have been teaching some uninstructed person in my presence,
CHAP. XXVI.] THE BRIEFER MODE OF ADDRESS. 331 however, not to take the term neiglibour in a carnal sense, but to understand under it every one who may ever be with him in that holy city, whether there already or not yet apparent. And (he should finally be counselled) not to despair of the amendment of any man whom he perceives to be living under the patience of God for no other reason, as the apostle ^ says, than that he may be brought to repentance.
51. If this discourse, in which I have supposed myself to have been teaching some uninstructed person in my presence, appears to you to be too long, you are at liberty to expound these matters with greater brevity. I do not think, however, that it ought to be longer than this. At the same time, much depends on what the case itself, as it goes on, may render advisable, and what the audience actually present shows itself not only to bear, but also to desire. When, however, rapid despatch is required, notice with what facility the whole matter admits of being explained. Suppose once more that some one comes before us who desires to be a Christian ; and accordingly, suppose further that he has been interrogated, and that he has returned the answer which we have taken the former catechumen to have given ; for, even should he decline to make this reply, it must at least be said that he ought to have given it;— then all that remains to be said to him should be put together in the following manner
52. " Of a truth, brother, that is great and true blessedness which is promised to the saints in a future world. All visible things, on the other hand, pass away, and all the pomp, and pleasure, and solicitude ^ of this world will perish, and (even now) they drag those who love them along with them onward to destruction. The merciful God, willing to deliver men from this destruction, that is to say, from everlasting pains, if they should not prove enemies to themselves, and if they should not withstand the mercy of their Creator, sent His onlybegotten Son, that is to say. His Word, equal with Himself, by whom He made all things. And He, while abiding indeed in His divinity, and neither receding from the Father nor being changed in anything, did at the same time, by taldng
Rom. ii. 4. ^ Cmiositas.
332 ON CATECniSING. [chap. XXVII.
on Himself human nature/ and appearing,' to men in mortal flesh, come unto men; in order that, just as death entered among the human race by one man, to wit, the first that was made, that is to say, Adam, because he consented unto his wife when she was seduced by the devil to the effect that they
(both) transgressed the commandment of God ; even so by one man, Jesus Christ, who is also God, the Son of God, all those who believe in Him might have all their past sins done away with, and enter into eternal life.
Chap, xxvii.—Of the prophecies of the Old Testament in their visible fulflment in the Church.
5 3. " For all those things which at present you witness in the Church of God, and which you see to be taking place under the name of Christ throughout the whole world, were predicted long ages ago. And even as we read of them, so also we now see them. And by means of these things we are built up unto faith. Once of old there occurred a flood over the whole earth, the object of which was that sinners might be destroyed. And, nevertheless, those who escaped in the ark exhibited a sacramental sign of the Church that was to be, which at present is floating on the waves of the world, and is delivered from submersion by the wood of the cross of
Christ. It was predicted to Abraham, a faithful servant of
God, a single man, that of him it was determined that a people should be born who should worship one God in the midst of all other nations which worshipped idols ; and all things wliich were prophesied of as destined to happen to that people have come to pass exactly as they were foretold. Among that people Christ, the King of all saints and their God, was also prophesied of as destined to come of the seed of that same Abraham according to the flesh, which (flesh) He took unto
Himself, in order that all those also who became followers of
His faith might be sons of Abraham ; and thus it has come to pass : Christ was born ot the Virgin ^lary, who belonged to that race. It was foretold by the prophets that He would suffer on the cross at the hands of that same people of the
Jews, of whose lineage, according to the flesh, He came ; and thus it has come to pass. It was foretold that He wTiuld rise
' Uominem.
CHAP. XXVIL] PEOPHECIES YET TO BE FULFILLED. 333 again : He has risen again ; and, in accordance with these same predictions of the prophets, He has ascended into heaven and has sent the Holy Spirit to His disciples. It was foretold not only by the prophets, but also by the Lord Jesns
Christ Himself, that His Church would exist throughout the whole world, extended by the martyrdoms and sufferings of the saints ; and this was foretold at a time when as yet
His name was at once undeclared to the Gentiles, and made a subject of derision where it was known ; and, nevertheless, in the power of His miracles, whether those which He wrought by His own hand or those which he effected by means of His servants, as these things are being reported and believed, we already see the fulfilment of that which was predicted, and behold the very kings of the earth, who formerly were wont to persecute the Christians, even now brought into subjection to the name of Christ. It was also foretold that schisms and heresies would arise from His Church, and that under His name they would seek their own glory instead of Christ's, in such places as they might be able to command; and these predictions have been realized.
54. "Will those things, then, which yet remain fail to come to pass ? It is manifest that, just as the former class of things which were foretold have come to pass, so will these latter also come to pass. I refer to all the tribulations of the righteous, which yet wait for fulfilment, and to the day of judgment, which will separate all the wicked from the righteous in the resurrection of the dead ;—and not only will it thus separate those wicked men who are outside the Church, but also it will set apart for the fire, which is due to such, the chaff of the Church itself, which must be borne with in utmost patience on to the last winnowing. Moreover, they who deride the (doctrine of a) resurrection, because they think that this flesh, inasmuch as it becomes corrupt, cannot rise again, will certainly rise in the same unto punishment, and God will make it plain to such, that He who was able to form these bodies when as yet they were not, is able in a moment to restore them as they were. But all the faithful who are destined to reign with Christ shall rise with the same body in such wise that they may also be counted worthy to be changed
ON CATKCniSING. [CHAP. XXVII.
into angelic incoiTuption ; so that they may be made equal unto the angels of God, even as the Lord Himself has promised ;^ and that they may praise Him without any failure and •without any weariness, ever living in Him and of Him, with such joy and blessedness as can be neither expressed nor conceived by man.
55. "Believe these things, therefore, and be on your guard against temptations (for the devil seeks for others who may be brought to perish along with himself) ; so that not only may that adversary fail to seduce you by the help of those who are without the Church, whether they be pagans, or Jews, or heretics ; but you yourself also may decline to follow the example of those within the Catholic Church itself whom you see leading an evil life, either indulging in excess in the pleasures of the belly and the throat, or unchaste, or given up to the vain and unlawful observances of curious superstitions, whether they be addicted to (the inanities of) public spectacles, or charms, or divinations of devils,- or be living in the pomp and inflated arrogance of covetousness and pride, or be pursuing any sort of life which the law condemns and punishes. But rather connect yourself with the good, whom you will easily find out, if you yourself were once become of that character ; so that you may unite with each other in worshipping and loving God for His own sake ; ^ for He himself will be our complete reward to the intent that we may enjoy His goodness and beauty * in that life. He is to be loved, however, not in the way in which any object that is seen with the eyes is loved, but as wisdom is loved, and truth, and holiness, and righteousness, and charity,^ and whatever else may be mentioned as of kindred nature ; and further, with a love conformalile to these things not as they are in men, but as they are in the very fountain of incorruptible and unchangeable wisdom. Whomsoever, therefore, you may observe to b(» lovingthese things, attach yourself to them, so that
' Luke XX. 3n.
Himediorum aut divinationum diabolirainnn. Some editions insert sacrllegoniin after rcmct/torum= sacrilegious cluirnis or tlivinntions of devils.
Gratis. * Cl. Zoch. ix. 17.
Many M.ss, omit the words : and holiness, and righteousness, and charity.
CHAP, xxvil] the future kecompense. 335 through Christ, who became man in order that He might be the Mediator between God and men, you may be reconciled to God. But as regards the perverse, even if they find their way within the walls of the Church, think not that they will find their way into the kingdom of heaven ; for in their own time they will be set apart, if they have not altered to the better. Consequently, follow the example of good men, bear with the wicked, love all ; forasmuch as you know not what he will be to-morrow who to-day is evil. Howbeit, love not the unrighteousness of such ; but love the persons themselves with the express intent that they may apprehend righteousness; for not only is the love of God enjoined upon us, but also the love of our neighbour, on which two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.^ And this is fulfilled by no one save the man who has received the (other) gift,^ the Holy
Spirit, who is indeed equal with the Father and with the Son ; for this same Trinity is God ; and on this God every hope ought to be placed. On man our hope ought not to be placed, of whatsoever character he may be. For He, by whom we are justified, is one thing ; and they, together with whom we are justified, are another. Moreover, it is not only by lusts that the devil tempts, but also by the terrors of insults, and pains, and death itself. But whatever a man shall have suffered on behalf of the name of Christ, and for the sake of the hope of eternal life, and shall have endured in constancy, (in accordance therewith) the greater reward shall be given him whereas, if he shall give way to the devil, he shall be damned along with him. But works of mercy, conjoined with pious humility, meet with this acknowledgment from God, to wit, that He will not suffer His servants to be tempted more than they are able to bear."^
1 Matt. xxii. 37, 39.
2 One edition reads Dominum, the Lord, the Holy -Spirit, etc., instead of donum.
3 1 Cor. X. 13.
TREATISE ON FAITH AND THE CREED.
FAITH.
INTRODUCTORY NOTICE,
THE occasion and date of the composition of this treatise are indicated in a statement which Augustine makes in the seventeenth chapter of the First Book of his Eetradations. From this we learn that, in its original form, it was a discourse which Augustine, when only a presbyter, was requested to deliver in public by the bishops assembled at the
Council of HiiJiJO-Bcgius, and that it was subsequently issued as a book at the desire of friends. The general assembly of the N"ortli African Church, which was thus convened at what is now Bona, in the modern territory of Algiers, took place in the year 393 a.d., and was otherwise one of some historical importance, on account of the determined protest which it emitted against the position elsewhere allowed to Patriarchs in the Church, and against the admittance of any more authoritative or magisterial title to the highest ecclesiastical official than that of simply " Bishop of the first Church " {yrimce scdis episcopus). The work constitutes an exposition of the several clauses of the so-called Apostles' Creed. The questions concerning the mutual relations of the three Persons in the Godhead are handled with greatest fulness; in connection with which, especially in the use made of the analogies of Being,
Knowled.cre, and Love, and in the cautions thrown in ac^ainst certain applications of these and other illustrations taken from things of human experience, we come across sentiments wliich are also repeated in the Citi/ oj God, the books on the Trinity, and others of his doctrinal writings. The passage referred to in the Betractations is as follows : " About the same period, in presence of the bishops, who gave me orders to that effect, and who were holding a plenary Council of the whole of Africa at
Hippo-Picgius, I delivered, as presbyter, a discussion on the subject of Faith and the Creed. Tliis disputation, at the very
140 INTRODUCTION.
pressing request of some of those wlio were on terms of more than usual intimacy and affection with us, I threw into the form of a book, in wliich the tlieines themselves are made the subjects of discourse, although not in a method involving the adoption of the particular connection of words which is given to the compctcntcs^ to be committed to memory. In this book, wlicn discussing the question of the resurrection of the flesh, I say :^ ' VAse again the body will, according to the Christian faith, wliich is incapable of deceiving. And if this appears incredible to any one, [it is because] he looks simply to what the flesh is at present, while he fails to consider of what nature it shall be hereafter. For at that time of angelic change it will no more be flesh and blood, but only body;' and so on, through the other statements Avhich I have made there on the subject of the change of bodies terrestrial into bodies celestial, as the apostle, when he spake from the same point, said, ' Flesh and blood shall not inherit the kingdom of
God.' ^ But if any one takes these declarations in a sense leading him to suppose that the earthly body, such as we now have it, is changed in the resurrection into a celestial body, in any such Avise as that neither these members nor the substance of the flesh will subsist any more, undoubtedly he must be set right, by being put in mind of the body of the
Lord, who subsequently to His resurrection appeared in the same members, as One who was not only to be seen with the eyes, but also handled with the hands ; and made His possession of the flesh likewise surer by the discourse w^hich He spake, saying, * Handle me, and see ; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have.' * Hence it is certain that the apostle did not deny that the substance of the flesh will exist in the kingdom of God, but that under the name of ' flesh and blood ' he designated either men who live after the flesh, or the express corruption of the flesh, which assuredly at that period shall subsist no more. For after he had said, 'Flesh and blood shall not inherit the kingdom ot God,* what he proceeds to say next,—namely, ' neither shall corruption inherit
i.e. the third order of catecliumcns, embracing those thoroiigldy prepared for l)U])tisin.
Chap. X. § 21. ' 1 Cor. .\v. 50. * Luke xxiv. 39.
INTRODUCTION. 341 incoiTuption/—is rightly taken to have been added by way of explaining his previous statement. And on this subject, which is one on which it is difficult to convince unbelievers, any one who reads my last book, On the City of God, will find that I have discoursed with the utmost carefulness of which I am capable. The performance in question commences thus
* Since it is written,' etc."
1 Clt7j of God, V. 21.