our maker and renewer.
X, 2 1 . We are commanded to love not only God but also our neighbour; as it is written: "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul and with all thy mind and thy neighbour as thyself" Unless the Christian faith gather men together into a society in which brotherly love can operate, it remains less fruitful. Hence we believe [in] the Holy
Church, that is to say, the Catholic Church. Heretics and schismatics also call their congregations churches. But heretics do violence to the faith by holding false opinions about God; and schismatics, although they believe as we believe, have broken away from brotherly love by wicked separations. Wherefore heretics do not belong to the Catholic Church which loves God; nor do schismatics, for the Church loves its neighbour, and easily forgives his sins because it prays to be forgiven by him who has reconciled us to himself, blotting out all past transgressions and calling us to new life. Until we attain perfect life we cannot be without sins, but it makes all the difference what kind of sins we commit.
22. There is no need now to deal with the differences between sins, but we must by all means believe that our sins will not be forgiven if we are inexorable in refusing to forgive. We accordingly believe in the forgiveness of sins.
23. Man consists of three parts, spirit, soul and body. Sometimes there are said to be only two, for soul and spirit are spoken of often as one thing, whereof the rational part, which beasts lack, is called spirit. Then the life-force by which we are united to our bodies is called the soul. Finally there is the body which, because it is visible, is called our lowest part. This whole