97. Ep. 225.2–6 (BA 24:392–406); my trans., based on Parsons, FOTC 32:120–26.
mitting this, and they have a dread of designating the merits of the saints as the work of God. Nor do they agree that the predestined number of the elect can neither be increased nor decreased because [that would mean that] the incentives in their exhortations would have no place, whether among the nonbelieving or the negligent, or because speaking out about being diligent and working hard would be useless for any whose striving would be frustrated by not being among the elect. For they assert that one can only be called to correction or to progress if one knows that one can be good by one's own effort, and that one's freedom of will will be assisted by the help of God if one chooses to do what God commands. And so [they argue that] for those who have reached the age of free will, there are two elements which bring about human salvation: namely, the grace of God and the obedience of a human being. These people want obedience to come before grace such that we would have to believe that salvation is initiated by the one who is saved, not by the One who saves, and we would have to believe that the will of a human being brings forth the help of divine grace for itself, not that that grace subjects the human will to itself.97
Faith as Gift
These monastic critics in Gaul were no Pelagians. They shared Augustine's conviction that God's grace imbues our minds and hearts, giving us the strength to do the right thing. But they argued that we at least deserve credit for freely choosing to believe, that the initial saying "yes" to faith is our own free choice. In other words, they did not accept Augustine's notion of prevenient grace. Augustine here clarifies this: faith itself, even in its very beginnings, is a gift. To justify it, he cites both the example of and key words from St. Paul. Note also in this passage how he expands on his earlier views on the relationship between faith and reason by speaking of belief as "thinking with assent." From On the Predestination of the Saints:
(1.1) Now I confess that it troubles me that people do not yield to so many and such clear words from sacred Scripture in which the grace of God is preached, a grace that would in no way be grace were it given according to our merits. Still, I love the zeal and fraternal affection, my most beloved sons Prosper and Hilary, which makes you wish such persons not be in error, so that after so many books and letters of mine on this subject, you would have me write on it again. . . .
(1.2) After having closely read your letters, it seems to me that these brothers, on whose behalf you show such pious solicitude, should be treated as the Apostle treats those to whom he said, "And if on some matter you see differ-
97. Ep. 225.2–6 (BA 24:392–406); my trans., based on Parsons, FOTC 32:120–26.
Against the Pelagians 429 ently, this also God will reveal to you" (Phil 3:15). Certainly they still remain in the dark concerning the question of the predestination of the saints, but they have the source from which, if on this matter they see differently, God may reveal this also to them if they keep walking on [the road] to which they have come. . . . These truths, to which they have come and which they hold fast, separate them considerably from the error of the Pelagians. . . .
(2.3) Now I see that I must reply to those who claim that the divine testimonies which we have cited on this issue mean [simply] that we [supposedly] know that faith itself comes from us, but its increase is from God, as if He did not give us faith, but only increased it in us, an increase merited because it started from our initiative. Now this does not differ from that opinion which Pelagius himself, before the tribunal of the bishops of Palestine, as its own Proceedings testify, was required to condemn: "That the grace of God is given according to our merits"98—as if our beginning to believe does not belong to God's grace, but rather grace is an additive given to us so that we may believe more fully and perfectly. . . .
(2.4) But against this idea, why do we not instead listen to the words [of Paul]: "Who has first given to Him and may be repaid in turn? For from Him and through Him and in Him are all things" (Rom 11:35–36)? And therefore, that very beginning of our faith: From whom does it come if not from Him? For it is not the case that all other things are from Him, and this is the sole exception. But "from Him and through Him and in Him are all things." Who would say that one who has already begun to believe deserves nothing from the One in whom he has believed? From this, it ends up that other divine gifts are said to be added in repayment to one who has some merit, and thus that God's grace is given according to our merits—a statement which Pelagius himself, when it was raised to him as an objection, condemned so that he himself might not be condemned. Therefore, whoever wants to avoid, in every sense, this condemnable view, let him understand that the Apostle spoke truly when he said, "To you it is given for Christ's sake not only to believe in him but also to suffer for him" (Phil 1:29). Both of these he shows to be the gifts of God, because he says both are given. He does not say, "to believe in him more fully and perfectly," but "to believe in him." Nor does he say that he himself had obtained mercy in order to be more faithful, but simply to be faithful, because he knew that he had been made faithful by God, the One who also made him an apostle. For the beginning of his faith is recorded in Scripture (Acts 9:1–9), and the account is very well known, for it is read in our churches on a solemn occasion. Once turned away from the faith—one that
98. "Pelagius . . . was required to condemn": See De gestis Pelagii 14.30.