Part 15
Spain under my name. Such persons, indeed, as had read my genuine writings could not recognise those others as mine although by other persons my authorship of them was quite believed.
Chap. 20. [vn.] Pelagius acknowledges the doctrine of grace in deceptive terms.
There can be no doubt that what Pelagius has acknowledged as his own views is as yet a very obscure affair. I suppose, however, that it will become apparent in the subsequent details of these synodal proceedings. Now he says
"We have affirmed that a man is able, if he likes, to live without sin, and to keep the commandments of God, inasmuch as God gives him this ability. But we have not said that any man can be found, who from infancy to old age has never committed sin ; but that if any person were converted from his sins, he could by his own exertion and God's grace live without sin. Nobody, however, even thus was ever rendered incapable of change afterwards." Now it is quite uncertain what he means in these words by the grace of God ; and the judges, Catholic as they were, could not possibly understand
382 ON THE PROCEEDINGS OF PELAGIUS. [CHAP. XX..
by the phrase anything else than the grace which is so very strongly recommended to us in the apostle's teaching. Now this is the grace whereby we hope that we can be delivered from the body of this death through our Lord Jesus Christ, and for the obtaining of which we pray that we may not be
2 This grace is not nature, but it renders led into temptation.
assistance to frail and impaired nature. This grace is not the knowledge of the law, but is that of which the apostle says
" I will not frustrate the grace of God : for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain."
3 Therefore it is not "the letter that killeth, but the life-giving spirit." 4
For the knowledge of the law, without the grace of the Spirit, produces all kinds of concupiscence in man ; for, as the apostle says, " I had not known sin but by the law : I had not known lust, unless the law had said, Thou shalt not covet. But sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me
5 By saying this, however, he blames not the law ; he rather praises it, for he says afterwards : " The law indeed is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good."
all manner of concupiscence."
6 And he goes on to ask: "Was then that which is good made death unto me ? God forbid. But sin, that it might appear sin, wrought death in me by that which is good."
7 And, again, he praises the law by saying:
" We know that the law is spiritual ; but I am carnal, sold under sin. Tor that which I do I know not: for what I would, that do I not ; but what I hate, that do I. If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is
8 Observe, then, he knows the law, praises it, and congood."
sents to it ; for what it commands, that he also wishes ; and what it forbids, and condemns, that he also hates : but for all that, what he hates, that he actually does. There is in his mind, therefore, a knowledge of the holy law of God, but still his evil concupiscence is not cured. He has a good will within him, but still what he does is evil. Hence it comes to him,—" the law in his members warring against the law of pass that, amidst the mutual struggles of the two laws within
1 Rom. vii. 24, 25. 2 Matt. vi. 13. 3 Gal. ii. 21.
4 2 Cor. iii. 6. 5 Rom. vii. 7, 8. 6 Rom. vii. 12.
1 Rom. vii. 13. 8 Rom. vii. 14-16.
CHAP. XXII.] THE VIVIFYING POWER OF GEACE. 383
1—he his mind, and making him captive to the law of sin/' confesses his misery, and exclaims in such words as these
" wretched man that I am ! who shall deliver me from this body of death ? I thank God ; through Jesus Christ our
Lord."
Chap. 21. [vin.]
It is not nature, you may be well assured, which, sold as it is under sin and wounded by the ruin, longs for a Eedeemer and Saviour ; nor is it the knowledge of the law through which comes the discovery, not the expulsion, of sin —which delivers us from the body of this death ; but it is the Lord's good grace through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Chap. 21. [ix.]
This grace is not expiring nature, nor the slaying letter, but the vivifying spirit; for already did he possess nature with freedom of will, because he said: "To will is present with me."
4 Nature, however, in a healthy condition and without a flaw, he did not possess, for he said : " I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) dwelleth nothing good."
5 Already had he the knowledge of God's holy law, for he said : " I had not known sin but through the law;"
6 yet for all that he did not possess strength and power to practise and fulfil righteousness, for he complained : " What I would, that do
7 And again, "How to
I not; but what I hate, that do I."
accomplish that which is good I find not."
8 Therefore it is not from the liberty of the human will, nor from the precepts of the law, that there arises deliverance from the body of this death; for both of these he had already,—the one in his nature, the other in Iris learning ; but all he wanted was the help of the grace of God, through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Chap. 22. [x.] The Synod supposed that the grace acknowledged by Pelagius was that which was so thoroughly known to the Church.
This grace, then, which was most completely known in the
Catholic Church (as the bishops were well aware), they supposed Pelagius made confession of, when they heard him say that " a man, when converted from his sins, is able by his own exertion and the grace of God to live without sin." For my
1 Ptom. vii. 23. 2 Rom. vii. 24, 25. 3 Eom. vii. 25. 4 Rom. vii. 18. 6 Horn. vii. 18. 6 Eoni. vii. 7. 7 Rom. vii. 15. 8 Eom. vii. 18.
384 ON THE PROCEEDINGS OE PELAGIUS. [CHAP. XXII.
own part, however, I remembered the treatise which had been given to me, that I might refute it, by those servants of God, who had been Pelagiiis' followers.
1 They, notwithstanding their great affection for him, plainly acknowledge that the work was his ; and that, on their proposing this question [to him,] because he had already given offence to very many persons from advancing views against the grace of God, he most expressly admitted that " what he meant by God's grace was the circumstance that, when our nature was created, it received
[from Him] the possibility of avoiding sin, because it was
/created with a free will." Eemembering, therefore, as I do, this treatise, I cannot help feeling still anxious, whilst many of the brethren, who are so well acquainted with his discussions, share in my anxiety, lest under the ambiguity which notoriously characterizes his words there lie some latent reserve, and lest he should afterwards tell his followers that it was without prejudice to his own doctrine that he made any admissions,—as when he said : "I no doubt asserted that a man was able by his own exertion and the grace of God to live without sin ; but you know very well what I mean by grace ; and you may recollect in your perusal [of my book] that grace is that [condition] in which we are created by God with a free will." Accordingly, while the bishops understood him to mean the grace by which we have by adoption been made new creatures, not that by which we were created (for most plainly does Holy Scripture instruct us in the former sense of grace as the true one), ignorant of his being a heretic,
2 I must say that my susthey acquitted him as a Catholic.
picion is excited also by the circumstance, that in the work
[by Pelagius] which I answered, he most openly said that
3 Just now, however,
"righteous Abel never sinned at all."
he thus expressed himself : " But we never said that any man could be found who at no time whatever, from infancy to old age, committed sin ; but that, if any man were converted from
1 [Timasius and Jacobus, to whom Augustine addressed his book De Naturd et Gratid.~\
2 [The reader may consult the treatise De Naturd et Gratid, chapters 53 and
54, on this opinion of Pelagius.]
3 [See De Naturd et Gratid, xxxvii. (44).]
CHAP. XXIII.] CERTAIN OPINIONS OF CCELESTIUS. 385 his sins, he could by his own labour and God's grace live
1 Now, when speaking of righteous Abel, he did without sin."
not say that after being converted from his sins he became sinless in a new life, but absolutely that he never committed sin at all. If, then, that book be his [in which occurs the statement about Abel,] it must of course be corrected and amended from his answer [before the synod.] I should be indeed sorry to say that he was insincere in his more recent statement ; for he would probably say that he had forgotten what he had previously written in the book we have quoted.
Let us therefore direct our view to what afterwards occurred.
NTow, from the sequel of these ecclesiastical proceedings, we can by God's help show that, although Pelagius, as some suppose, cleared himself in his examination, and was at all events acquitted by his judges (who were, however, but human
2 which we should be beings after all), that this great heresy, most unwilling to see making further progress or becoming aggravated in guilt, was undoubtedly itself condemned.
Chap. 23. [xi.] The breviates of Cozlestius objected to Pelagius, but repudiated by him.
Then follow sundry statements charged against Pelagius, which are said to be found among the opinions of his disciple
Ccelestius : how that " Adam was created subject to death, and that he must have died whether he had sinned or not that Adam's sin hurt only himself and not the human race that the law no less than the gospel leads us to the kingdom
[of heaven ;] that there were sinless men previous to the
(coming of Christ; that new-born infants are in the same condition as Adam was before he fell; that the entire human
/race does not, on the one hand, die owing to Adam's death
/and transgression, nor, on the other hand, does the whole human race rise again through the resurrection of Christ."
These objections against him proceeded to such a length, that they are even said to have been, after a full hearing, condemned at Carthage by your holiness and other bishops asso-
3 I was not present on that occasion, as you ciated with you.
will recollect ; but afterwards, on my arrival at Carthage, I
1 [See above, ch. 16. (vi.)] 2 Hanc talem hreresim.
3 [Compare Augustine's work De Pcccato Origiiiali, ch. xi. (12).]
386 OX THE PROCEEDINGS OF PELAGIUS. [CHAP. XXIV.
read over the Acts of the synod, some of which I perfectly well remember, but I hardly know whether all the tenets now mentioned occur among them. But what matters it if some of them were possibly not mentioned, and so not included in the condemnation of the synod ? It is quite clear that they deserve condemnation. Sundry other points of error were next alleged against him, connected with the mention of my own name.
1 They had been transmitted to me from Sicily, some of our Catholic brethren there being perplexed by these questions ; and I drew up a reply to them in a little work
2 who had consulted me respecting them addressed to Hilary, in a letter. My answer, in my opinion, was a sufficient one.
These are the errors referred to : u That a man is able to live without sin if he likes. That infants, even if they die unbaptized, have eternal life. That rich men, even if they are baptized, unless they renounce and give up all, have, whatever good they may seem to have done, nothing of it reckoned to them ; neither can they possess the kingdom of God."
Chap. 24. The following, as the proceedings testify, was Pelagius' own answer to these charges against him : " Concerning a man's being able indeed to live without sin, we have spoken," says he, " already ; concerning the fact, however, that before the Lord's coming there were persons without sin, we say now that, previous to Christ's advent, some men lived holy and righteous lives, according to the tradition of the sacred Scriptures. The other points were never advanced by me, as even their testimony goes to show, to whom, however, I do not feel that I am in any way responsible. But for the satisfaction of the holy synod, I anathematize those who either now hold, or have ever held, these opinions." After hearing this answer of his, the synod said : " With regard to these charges aforesaid, Pelagius has in our presence given us sufficient and proper satisfaction, whilst he anathematizes the opinions which were none of his." We see, therefore, and firmly believe that the most dangerous points of this heresy were condemned, not only by Pelagius, but also by the holy
1 [See same treatise as before, and same chapter.]
3 [See Augustine's letter to Hilary, in Epist. 157.]
CHAP. XXV.] DISAVOWED BY PELAGIUS. 387 bishops who presided over that inquiry. The position that " Adam was made mortal ;" (and, that the meaning of this statement might be more clearly understood, it was added that
" he must have died whether he had sinned or not :) that his sin injured only himself and not the human race ; that the law, no less than the gospel, leads us to the kingdom [of heaven ;] that new-born infants are in the same condition as Adam was before he fell; that the entire human race does not, on the one hand, die in consequence of Adam's death and transgression, nor, on the other hand, does the whole human race rise again through, the resurrection of Christ ; that infants, even if they die unbaptized, have eternal life ; that rich men, even if baptized, unless they renounce and give up all, have, whatever good they may seem to have done, nothing of it reckoned to them, neither can they possess the kingdom of God ;"—all these opinions, at any rate, were clearly condemned in that ecclesiastical court,—Pelagius pronouncing the anathema, and the bishops the interlocutory sentence.
Chap. 25. The Pelagiansfalsely pretended that the Eastern Churches were on their side. Now, by reason of these questions, and that very contentious assertion of these tenets, which is everywhere accompanied with heated feelings, many weak brethren are disturbed. We have accordingly, in the anxiety of that love which it becomes us to feel towards the Church of Christ through His grace, and out of regard to Marcellinus of blessed memory (who used to be extremely vexed day by day by these disputers, and who used by letter to ask my advice), been obliged to write on some of these questions, and especially on the baptism of infants. On this same subject also I afterwards, at your request, and assisted by your prayers, delivered an earnest address, to the best of my ability, in the church of the Majorcs} holding in my hands an epistle of the most glorious martyr
Cyprian, and reading therefrom his words, on which I also largely discoursed, in order to remove this dangerous error out of the hearts of sundry persons, who had been persuaded to take up with the opinions which, as we see, were condemned in the Acts of the synod. These opinions it has been
1 [According to another reading, "the church of Majorinus. "]
388 OX THE PROCEEDINGS OF PELAGIUS. [CHAP. XXVI.
attempted by their promoters to force upon the minds of some of the brethren, by threatenings, as if from the Eastern Churches, that unless they adopted the said opinions, they would be formally condemned by those Churches. Observe, however, that no less than fourteen bishops of the Eastern Church, assembled in synod in the land where the Lord manifested His presence in the days of His flesh, refused to acquit Pelagius unless he condemned these opinions as opposed to the Catholic faith. Since, therefore, he was then acquitted because he anathematized such views, it follows beyond a doubt that the said opinions were condemned. This, indeed, will appear more clearly still, and on still stronger evidence, in the sequel.
Chap. 26.
Let us now see what were the two points out of all that were alleged which Pelagius refused to anathematize. He admitted them to be indeed his own opinions, but to remove their offensive aspect he explained in what sense he held them. " That a man," says he, " is able to live without sin has been asserted already." Asserted no doubt, and we remember the assertion quite well ; but still it was toned down to such a degree, and approved by the judges, that God's grace was added, concerning which nothing was said in the original draft of his doctrine. Touching the second, however, of these points, we ought to pay careful attention to what he said in answer to the charge against him. " Concerning the fact, indeed," says he, " that before the Lord's coming there were persons without sin, we now again assert that previous to Christ's advent some men lived holy and righteous lives, according to the tradition of the sacred Scriptures." He did not dare to say : " We now again assert that previous to Christ's advent there were persons without sin," although this had been laid to his charge after the very words of
Ccelestius. For he perceived how dangerous such a statement was, and into what trouble it would bring him. So he reduced the sentence to these harmless dimensions: "We again assert that before the coming of Christ there were persons who led holy and righteous lives." Of course there were :
1 [Augustine mentions their names in his work contra Julianum, Book I. ch.
CHAP. XXVII.] DOXATTSTS AXD PELAGIANS AT ONE. 38 9 who would deny it ? But to say this is a very different tiling from saying that they lived " without sin." Because, indeed, those ancient worthies lived holy and righteous lives, they could for that very reason better confess : " If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us."
In the present day, also, many men live holy and righteous lives ; but yet it is no untruth they utter when in their prayer they say : " Forgive us our debts, even as we forgive
2 This avowal was accordingly acceptable to our debtors."
the judges, in the sense in which Pelagius solemnly declared his belief; but certainly not in the sense which Ccelestius, according to the original charge against him, was said to hold. We must now treat in detail of the topics which still remain, to the best of our ability.
Chap. 27. [xn.]
Pelagius was charged with having said : " That the Church o o o here on earth is without spot and wrinkle." It was on this point that the Donatists also were constantly at conflict with us in our conference. We used, in their case, to lay especial stress on the mixture of bad men with good, like that of the chaff with the wheat ; and we were led to this idea by the similitude of the threshing-floor. We might apply the same illustration in answer to our present opponents, unless indeed they would have the Church consist only of good men, whom they assert to be without any sin whatever, that so the Church might be without spot or wrinkle. If this be their meaning, then I repeat the same words as I quoted just now ; for how can they be members of the Church, of whom the voice of a genuine humility declares, " If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us ? " 3 or how could the Church offer up that prayer which the Lord taught her to use, " Forgive us our debts,"
4 if in this world the Church is without a spot or blemish ? In short, they must themselves submit to be strictly catechised respecting themselves : do they really allow that they have any sins of their own ? If their answer is in the negative, then they must be plainly told that they are deceiving them-
1 1 John i. 8. 2 Matt. vi. 12.
3 1 John i. 8. 4 Matt. vi. 12.
390 ON THE PROCEEDINGS OF PELAGIUS. [CHAP. XXVIII.
selves, and the truth is not in them. If, however, they shall acknowledge that they do commit sin, what is this but a confession of their taint and blemish ? They therefore are not members of the Church ; because the Church is without spot and wrinkle, while they have both.
Chap. 28. But to this objection he replied with a watchful caution such as the Catholic judges no doubt approved. " It has," says he, " been asserted by me,—but in such a sense that the Church is by the laver of baptism cleansed from every spot and wrinkle, and in this purity the Lord wishes her to continue." Whereupon the synod said : " Of this also we approve." And who amongst us denies that in baptism the sins of all men are remitted, and that all believers come up spotless and pure from the laver of regeneration ? Or what
Catholic Christian is there who wishes not, as his Lord also wishes, and as it is meant to be, that the Church should remain always without spot or wrinkle ? For in very deed God is now in His mercy and truth bringing it about, that His holy Church should be conducted to that perfect state in which she is to remain without spot or wrinkle for evermore. But between the laver, where all past stains and deformities are removed, and the kingdom, where the Church will remain for ever without any spot or wrinkle, there is this present intermediate time of prayer, during which her cry must of necessity be : " Forgive us our debts." Hence arose the objection against them for saying that " the Church here on earth is without spot or wrinkle
" from the doubt whether by this opinion they did not boldly prohibit that prayer whereby the Church in her present baptized state entreats day and night for herself the forgiveness of her sins. On the subject of this intervening period between the remission of sins which takes place in baptism, and the perpetuity of sinlessness which is to be in the kingdom of heaven, no proceedings ensued with Pelagius, and no decision was pronounced by the bishops. Only he thought that some brief indication ought to be given that he had not expressed himself in the way which the accusation against him seemed to state. As to his saying, " This has been asserted by me,—but in such a
CHAP. XXIX.] HOW PELAGIUS SATISFIED niS JUDGES. 391 sense," what else did he mean to convey than the idea that he had not in fact expressed himself in the same manner as he was supposed to have done by his accusers ? The reason, however, which induced the judges to say that they were satisfied with his answer [was his confession of] baptism as the means of being washed from our sins ; and of the kingdom of heaven, in which the holy Church, which is now in process of cleansing, shall continue in a sinless state for ever : this is clear from the evidence, so far as I can form an opinion.
Chap. 29. [xiii.] The next objections were urged out of the book of
Ccelestius, following the contents of each several chapter, but rather according to the sense than the words. These indeed he expatiates on rather fully ; they, however, who presented the indictment against Pelagius said that they had been unable at the moment to adduce all the words. In the first chapter, then, of Ccelestius' book they alleged that the following was written : " That we do more than is commanded us in the law and the gospel." To this Pelagius replied : " This they have set down as my statement. "What we said, however, was in keeping with the apostle's assertion concerning virginity, of which Paul writes : ' I have no commandment of
1 Upon this the synod said : " This also the Church receives." I have read for myself the meaning which the Lord.' "
Ccelestius gives to this in his book,—for he does not deny that the book is his. Now he made this statement obviously with the view of persuading us that we possess through the nature of our free will such a possibility of avoiding sin, that we are able to do more than is commanded us ; for a perpetual virginity is maintained by very many persons, and this is not commanded ; whereas, in order to avoid sin, it is sufficient to fulfil ^wliat is commanded. "When the judges, however, accepted Pelagius' answer, they did not take it to convey the idea that those persons keep all the commandments of the law and the gospel who over and above maintain the state of virginity, which is not commanded,—but only this, that virginity, which is not commanded, is something more than conjugal chastity, which is commanded; so that to observe
1 1 Cor. vii. 25.
392 ON THE PROCEEDINGS OF PELAGIUS. [CHAP. XXX.
the one is of course more than to keep the other ; whereas, at the same time, neither can be maintained without the grace of God, inasmuch as the apostle, in speaking of this very subject, says : " But I would that all men were even as I myself. Every man, however, hath his proper gift of God, one after this manner, and another after that." 1 And even the Lord Himself, upon the disciples remarking, " If the case of the man be so with his wife, it is not good to marry" (or, as the Latin better expresses it, " non expedit ducere "),
2 said to them : " All men cannot receive this saying, save they to twhom it is given."
3 This, therefore, is the doctrine which the bishops of the synod declared to be received by the Church,
-that the state of virginity, persevered in to the last, which is
) not commanded, is more than the chastity of married life, which is commanded. In what view Pelagius or Coelestius regarded this subject, the judges were not aware.
Chap. 30. [xiv.] The more prominent points of Ccelestius' work.
After this we find objected against Pelagius some other points of Coelestius' teaching,—prominent ones, and undoubtedly worthy of condemnation; such, indeed, as would certainly have involved Pelagius in condemnation, if he had not anathematized them in the synod. Under his third head
Coelestius was alleged to have written: "That God's
grace and assistance is not given for single actions, but is imparted in the freedom of the will, or in the law and in doctrine." And again : " That God's grace is given in proportion tcPbur deserts ; because, were He to give it to sinful persons, He would evidently be unrighteous." And from these words he inferred that " therefore grace itself has been placed in my own will/according as I have been either worthy or unworthy of it. For if we do all things by grace, then whenever we are overcome by sin, it is not we who are overcome, but God's grace, which wanted by all means to help us, but was actually
1 1 Cor. vii. 7.
2 ["Not expedient to take a wife." This "better expression" Augustine substitutes for the reading "non expedit nubere," as applied to a woman's taking a husband. The original, yupnaou [not ya^eJWa*], justifies Augustine's preference.]
3 Matt. xix. 10, 11.
CHAP. XXXI.] FURTHER DISAVOWAL OF CCELESTIUS. 393 unable." And once more lie says : " If, when we conquer sin, it is by the grace of God ; therefore it is He who is in fault whenever we are vanquished by sin, because He was either altogether unable or wholly unwilling to keep us safe." To these charges
Pelagius replied : " Whether these are really the opinions of
Ccelestius or not, is the concern of those who say that they are. For my own part, indeed, I never entertained such views ; on the contrary, I anathematize every one who does entertain them." Then the synod said : " This holy synod accepts you for your condemnation of these impious words." Now certainly there can be no mistake, in regard to these opinions, either as to the clear way in which Pelagius pronounced on them his anathema, or as to the absolute terms in which the bishops condemned them. It is left quite in doubt, or in the dark, whether Pelagius ever held these sentiments, or still holds them,—or Ccelestius, or both of them, or neither, or other persons with them, or in their name. By this judgment of the bishops, however, it has been declared plainly enough that the opinions in question were condemned, and that Pelagius would have been condemned along with them, unless he had himself actually condemned them too. Now, after this trial, it is certain that whenever
'we enter on a controversy touching opinions of this kind, we only discuss an already condemned heresy.
Chap. 31.
I shall make my next remark with greater satisfaction. In a former section I expressed a fear
1 that, when Pelagius said that " a man was able by the help of God's grace to live without sin," he perhaps meant by the term " grace the capability possessed by nature as created by God with a free will, as it is understood in that book which I received
2 and that by these means he was deceiving the judges, who were ignorant of the as his, and to which I replied; circumstances. Now, however, since he anathematizes those persons who hold that " God's grace and assistance is not given for single actions, but is imparted in the freedom of the will,
1 [See above, (20).] 2 [He refers to Pelagius' work which Augustine received from Jacobus and Timasius, and against which he wrote his treatise De Naturd et Gratia.]
394 ON THE PBOCEEDINGS OF PELAGIUS. [CHAP. XXXI.
or in the law and in doctrine/' it is quite evident that he really means the grace which is preached in the Church of
Christ, and is conferred by the ministration of the Holy
Ghost, for the purpose of helping us in each detail of our conduct, whence it is that we pray for needful and suitable grace that we enter not into any temptation. Nor, again, have I any longer a fear that, when he said, " No man can be without sin unless he has acquired a knowledge of the law," and added this explanation of his words, that " he perhaps regarded a knowledge of the law as a help towards
1 he at all meant the said knowledge to the avoidance of sin," be considered as tantamount to the grace of God ; for, observe, he anathematizes such as hold this opinion. See, too, how he refuses to hold our natural free will, or the law and doctrine, as equivalent to that grace of God which helps us through our single actions. What else then is left to him but to understand that grace which the apostle tells us is given by " the supply [or administration] of the Spirit ? " 2 This is what the Lord meant when He said : " Take no thought how or what ye shall speak ; for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak. For it is not ye that speak,
3 Nor, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you."
again, need I be under any apprehension that, when he asserted, " All men are ruled by their own will," and afterwards explained that he had made that statement "in the interest of the freedom of our will, of which God is the
4 that he perhaps helper whenever it makes choice of good," here also held God's helping grace as synonymous with our natural free will and the teaching of the law. For inasmuch as he rightly anathematized the persons who hold that God's grace or assistance is not given for single actions, but lies
[generally] in the gift of free will, or in the law and doctrine, it follows, of course, that God's grace or assistance is given us for single actions,—~£ree will, or the law and the doctrine, being left out of all consideration in such a matter'; and thus through^airthe • particulars of our life, when we act rightly, we are ruled and directed by God ; nor is our prayer a useless one,.<- *. ^* „» <•->
1 [See above, (2),] 2 Phil. i. 19 [lviZ opt,y'i«, r. n».].
3 Matt. x. 19, 20. * [See above, (5).]
CHAP. XXXII.] MANY GIFTS OF ST. PAUL. 395 wherein we say : " Order my steps, [0 Lord,] according to Thy word, and let not any iniquity have dominion over me." *
Chap. 32. But what comes afterwards again fills me with anxiety. On its being objected to him, from the fifth chapter of Ccelestius' book, that " they say every individual has the faculty of possessing all powers and graces, thus taking away that
'diversity of gifts' which the apostle sets forth," Pelagius replied : " We have certainly said so much ; but yet they have laid against us a malignant and blundering charge. "VVe do not take away the diversity of gifts ; but we declare that God gives to the person, who has proved himself worthy to receive them, all graces, even as He conferred them on the
Apostle Paul." Hereupon the synod said : " You accordingly do yourself hold the doctrine of the Church touching the gift of the graces, which are collectively possessed by the apostle." Here some one may say, Why then is he anxious ? Do you on your side deny that all the powers and graces were combined in the apostle ? For my own part, indeed, if all those are to be understood which the apostle has himself mentioned together in one passage,—as, I suppose, the bishops understood Pelagius to mean when they approved of his answer, and pronounced it to be in keeping with the sense of the
Church,—then I do not doubt that the apostle had them all for he says : " And God hath set some in the Church, first, apostles ; secondarily, prophets ; thirdly, teachers ; after that miracles ; then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities
2 What then shall we say, that the Apostle Paul did not possess all these gifts himself? Who would be of . tongues."
bold enough to assert this ? The very fact that he was an apostle showed, of course, that he possessed the grace of the apostolate. He possessed also the gift of prophecy ; for was not that a prophecy of his in which he says : " In the last times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils?"
3 He was, moreover, * the teacher of the Gentiles in faith and verity."
4 He performed miracles also and cures; for he shook off from his
1 Ps. cxix. 133. 3 1 Cor. xii. 28. 3 1 Tim. iv. 1. * 1 Tim. ii. 7.
396 ON THE PROCEEDINGS OF PELAGIUS. [CHAP. XXXII.
hand, unhurt, the biting viper ;* and the cripple [of Lystra] stood upright on his feet at the apostle's word, and his strength was at once restored.
2 It is not clear what he means by
" helps" for the term is of very wide application ; but who can say that he was wanting even in this grace, when through his labours such helps were manifestly afforded towards the salvation of mankind ? Then as to his possessing the grace of "government" what could be more excellent than his administration, when the Lord at that time governed so many churches by his personal agency, and governs them still in our day through his epistles ? And in respect of the " diversities [or kinds] of tongues" what tongues could have been wanting to him, when he says himself : " I thank my God that
I speak with tongues more than you all ? 3 It being thus inevitable to suppose that not one of these gifts and graces was wanting to the Apostle Paul, the judges approved of Pelagius' answer, wherein he said " that all graces were conferred upon him." But there are other graces in addition to these which are not mentioned here. For it is not to be supposed, however greatly the Apostle Paul excelled others as a member of
Christ's body, that the very Head itself of the entire body did not receive more and ampler graces still, whether in His flesh or His soul as man ; for such a created nature did the Word of God assume as His own into union with His [divine] Person, that He might so be our Head, and we His body. And in very deed, if all gifts could be in each member, it would be evident that the similitude, which is used to illustrate this subject, of the several members of our body is inapplicable for some things are common to the members in general, such as life and health, whilst other things are peculiar to the separate members, since the ear has no perception of colours, nor the eye of voices. Hence it is written : " If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing ? if the whole were
" 4 JSTow this of course is
hearing, where were the smelling ?
not said as if it were impossible for God to impart to the ear the sense of seeing, or to the eye the function of hearing.
However, what He does in Christ's body, which is the Church,
1 Acts xxviii. 5. 2 Acts xiv. 8, 9.
3 1 Cor. xiv. 18. 4 1 Cor. xii. 17.
CHAP. XXXIII.] SUSPICIOUS WORDS OF PELAGIUS. 397 and what the apostle meant by diversity of graces/ as if through the different members, that there might be gifts proper even to every one separately, is clearly known. "Why, too, and on what ground they who raised the objection were so unwilling to have taken away all difference in graces, why, moreover, the bishops of the synod were able to approve of the answer given by Pelagius in deference to the Apostle Paul, in whom we admit the combination of all those graces which he mentioned in the one particular passage, is by this time clear also.
Chap. 33. What, then, is the reason why, as I said just now, I felt anxious on the subject of this head of his doctrine? It is occasioned by what Pelagius says in these words : " That God gives to the man, who has proved himself worthy to receive them, all graces, even as He conferred them on the
Apostle Paul." Now, I should not have felt any anxiety about this answer of Pelagius, if it were not closely connected with the cause which we are bound to guard with the utmost care—even that God's grace may never be attacked, while we are silent or dissembling in respect of so great an evil. As, therefore, he does not say, that God gives to whom He will, but that " God gives to the man, icho has proved himself worthy to receive them, all these gifts," I could not help being suspicious, when I read such words. For the very name of grace, and the thing that is meant by it, is taken away, if it is not bestowed gratuitously, but he only receives it who is worthy of the gift. Will anybody say that I do the apostle wrong, because I do not admit him to have been worthy of grace ? Nay, I should indeed rather do him wrong, and bring on myself a punishment, if I refused to believe what he himself says. Well, now, has he not pointedly so defined grace as to show that it is so called because it is bestowed gratuitously ? These are his own very words : " And if by grace, then is it no more of works ; otherwise grace is no more grace."
2 In accordance with this, he says again : " Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt." 3
[Another reading has Ecclesiarum, instead of gratiarum; q.d. "difference in churches."]
2 Rom. xi. 6. 3 Rom. iv. 4.
398 ON THE PROCEEDINGS OF PELAGIUS. [CHAP. XXXIV.
If any man, however, is worthy of grace, there is a debt of it due to him ; and if it is thus due to him, it ceases to be grace ; for grace is freely given, but a debt is paid as due.
Grace, therefore, is bestowed on those who are unworthy, that a debt may be paid to them when they become worthy. He, however, who has bestowed on the unworthy the gifts which they possessed not before, does Himself take care that they shall have whatever things He means to recompense to them when they become worthy.
Chap. 34. On the works of unbelievers ; faith is tJie initial principlefrom which good works have their beginning ; faith is the gift of God's grace. He will perhaps say : It was not because of his works, but in consequence of his faith, that I said the apostle was worthy of having all those great graces bestowed upon him. His faith deserved this distinction, but not his works, which were not good previous [to his faith]. Well, then, are we to suppose that faith does not produce any works ? Surely faith does work in a very real way, for it "worketh by love."
Preach up, however, as much as you like, the works of unbelieving men, we still know how true and invincible is the statement of this same apostle : " Whatsoever is not of faith is
2 The very reason, indeed, why he so often declares that sin."
righteousness is imputed to us, not because of our works, but our faith, whereas faith rather works through love, is that no_ man should think that he arrives at faith itself through the merit of his works ; for it is faith which is the initial principle whence good works first proceed ; since (as has already been stated) whatsoever comes not from faith itself is sin.
Accordingly, it is said to the Church, in the Song of Songs
"Thou shalt come and pass by from the beginning of faith." 3
Although, therefore, faith procures the grace of producing good works, we do not deserve by our faith that we should have faith itself bestowed upon us ; but, in its bestowal upon us, in order that we might follow the Lord by its help, " His mercy has prevented us."
4 Was it we ourselves that gave it to us ? Did we ourselves make ourselves faithful ? I must
1 Gal. v. 6. 2 Rom. xiv. 23.
8 \^Eki6ffri xeci $i&\%virri icxl ctpy^i Titrrtus.] Cant. iv. 8 (Sept.).
* Ps. lix! 10.
CHAP. XXXV.] ALL IS OF GRACE. 399 by all means at this idea emphatically say : " It is He that
1 And indeed nothing hath made us, and not we ourselves/' else than this is pressed upon us in the apostle's teaching, when he says : " For I declare, through the grace that is given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the mea-
2 Whence, too, arises the well-known challenge : "What hast thou that thou didst not receive?"
sure of faith."
3 inasmuch as we have received even that which is the spring from which everything we have of good in our actions takes its beginning.
Chap. 3d. What, then, is the meaning of that which the same apostle says : " I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith : henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day" ?
4 If this is not a recompense paid to the worthy, is it anyhow a gift bestowed on the unworthy ? He who says this, does not consider that the crown could not have been given to the man who is worthy of it, unless grace had been first bestowed on him whilst unworthy of it. He says indeed : " I have fought a good
5 but then he also says: "Thanks be to God, who fight;" giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." He says too : " I have finished my course ;" but he says again : " It is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy."
7 He says, moreover : " I have kept the faith ;" but then it is he too who says again : " I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep my deposit against that day"—that is, " what I have committed to His keeping
" for some copies have not the word
\dcpositum, but commcndatum, which yields a plainer sense.
Now, what do we commit to God's keeping, except the things which we pray Him to preserve for us, and amongst these our
1 Ps. c. 3. 2 Rom. xii. 3. 3 1 Cor. iv. 7. 4 2 Tim. iv. 7. 6 2 Tim. iv. 7. 6 1 Cor. xv. 57. ? Eom# ix# ig. 8 2 Tim. i. 12. [St. Paul's phrase, <r»Jv vapatixr.v p.™, has been taken in two senses, as (1) what God had entrusted to him ; and (2) what the apostle had entrusted to God's keeping. St. Augustine, it will be seen, here takes the latter sense.]
400 ON THE PKOCEEDINGS OF PELAGIUS. [CHAP. XXXVI.
very faith ? For what else did the Lord procure for the
1 of which He said, " I have prayed for thee, Peter, that thy faith fail not,"
Apostle Peter by His prayer for hini,
2 than that God would preserve his faith, that it should not fail by giving way to temptation ? Therefore, blessed Paul, thou great preacher of grace, I will say it without fear of any man (for who will be less angry with me for so saying than thyself, who hast told us what to say, and taught us what to teach ?) —I will, I repeat, say it, and fear no man for the assertion : Thy merits are recompensed with their own crown of reward but thy merits are the gifts of God
Chap. 36. The monk Pelagius. Grace is conferred on the unworthy. His due reward, therefore, is recompensed to the apostle as worthy of it ; but still it was grace which bestowed on him the apostleship itself, which was not his due, and of which he was not worthy. Shall I be sorry for having said this ? God forbid ! "For under his own testimony shall I find a ready protection from such reproach ; nor will any man charge me with audacity, unless he be himself audacious enough to charge the apostle with mendacity. He frankly says, nay he protests, that he commends the gifts within himself as God's gifts, so that he glories not in himself at all, but glories in
3 he not only declares that he possessed no good the Lord deserts in himseK why he should be made an apostle, but he even mentions his own demerits, in order to manifest and preach the grace of God. * I am not meet," says he, " to be
" 4 and what else does this mean than " I am not worthy " ?—as indeed several Latin copies read the called an apostle ; phrase. Now this, to be sure, is the very gist of our question for undoubtedly in this grace of apostleship all those graces are contained [which are the subject of our discussion]. For it was neither convenient nor right that an apostle should not possess the gift of prophecy, nor be a teacher, nor be illustrious for miracles and the gifts of healings, nor furnish need-
1 [There seems to be a corruption in the text here : "Quid aliud apostolo
Petro Dominus commendavit orando." Another reading inserts de before the word apostolo. Our version is rather of the apparent sense than of the words of the passage. ]
2 Luke xxii. 32. 3 1 Cor. i. 31. 4 1 Cor. xv. 9.
CHAP. XXXVI.] GRACE PRECEDES WORK. 401 ful helps, nor provide governments over the churches, nor excel in diversities of tongues. All these functions the one name of apostleship embraces. Let us, therefore, consult the man himself, nay listen wholly to him. Let us say to him : Holy Apostle Paul, the monk Pelagius declares that thou wast worthy to receive all the graces of thine apostleship.
"What dost thou say thyself ? He answers : " I am not worthy to be called an apostle." Shall I then, under pretence of honouring Paul, in a matter concerning Paul, dare to believe Pelagius in preference to Paul ? I will not do so ; for if I did, I should only prove to be more onerous to
1 Let us hear also why he is
myself than honourable to him.
I not worthy to be called an apostle : " Because," says he,
2 Xow, were we to follow up
persecuted the Church of God."
the idea here expressed, who would not judge that he rather deserved from Christ condemnation, instead of an apostolic call ? Who could so love the preacher as not to loathe the persecutor ? Well, therefore, and truly does he say of himself : " I am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the Church of God." As thou wroughtest then such evil, how earnest thou to earn such good ? Let all men hear his answer : " But by the grace of God, I am what I am." Is there, then, no other way in which grace is commended, than because it is conferred on an unworthy recipient ? " And His grace," he adds, " which was bestowed on me was not in vain."
3 He says the same thing as a lesson to others also, to show them that their will is free to choose, when he says : " We then, as workers together with Him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain." 4 Whence however does he derive Iris proof, that " His grace bestowed on himself was not in vain," except from the fact which he goes on to mention : " But I laboured more abundantly than they all?" 5 So it seems he did not labour in order to receive grace, but he received grace in order that he might labour. And thus, when unworthy, he gratuitously received grace, whereby he might become worthy to receive
1 [This is a poor imitation of Augustine's playful words : " ile potius onerabo quam ilium honoi'abo."]
2 1 Cor. xv. 9. 3 1 Cor. xv. 10. * 2 Cor. vi. 1. 5 1 Cor. xv. 10.
402 ON THE PEOCEEDINGS OF PELAGIUS. [CHAP. XXXVII.
the due rewards [of his labours]. Not that he ventured even to claim aught for his labour ; for, after saying : " I laboured more abundantly than they all," he at once subjoined : " Yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me."
1 mighty teacher, confessor, and preacher of grace ! What meaneth this : " I laboured more, yet not I ? " Where the will exalted itself ever so little, there piety was instantly on the watch, and humility trembled, because infirmity confessed all the truth.
Chap. 37. John, Bishop of Jerusalem. With great propriety, as the proceedings show, did John, the holy bishop of the Church of Jerusalem, employ the authority of this same passage of the apostle, as he himself told our brethren the bishops who were his assessors at that trial, on their asking him what proceedings had taken place
2 He told them that on the
before him previous to the trial.
occasion in question, whilst some were whispering, and remarking on Pelagius' statement, that "without God's grace man was able to attain perfection " (that is, as he had previously expressed it, " man was able to live without sin "), he censured the statement, and reminded them besides, that even the Apostle Paul, after so many labours—not indeed in his own strength, but by the grace of God—said : " I laboured more abundantly than they all : yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me ;
" 3 and in another passage : " It is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that
4 and [he also reminded them] of that passhoweth mercy;" sage in the Psalm : " Except the Lord build the house, they
5 And he added: "We
labour but in vain who build it."
quoted several other like passages out of the Holy Scriptures. When, however, they did not receive the quotations which we made out of the Holy Scriptures, but continued their murmuring noise, Pelagius said : ' This also is what I believe ; let him be anathema, who declares that a man is able, without
God's help, to arrive at the perfection of all virtues.'
1 1 Cor. xv. 10.
2 [In a conference held at Jerusalem at the end of July in the year 415, as described by Orosius in his Apology.']
3 1 Cor. xv. 10. 4 Rom. ix. 16. ° Ps. cxxvii. 1.
CHAP. XXXIX.] PELAGIUS AND THE PEESIDIXG BISHOP. 403
Chap. 38. [xv.] Bishop John narrated all this in the hearing of Pelagins but he, of course, might respectfully say : Your holiness is in error ; you do not accurately remember the facts. It was not in reference to the passages of Scripture which you have quoted that I uttered the words : " This also is what I believe." Because this is not my opinion of them. I do not understand them to say, that God's grace so co-operates with man, that his abstinence from sin is due, not to " him that willeth, nor to him that runneth, but to God that showeth mercy."
Chap. 39. [xvi.] Heros and Lazarus ; Orosius. For there are some commentaries on Paul's Epistle to the Eomans which are said to have been written by Pelagius
2 In one of these he asserts, that the passage : " Xot himself.
of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy," was not a statement of Paul's own meaning but that he therein employed the language of controversy and refutation, as if implying that such a statement could not be properly made. No safe conclusion, therefore, can be drawn, although the bishop John plainly acknowledged the passage in question as conveying the mind of the apostle, and mentioned it for the very purpose of hindering Pelagius from thinking that any man can avoid sin without God's grace, and declared that Pelagius said in answer : " This also is what / believe." Nor, indeed, upon hearing all this did he repudiate his admission by replying : This is not my belief. He ought, indeed, either to deny altogether, or unhesitatingly to correct and amend the above mentioned exposition, in which he would have it, that the apostle must not be regarded as entertaining
3 but the sentiment [of the passage quoted from his epistle], only as refuting it. Now, whatever Bishop John said of our brethren who were absent—whether our brother bishops Heros and Lazarus, or the presbyter Orosius, or any others whose names are not registered in the Acts,
4—I am sure that he did not mean it to operate to their prejudice. For, had they been
1 Rom. ix. 16.
2 [See the treatise De Peccatorurn meritls, iii. 1.] 3 Rom. ix. 16.
4 [Avitus, perhaps, Fasserms, and Dominus ex duce, whose names do not occur in the Acts of the Synod of Diospolis, but are mentioned by Orosius, Apol. 3. J
404 ON THE PROCEEDINGS OF PELAGIUS. [CHAP. XL.
present, they might possibly (God forbid that I should say it absolutely) have convicted him of untruth ; at any rate they might perhaps have reminded him of something he had forgotten, or something in which he might have been deceived by the Latin interpreter : not, to be sure, for the purpose of misleading him by untruth, but at least, owing to some difficulty occasioned by a foreign language, only imperfectly understood ; especially as the question was not treated in the Acts,
1 which were drawn up for the useful purpose of preventing deceit on the part of evil men, and of preserving a record to' assist the memory of good men. If, however, any man shall be disposed by this mention of our brethren to introduce any question or doubt on the subject in question, and summon them before the Episcopal judgment, they will not be wanting to themselves, as occasion shall serve. Why need we here pursue the point, when not even the judges themselves, after the narrative of our brother bishop, were inclined to pronounce any definite sentence in consequence of it ?
Chap. 40. [xvii.]
Since, then, Pelagius was present when these [decisive] passages of the Scriptures were discussed, and by his silence acknowledged having said that he entertained the same view of their meaning, how happens it, that, after reconsidering the apostle's testimony, as he had just done, and finding that he said : " I am not meet to be called an apostle, because
I persecuted the Church of God ; but by the grace of God I am what I am,"
2 he did not perceive that it was improper for him to say, respecting the question of the abundance of the graces and gifts which the said apostle received, that he had shown himself "worthy to. receive them," when the apostle himself not only confessed, but added a reason to prove, that he was unworthy of them—and by this very fact set forth grace as grace indeed ? If he could not for some reason or other consider or recollect the narrative of his holiness the bishop John, which he had heard some time before,
1 [Augustine here refers to the Acts of the conference at Jerusalem before its bishop John, which sat previous to the Council of Diospolis. See above,
37 (xiv.).]
2 1 Cor. xv. 9, 10.
CHAP. XLI.] UNCERTAINTY IN PELAGIUS' DECLARATIONS. 405 he might surely show some deference to his own very recent answer at the synod, and remember how he anathematized, but a short time since, the opinions which had been alleged against him out of Ccelestius. Now amongthese it was objected to him that Ccelestius had said : " That the grace of God is bestowed according to our merits." If, then, Pelagius was sincere in his condemnation of this doctrine by his anathema, why does he say that all those graces were conferred on the apostle because he deserved them ? Is the phrase " worthy to receive " of different meaning from the expression " to receive according to merit " ? Can he by any disputatious subtlety show that a man is worthy who has no merit ? But neither Ccelestius, nor any other, whose opinions he anathematized at one swoop, has any intention to allow him to throw clouds over the phrase, and to conceal himself behind them. He presses home the matter, and plainly says : " Grace has been actually placed in my own will, according as I have been either worthy or unworthy of it." If, then, a statement, wherein it is declared that " God's grace is given in propor-
1 was rightly and tion to our deserts, to such as are worthy," truly condemned by Pelagius, how could his heart permit him to think, or his mouth to utter, such a sentence as this : "God gives to the person who has proved himself worthy to receive them, all graces ? 2 Who that carefully considers all this can help feeling some anxiety about his answer or defence ?
Chap. 41. Augustine indulgently sJioios that the judges acted incautiously in their official conduct of the case of Pelagius. Why, then (some one will say), did the judges approve of this ? I confess that I hardly even now understand why they did. It is, however, not to be wondered at, if some brief word or phrase too easily escaped their attention and ear ; or if, because they thought it capable of being somehow interpreted in a correct sense, from seeming to have from the accused himself such clear confessions of truth on the subject, they decided it to be hardly worth while to excite a discussion about a word. The same feeling might have occurred to ourselves also, if we had sat with them at the trial. For if, instead of the term worthy, the word predestinated had been
1 [See above, 30 (xiv.).J 2 [See above, 32.]
406 ON THE PROCEEDINGS OF PELAGIUS. [CHAP. XLII.
used, or some such word, my mind would certainly not have entertained any doubt, much less have been disquieted by it and yet if it were asserted, that he who is justified by the election of grace is called worthy, through no antecedent merits of good indeed, but by [God's] destination, just as he is called "elect," it would be really difficult to determine whether he migjht be so designated at all, or at least with very little offence to an intelligent view of the subject.
As for myself, indeed, I might readily pass on from the discussion on this word, were it not that the treatise which called forth my reply, and in which he says that God's grace is nothing else whatever than our own nature with its free-
1 made me suspicious and anxious will gratuitously created, about the actual meaning of Pelagius—whether he had procured the introduction of the term into the argument without any accurate intention as to its sense, or else as a carefully drawn dogmatic expression. [But to proceed], the last remaining statements had such an effect on the judges, that they deemed them worthy of condemnation, without waiting for Pelagius' answer.
Chap. 42. [xvin.] Other heads of
' Cozlestius' doctrine abjured by Pelagius.
For it was objected that in the sixth chapter of Ccelestius' work there was laid down this position : " Men cannot be called sons of God, unless they have entirely become free from all sin." It follows from this statement, that not even the Apostle Paul is a child of God, since he said : " Not as though I had already attained, either were already
2 In the seventh chapter he makes this statement: " Forgetfulness and ignorance have no connection perfect."
!l with sin, as they do not happen through the will, but occur; " although David says : " Remember not the of necessity sins of my youth, nor my sins of ignorance; "
3 although too, in the law, sacrifices are offered for ignorance, as if for sin.4
In his eleventh chapter he says : " Our will cannot be free, if it requires the help of God ; inasmuch as every one in the
1 [We have preferred the reading gratis creatam to the obscure gratiam creaturam.]
2 Phil. iii. 12. 3 Ps. xxv. 7. 4 See Lev. iv.
CHAP. XLIV.] PELAGIANISM CONDEMNED BY THE JUDGES. '407 possession of his proper will has either something to do or to abstain from doing." In the twelfth he says : " Our victory comes not from God's help, but from our own free-will." And this is a conclusion which he was said to draw in the following terms : " The victory is ours, seeing that we took up arms of our own will and accord ; just as, on the other hand, being conquered is our own, since it was of our own will and accord that we neglected to arm ourselves." And, after quoting the phrase of the Apostle Peter, " partakers of the
1 he is said to have made out of it this argument : " Now since our spirit or soul is unable to be without divine nature," sin, therefore even God is subject to sin, since this part of Him, that is to say the spirit or soul, is exposed to sin." In his thirteenth chapter he says : " That pardon is not given to penitents according to the grace and mercy of God, but according to their own merits and effort, since through repentance they have been worthy of mercy."
Chap. 43. [xix.] The answer of the monk Pelagius and his profession of faith.
After all these sentences were read out, the synod said : " What says the monk Pelagius to all these heads of opinion which have been read in his presence ? For this holy synod condemns the whole, as does also God's Holy Catholic Church."
(t I say again, that these opinions, even
Pelagius answered : according to their own showing, are not mine ; nor for them, as I have already said, am I to be held responsible. The opinions which I have confessed to be my own, I maintain are sound and correct ; those, however, which I have said are not my own, I reject according to the judgment of this holy synod, pronouncing anathema on every man who opposes and gainsays the doctrines of the Holy Catholic Church. For I believe in the Trinity of the One Divine substance, and I hold all things in accordance with the teaching of the Holy
Catholic Church. If indeed any man entertains opinions different from that doctrine, let him be anathema."
Chap. 44. [xx.] The acquittal of Pelagius. The synod said : " Now since we have received satisfaction on the points which have come before us touching the
1 2 Pet. i. 4.
408 ON THE PROCEEDINGS OF PELAGIUS. [CHAP. XLV.
monk Pelagius, who has been present ; since, too, he gives his consent to the doctrines of godliness, and anathematizes everything that is contrary to the Church's faith, we pronounce him to belong to the communion of the Catholic Church."
Chap. 45. [xxi.] Pelagius' acquittal becomes suspected.
If these proceedings were conducted in such a manner as to induce Pelagius' friends to rejoice in his exculpation by them, we, on our part, undoubtedly desire and pray for his salvation in Christ ; and he certainly took much pains to prove that we were well affected towards him, by going so far as to produce even our private letters to him, and reading them at the trial. As regards his acquittal, however, which is rather believed than clearly shown to be deserved, we ought not to be in a hurry to exult in it. When I say this, indeed, I do not charge the judges either with negligence or connivance, or with consciously holding unsound doctrine—which they most certainly would be the very last to entertain. But although by their sentence Pelagius is held by those who are on terms of fullest and closest intimacy with him to have been acquitted, as he deserved to be, with the approval and even commendation of his judges, he certainly does not appear to me to have been cleared of the charges brought against him. They conducted his trial as of one whom they knew nothing of, especially in the absence of those who had prepared the indictment against him, and were quite unable to examine him with diligence and care but, in spite of this inability, they completely quashed the heresy itself, as even the defenders of his perverseness must allow, if they only follow the judgment through its particulars. As for those persons, however, who well know what Pelagius
has been in the habit of teaching, or who have had to oppose his contentious efforts, or those who, to their joy, have escaped from his erroneous doctrine, how can they possibly help suspecting him, when they read the affected confession, wherein he acknowledges past errors, but so expressed as if he had never entertained any other opinion than those which he stated in his replies to the satisfaction of the judges ?
CHAP. XLVII.] AUGUSTINE AND PELAGIUS. 409
Chap. 46. [xxn. ] How Pelagius became known to Augustinej , Ccelestius condemned at Carriage.
"Now, that I may especially refer to my own relation to him, I first became acquainted with Pelagius' name at a distance, and when he was living at Eome ; it was mentioned with much commendation and respect. Afterwards reports began to reach us, that he was a frequent disputant against the grace of God. This caused me much pain, for I could not refuse to believe the statements of my informants ; but yet I was desirous of ascertaining information on the matter either from himself or from some treatise of his, that, in case
I should have to discuss the question with him, it should be on grounds which he could not disown. On his arrival, however, in Africa, he was in my absence kindly received on our coast of Hippo, where, as I found from our brethren, nothing whatever of his unfavourable character had been heard of him ; he left, however, earlier than was expected. On a subsequent occasion, indeed, I caught a glimpse of him, once or twice, to the best of my recollection, when I was very much occupied in preparing for a conference which we were to hold with the heretical Donatists ; but he hastened away across the sea. Meanwhile the doctrines connected with his name were warmly maintained, and passed from mouth to mouth, among his reputed followers—to such an extent that Ccelestius found his way before an ecclesiastical tribunal, and developed opinions well suited to his perverse character. We thought it would be a better way of proceeding against them, if, without mentioning any names of individuals, the errors themselves were met and refuted ; that the [misguided] persons might thus be brought to a right mind by the fear of a condemnation from the Church rather than by the punishment actually administered on them. And so both by books and by popular discussions we ceased not to oppose the evil doctrines in question.