Imatges de pàgina
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Objectum est aliud; ipsum dixisse magistrum
Quod meritis hominum tribuatur gratia Christi,
Quantum quisque Dei donis se fecerit aptum.
Sed nimis adversum hoc fidei, nimiumque repugnans
Esse videns, dixit se non ita credere, et illos
Damnari dignos quorum mens ista teneret.
Quo cernis, cum judicibus damnantibus ista
Consensisse reum : nec quenquam hæc posse tueri.
Quæ tamen ipse suis rursum excoluisse libellis
Detegitur, reprobum in sensum fallendo reversus.

And in this also did the Pelagians betake themselves unto their old coverts of the grace of nature, the grace of mercy in forgiving of sins, the grace of instruction and revelation, and such other shifts. For "when" it is demanded of them," saith St. Augustine, "what grace Pelagius did think was given without any precedent merits, when he anathematized those who say that the grace of God is given according to our merits: they answer, that the grace which is without any precedent merits, is the human nature itself wherein we are created; forasmuch as before we were, we could not deserve any thing that we might be." Then afterward perceiving what an idle thing it was to confound grace and nature thus together: they said "that the only grace, which was not according to our merits, was that whereby a man had his sins forgiven him;" for they did not think, that a sinner could rightly be said to merit any thing save God's displeasure.

But that at which they all aimed in general was this, "that grace was only a kind of mistress to free will; and

• Prosp. de Ingratis, cap. 9.

P Cum ab istis quæritur, quam gratiam Pelagius cogitaret sine ullis præcedentibus meritis dari, quando. anathematizabat eos, qui dicunt gratiam Dei secundum merita nostra dari: respondent, sine ullis præcedentibus meritis gratiam, ipsam humanam esse naturam, in qua conditi sumus. Neque enim antequam essemus, mereri aliquid poteramus, ut essemus. Aug. epist. 194. ad Sixtum. op. tom. 2. pag. 717.

9 Dicunt Pelagiani, hanc esse solam non secundum merita nostra gratiam, qua homini peccata dimittuntur. Id. de grat. et lib. arbitr. cap. 6. op. tom. 10. pag. 725.

r Intellectum est enim, saluberrimeque perspectum, hoc tantum eos de gratia confiteri, quod quædam libero arbitrio sit magistra; seque per cohortationes, per legem, per doctrinam, per creaturam, per contemplationem, per miracula, perque terrores extrinsecus judicio ejus ostendat: quo unusquisque secundum

that by exhortations, by the law, by doctrine, by the creatures, by contemplation, by miracles, and by terrors outwardly, it shewed itself to the judgment thereof: whereby every man according to the motion of his will, if he did seek, might find; if he did ask, might receive; if he did knock, might enter in." And thus, saith Pelagius, doth God" works in us to will that which is good, to will that which is holy; whilst finding us given to earthly lusts, and like brute beasts affecting only present things, he inflameth us with the greatness of the glory to come, and with promise of rewards; whilst by the revelation of his wisdom he raiseth up our stupified will to the desire of God, whilst he persuadeth us to all that good is." To this instructing and persuading grace doth Pelagius attribute the exciting of the will; but the converting of it unto God (which followeth afterward) he ascribeth wholly to the freedom of the will itself. "Het that runneth unto God," saith he, "and desireth to be ruled by God, hanging his will upon God's will; he who by adhering unto him continually is made, according to the apostle, one spirit with him, doth not this but out of the freedom of his will. Which freedom whoso useth aright, doth so commit himself wholly to God, and mortifieth all his own will, that he may say with the apostle, I live now, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and doth put his heart into God's hand, that God may incline it whither it shall please him." Here have you the full platform laid down of Pe

voluntatis suæ motum, si quæsierit, inveniat; si petierit, recipiat; si pulsaverit introeat. Prosper, in epist. ad Ruffin. de grat. et lib. arbitr.

• Operatur in nobis velle quod bonum est, velle quod sanctum est; dum nos terrenis cupiditatibus deditos, et mutorum more animalium tantummodo præsentia diligentes, futuræ 'gloriæ magnitudine et præmiorum pollicitatione succendit; dum revelatione sapientiæ in desiderium Dei stupentem suscitat voluntatem; dum nobis suadet omne, quod bonum est. Pelag. apud Augustin. lib. 1. de grat. Christi contra Pelag. cap. 10. op. tom. 10. pag. 235.

Qui currit ad Deum, et a Deo se regi cupit, id est, voluntatem suam ex ejus voluntate suspendit; qui ei adhærendo jugiter, unus, secundum apostolum, cum eo fit spiritus; non hoc nisi de arbitrii efficit libertate. Qua qui bene utitur, ita se totum tradit Deo, omnemque suam mortificat voluntatem, ut cum apostolo possit dicere; Vivo autem jam non ego, vivit autem in me Christus : ponitque cor suum in manu Dei, ut illud quo voluerit Deus ipse declinet. Pelagius, apud Augustin. de gratia Christi, lib. 1. cap. 22, 23. ibid. pag. 240.

lagius his doctrine touching the conversion of a sinner. First, he supposeth a possibility in nature, whereby a man may will and do good. Secondly, a corruption in act, whereby a man doth will and do the contrary. Thirdly, an exciting grace from God, whereby the mind is enlightened, and the will persuaded (upon consideration of the promises and threats propounded) to forsake that lewd course of life, and to will and do the things that are good and holy. Fourthly, an act of the free will, thus prepared by God's exciting grace: whereby a man (without any further help from God) doth voluntarily yield unto these good motions; and so "runneth unto God, desireth to be ruled by him, hangeth his will upon God's will, and by adhering unto him is made one spirit with him." Fifthly, an assisting grace, whereby God guideth the will thus converted, and inclineth the heart whither it pleaseth him.

We see three kinds of grace here commended unto us by Pelagius, the first, a natural grace, as he fondly termed it, bringing with it a bare possibility only to will and do good: which he said was not given according to merits, because he held it to be given at the very beginning of man's being, before which he could not possibly merit any thing; the second, an exciting or persuading grace, imparted unto such as were "given to earthly lusts, and like brute beasts affected only present things;" who being in that case, were far from meriting any good thing at God's hands and in that regard he affirmed, that this grace likewise was given without any respect to precedent merits; the third, an assisting grace, by which God doth guide and incline the heart of the converted sinner, to the doing of all good: and this he maintained to be given as a reward to that act of the free will, whereby it yielded to the persuasions of the former exciting grace, and so did actually convert itself to God. Now this is the" pre

Nihil sic evertit hominum præsumptionem dicentium; Nos facimus, ut mereamur cum quibus faciat Deus. August. contra duas epist. Pelagian. lib. 4. cap. 6. op. tom. 10. pag. 477.

sumption which St. Augustine condemneth so much in these men, that they durst say: "We work to merit that God may work with us;" that they "would" first give to God, that it might be recompensed to them again: namely, they first give somewhat out of their free will, that grace might be rendered to them again for a reward;" that they were of opinion: "that our merit consisted in this, that we were with God, and that his grace was given according to this merit, that he should also be with us: that our merit should be in this, that we do seek him, and according to this merit, his grace was given that we should find him." For they that followed Pelagius (refining herein a little the doctrine of their master, and delivering it in somewhat a more plausible manner) declared that they merits, which they held to go before grace and to procure grace, were, asking, seeking, and knocking and that "grace was given, not according to the merit of our good works," which they did acknowledge to be an effect, and not a cause of this grace, but of our good will only, because, said they, the good will of man praying went before, and the will of man believing went before that: that according to these merits the grace of God hearing might follow after." And all this they did under colour of maintaining free will against the Manichees for which they urged much that testimony of the Prophet: "If ye be willing and hearken unto me, ye

:

w Priores volunt dare Deo, ut retribuatur eis; priores utique dare quodlibet ex libero arbitrio, ut sit gratia retribuenda pro præmio. August. contra duas epist. Pelagian. lib. 4. cap. 6. op. tom. 10. pag. 478.

* Meritum nostrum in eo esse, quod sumus cum Deo: ejus autem gratiam secundum hoc meritum dari, ut sit et ipse nobiscum. Item meritum nostrum in eo esse, quod quærimus eum: et secundum hoc meritum dari ejus gratiam, ut inveniamus eum. Id. de grat. et libero arbitr. cap. 5. ibid. pag. 723.

y Ibi enim vos, ut video, ponere jam cœpistis merita gratiam præcedentia, quod est petere, quærere, pulsare; ut his meritis debita illa reddatur, ac sic gratia inaniter nuncupetur. Id. contra Julian. Pelag. lib. 4. cap. 8. ibid. pag. 605.

z Dicunt enim, etsi non datur gratia secundum merita bonorum operum, quia per ipsam bene operamur, tamen secundum meritum bonæ voluntatis datur; quia bona voluntas (inquiunt) præcedit orantis, quam præcessit voluntas credentis; ut secundum hæc merita gratia sequatur exaudientis Dei. Id. de grat. et lib. arbitr. cap. 14. ibid. pag. 732.

a Isa. chap. 1. ver. 19, 20.

shall eat the good things of the land: but if ye refuse and will not hearken unto me, the sword shall consume them." But "what doth this profit them?" saith St. Augustine, "seeing they do not so much defend free will against the Manichees, as extol it against the Catholics. For so would they have that understood which is said: If ye be willing and hearken unto me; as if in that very precedent will there should be the meriting of the subsequent grace, and so grace should be now no grace, which is no gratuity, when it is rendered as due, But if they would so understand that which is said; If ye be willing, that they would also confess that he doth prepare that good will, of whom it is written: The will is prepared by the Lord: they should use this testimony like Catholics; and not only vanquish the old heresy of the Manichees, but also crush the new of the Pelagians."

Beside the professed Pelagians, who directly did deny original sin, there arose others in the Church in St. Augustine's days, that were tainted not a little with their errors in this point of grace and free will; as namely, one Vitalis in Carthage, and the Semi-Pelagians, as they are commonly called, in France. For the first held, that "God did work in us to will by his Scriptures either read or heard by us: but that to consent unto them or not consent is so in our power, that if we will, it may be done, if we will not, we may make the operation of God to be

b Quid eis hoc prodest? quandoquidem non tam contra Manichæos defendunt, quam contra Catholicos extollunt liberum arbitrium. Sic enim volunt intelligi quod dictum est: Si volueritis et audiveritis me; tanquam in ipsa præcedente voluntate sit consequentis meritum gratiæ; ac sic gratia jam non sit gratia, quæ non est gratuita, cum redditur debita. Si autem sic intelligerent quod dictum est, Si volueritis; ut etiam ipsam bonam voluntatem illum præparare confiterentur, de quo scriptum est: Præparatur voluntas a Domino: tanquam Catholici uterentur hoc testimonio; et non solum hæresim veterem Manichæorum vincerent, sed novam Pelagianorum contererent. August. contra duas epist. Pelagian. lib. 4. cap. 6. op. tom. 10. pag. 475.

c Per legem suam, per Scripturas suas Deum operari ut velimus quas vel legimus vel audimus: sed eis consentire vel non consentire ita nostrum est, ut si velimus, fiat; si autem nolimus, nihil in nobis operationem Dei valere faciamus. Operatur quippe ille, dicis, quantum in ipso est, ut velimus, cum nobis nota fiunt ejus eloquia: sed si eis acquiescere nolumus, nos ut operatio ejus nihil in nobis prosit efficimus. Id. epist. 217. ad Vitalem, op. tom. 2. pag. 799.

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