CHAP. with the whole church at that time. It is a delicate and difficult matter to settle, in all cases, how far the civil magistrate ought to interfere in religion. Different ages are apt to run into different extremes, as either superstition or profaneness predominates. Doubtless there is a middle path of rectitude in this subject, which I have endeavoured to describe on a former occasion, though, to apply it with exactness to all cases and circumstances would be difficult in itself, and foreign to the design of this history. Donatism, however, under the charitable and argumentative labours of Augustine, received a blow, from which it never recovered, and the sect dwindled gradually into insignificance; and the most pleasing part of the story is, that by the suppression of the Circumcelliones, the Ecclesiastical face of Africa must have been abundantly meliorated, and, in all probability, a great accession made to the real church of Christ.* Tracts on CHAP. VII. the rest of AUGUSTINE'S WORKS REVIEWED. THE two tracts on Lying, addressed to Consentius, demonstrate the soundness of the author's views in morality. Such indeed is the connexion between *After examining Augustine's writings concerning the Donatists, particularly the letters 48, 50, 61, and 127, and the narrative of Possidonius, I have endeavoured to compress into this chapter the substance of the historical information which they contain, without troubling myself or the reader with particular citations. I have done on this occasion, what I profess to do generally, to the best of my ability, namely, formed my judgment on original evidences, and not on the opinions and reasonings of any modern whatever. Laborious task! compared with the ease of copying other historians; invidious also, because it often obliges one to correct moderu representations! But it is the task of a real historian. one part of divine truth and another, that those who have the justest and the largest views of Gospel-grace, have always the most exact and extensive ideas of moral duty, and what is more, exemplify them in life and conversation. For the same self-righteousness, which tarnishes the lustre of divine grace, always induces its votary to curtail the demands of the divine law, to adulterate it with pride and the love of the world, and to render a thousand things allowable in practice, which an humble and holy soul must abhor. We have seen what vague and dangerous notions of veracity had begun to prevail during the progress of superstition, from which even such men as Ambrose and Chrysostom were not exempt; and that what are called pious frauds had in some instances been esteemed laudable. Augustine in the treatise before us, defines lying to be "The saying of one thing and thinking of another;" and in all cases, even for the most pious and salutary purposes, he excludes lying as unchristian. The second chapter of the epistle to the Galatians had been perversely interpreted in that part of it which relates to the dissimulation of Peter*. He rescues the divine oracles from the abuse, and demonstrates from the most express and determinate decisions of the New Testament, that all deceit of the tongue is wicked. The task was worthy of him who was the principal instrument of the revival of godliness in the church †. * Aug. opera, tom. iv. page 2. Paris edition, 1571. In this Chapter, the other works of Augustine, which have not fallen under our consideration in the preceding Chapters, are considered, so far as I think them worthy of the reader's particular attention. Those parts of his voluminous writings, which are either mere repetitions of what has been elsewhere illustrated, or seem not to convey any interesting instruction, or handle subjects which have been much better treated by those who have had the advantage of later improvements, are omitted. -The book of Meditations, though more known to English readers than any other of the works ascribed to Augustine, on account of the translation of it into our language by Stanhope, seems not to be his, both on account of its style, which is sen CENT. V. Augustine on Faith. His treatise on faith and works was written to obviate the Antinomianism, which some were in his time desirous of introducing. Men, who still persevered in their sins, desired to be baptized; and there were those who supported their unreasonable wishes, and thought it sufficient to teach them, after baptism, how they ought to live, still holding out a hope to their minds, that they might be saved as by fire, because they had been baptized, though they never repented of their sins. In answer to these dangerous abuses, our author shows, that the true saving faith works by love, that the instruction of catechumens includes morals, as well as doctrines; that the labour of catechizing is exceedingly profitable to the church, and that persons ought to be catechized before they receive baptism, that they may know how vain it is to think of being eternally saved without holiness. He justly observes, that the eunuch's answer to Philip, "I believe that Jesus is the Son of God," virtually and radically involved in it, a knowledge of the true character of the person and offices of Christ, and of the qualities which belong to his members. He supports his doctrine by Scripture authority, particularly by that of St. James in his second chapter; and against those who say. that they would believe in Christ and come to him, and are hindered, he observes, "We do not prohibit such as are willing, from coming to Christ, but we prove by their own practice that they are not willing to come to Christ; nor do we forbid them to believe in Christ, but demonstrate that they are not tentious, concise, abrupt, and void of any of those classical elegancies, which now and then appear in our author's genuine writings, and also on account of the prayers to deceased Saints which it contains. This last circumstance peculiarly marks it to have been of a later date than the age of Augustine. Frauds of this kind were commonly practised on the works of the fathers in the monastic times. For the most part, however, this book may be read with profit by the serious reader, because of the devotional spirit in which it resembles the genuine works of Augustine. willing to believe in Christ, who suppose that adulterers can be his members." On the whole, he reprobates the most dangerous notion of the possibility of baptized persons being saved in their sins, and recommends strongly an attention to churchdiscipline, and to the wholesome practice of catechizing, showing through the whole a zeal for the cause of holiness, and a fear of men's abusing the doctrines of grace*. . CENT. V. In a small treatise to Simplician the aged bishop Treatise to of Milan, who was both the instructor and the Simplician successor of Ambrose, he undertakes to solve the difficulties usually grounded on the ninth chapter to the Romans. And he defends the doctrine of divine grace in his usual manner. His remarks on It is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy,' will deserve to be transcribed. "It is not said, it is not of him that is unwilling and despises, but of God who hardens.Nothing is done by God to make men worse; only that is not bestowed by him upon some men, which might make them better. Since human society is connected by giving and receiving, who does not see, that no man is accused of iniquity, who exacts what is due to himself, or remits the same? This idea of equity is impressed on us by the Divinity. All men die in Adam, being one mass of iniquity: this death may be called a debt due to Divine Justice, which, whether it be exacted, as with some, or remitted, as with others, there is no iniquity t." The treatise on catechising the ignorant deserves On Cateto be read both for the solid and pious vein of in- chising. struction which runs through it, and also for the light which it throws on the customs of the church. It appears, that whoever desired to be admitted into the church, was obliged to attend the catechist; and the work, in our author's manner of practising it, was very important. The person, to whom he writes * Id. p. 18. + Id. p. 147. VII. CHAP. had expressed a concern, because he could not please himself in his manner of speaking. Augustine observes, that this may easily happen, even when there is no particular fault in our manner of exhorting. He owns that it was generally the case with himself. And that the reason is, the mind of a serious preacher or catechist conceiving in one glance a beauty and weight in his subject, to express which his words are too slow or inadequate, he feels ashamed and disappointed; yet, continues Augustine, he ought not to conclude, that his words are lost, or that they appear as mean to the hearers, as they do to himself. "We see, says he, but in a glass darkly, and we must patiently labour to make greater improvement in divine life. Yet it is desirable to catechise with a cheerful spirit and with sensible comfort in one's own mind. This, however, is the gift of God." In the method of catechising, he recommends to begin with narration, to give to the pupils a clear and succinct view of the great facts, relative to our religion, both in the Old and New Testament, and to dwell more largely on the more important, and only glance at those which are less so. In the whole manner of doing this, the teacher should have his eyes steadily fixed on the great end, Love, and refer every thing, which he relates, to the plan, of divine love in the gift of Jesus Christ, describing the fall and the redemption, and the method of God in winning back the apostate spirits of men to love him, in return for his free love to us in Jesus Christ. Yet he observes, that without fear of Divine wrath, there can be no motive for sinners to approach to the God of love, or any sufficient inducements to engage their minds to seek him. Nor should the catechist be too shy in conveying his instructions, because the catechumen's motives may be merely worldly. It often happens, says he, through the mercy of God, that he, who applied to us for |