Augustine: Earlier Writings
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
FAITH AND THE CREED 367 creature "groaneth and travaileth until now" (Rom. 8:22), but has put forth the first-fruits of the spirit because it has beheved God and has already a good will. The spirit is also called mind, of which the apostle says: "I serve the law of God with my mind" (Rom. 7:25). In another place he says: "God is my witness, whom I serve in my spirit" (Rom. 1:9). But the soul is called "flesh" so long as it desires carnal goods. For part of it resists the spirit, not by nature but by sinful custom and habit. Hence it is written: "With my mind I serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin." This custom has been changed into a veritable natural state in his mortal descendants by the sin of the first man. Therefore it is written: "We too were at one time by nature the children ofwrath," that is, of the punishment by which we were made to serve the law of sin (Eph. 2:3). The soul is by nature perfect when it is subject to its own spirit, and follows the spirit as the spirit follows God. The natural
[animalis, soulish] man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God. The soul is not so speedily subjected to the spirit in order to perform good works, as the spirit is subjected to God to produce true faith and a good will. Sometimes its impulse to seek carnal and temporal things is with difficulty restrained. But sometimes it is cleansed and recovers the stability of its nature under the mastery of the spirit—for the spirit is the head of the soul as Christ is the head of the spirit. Hence there is no need to despair of the body, too, being restored to its proper nature, but not so speedily as the soul, still less speedily than the spirit, but at the opportune time, at the last trump, when the dead shall arise incorruptible and we shall be changed (I Cor.
15:52). Therefore we believe in the resurrection of the flesh. That is to say; not merely is the soul restored which is now called "flesh" (in Scripture) on account of its carnal affecdons, but also this visible flesh, which is naturally flesh and which gives its name to the soul on account of the latter's carnal affections in spite of its higher nature—this visible flesh, properly socalled, we must believe without hesitation, rises again from the dead. The apostle Paul seems to have directly pointed his finger at the flesh when he wrote: ''This corruptible must put on incorruption." When he says This he as good as points with his finger. That which is visible can be pointed at in this way. The soul cannot be pointed at, though it can be called corruptible because it is corrupted by moral vices. [Therefore Paul is here speaking of flesh in its natural acceptation.] When we read: "This mortal must put on immortality," again the visible flesh is