Augustine
A
Treatise on
Faith and the Creed
Introductory
Notice.
A
Treatise on
Faith and the Creed
Augustine
The Trinity: A Summary
Athenagoras - The
Trinity
Theophilus
who first used the Word Trias
The Gift of The Holy Spirit One
The
Gift of The Holy Spirit Two
John
Mark Hicks: claiming Alexander Campbell was a trinitarian
Father Son Spirit Passages:
there is ONE GOD and Jesus of Nazareth whom God made to be
both Lord and Christ
Introductory
Notice.
The occasion and date of the composition of this treatise
are
indicated in a statement which Augustin makes in the
seventeenth
chapter of the First Book of his Retractations.
From this we learn that, in its original form, it was a
discourse
which Augustin, when only a presbyter, was requested to
deliver in
public by the bishops assembled at the Council of
Hippo-Regius, and
that it was subsequently issued as a book at the desire of
friends. The
general assembly of the North 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" (primae sedis 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
fullness; in connection with which, especially in the use
made of the
analogies of Being, Knowledge, and Love, and in the cautions
thrown in
against certain applications of these and other
illustrations taken
from things of human experience, we come across
sentiments which are
also repeated in the City of God, the books on the Trinity,
and
others
of his doctrinal writings.
The passage referred to in the Retractations
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-Regius, I delivered, as presbyter, a
discussion on the
subject of Faith and the Creed. This disputation,
at the very
pressing request of some of those who were on terms of more
than usual
intimacy and affection with us, I threw into the form of a
book, in
which the themes 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 competentes1
to be committed to memory. In this book, when discussing the
question
of the resurrection of the flesh, I say:2
`Rise again the body will, according to the Christian faith,
which 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 which 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.'3
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 wise 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 which He spake, saying,
`Handle me, and
see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me
have.'4
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 of God,' what he proceeds to say
next,-namely,
`neither shall corruption inherit incorruption,'-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.5
The performance in question commences thus: `Since it is
written,' etc."
[Additional
Note by the American Editor.]
[Another English
edition of this treatise De Fide et Symbolo
was prepared by the Rev. Charles a. Heurtley, D.D., Margaret
Professor
of Divinity and Canon of Christ Church, Oxford, and
published by Parker
& Co., Oxford and London, 1886.
The following text of the Apostles' Creed may be
collected
from this
book of St. Augustin, and was current in North Africa
towards the close
of the fourth century:
1. I Believe in God the
Father Almighty. Chs. 2 and 3.
2. (And) In Jesus Christ,
the Son
of God,
the
Only-Begotten of the Father,
or, His
Only Son, Our Lord. Ch. 3.
3. Who Was Born Through the Holy Spirit of the Virgin
Mary. Ch. 4 (§ 8.)
4. Who Under Pontius Pilate Was Crucified and Buried.
Ch. 5 (§ 11.)
5. On the Third Day He Rose Again from the Dead. Ch. 5
(§ 12.)
6. He Ascended into Heaven. Ch. 6 (§ 13.)
7. He Sitteth at the Right Hand of the Father. Ch. 7 (§
14.)
8. From Thence He Will Come and Judge the Living and
the
Dead. Ch. 8 (§ 15.)
9. (and I Believe) in the Holy Spirit. Ch. 9 (§ 16--19.)
10. I Believe the Holy Church (Catholic). Ch. 10 (§
21.)
11. The Forgiveness of Sin. Ch. 10 (§ 23.)
12. The Resurrection of the Body. Ch. 10 (§ 23, 24.)
13. The Life Everlasting. Ch. 10 (§ 24.)]
1Cor.
1:23
But we preach Christ crucified,
unto the Jews
a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness;
1Cor. 1:24 But unto them which are called, both Jews and
Greeks,
Christ the power of
God,
and the wisdom of
God.
1Cor. 1:25 Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men;
and the weakness of
God is
stronger than men.
1Cor. 1:26 For ye see your calling, brethren,
how that not many wise
men after the flesh,
not many mighty, not
many noble, are
called:
1Cor.
1:28
And base things of the world, and things which are
despised, hath God chosen,
yea, and things which
are not, to
bring to nought things that are:
1Cor. 1:29 That no flesh should glory in his presence.
1Cor. 1:30 But of him are ye in Christ Jesus,
who of God
is made unto us
wisdom,
and righteousness, and sanctification,
and redemption:
1Cor. 1:31 That, according as it is written, He that
glorieth, let him
glory in the Lord.
------------
A
Treatise on
Faith and the Creed
Chapter 1.-Of the Origin and Object of
the Composition.
1. Inasmuch as it is a
position, written and established
on the
most solid foundation of apostolic teaching, "that the just
lives of
faith;"1
and inasmuch also as this faith demands of us the duty at
once of heart
and tongue,-for an apostle says, "With the heart man
believeth unto
righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto
salvation,"2
-it becomes us to be mindful both of righteousness and of
salvation.
For, destined as we are to reign hereafter in everlasting
righteousness, we certainly cannot secure our salvation from
the
present evil world, unless at the same time, while laboring
for the
salvation of our neighbors, we likewise with the mouth make
our own
profession of the faith which we carry in our heart. And it
must be our
aim, by pious and careful watchfulness, to provide against
the
possibility of the said faith sustaining any injury in us,
on any side,
through the fraudulent artifices [or, cunning fraud] of the
heretics.
We have, however, the catholic faith in the
Creed, known to the
faithful and committed to memory, contained in a form of
expression as
concise as has been rendered admissible by the circumstances
of the
case; the purpose of which [compilation] was, that
individuals who are
but beginners and sucklings among those who have been born
again in
Christ, and who have not yet been strengthened by most
diligent and
spiritual handling and understanding of the divine
Scriptures, should
be furnished with a summary, expressed in few words, of
those matters
of necessary belief which were subsequently to be explained
to them in
many words, as they made progress and rose to [the height
of] divine
doctrine, on the assured and steadfast basis of humility and
charity.
It is underneath these few words, therefore, which are thus
set in
order in the Creed, that most heretics have endeavored to
conceal their
poisons; whom divine mercy has withstood, and still
withstands, by the
instrumentality of spiritual men, who have been counted
worthy not only
to accept and believe the catholic faith as expounded in
those terms,
but also thoroughly to understand and apprehend it by the
enlightenment
imparted by the Lord. For it is written, "Unless ye believe,
ye shall
not understand."3
But the handling of the faith is of service for the
protection of the
Creed; not, however, to the intent that this should itself
be given
instead of the Creed, to be committed to memory and repeated
by those
who are receiving the grace of God, but that it may guard
the matters
which are retained in the Creed against the insidious
assaults of the
heretics, by means of catholic authority and a more
entrenched defence.
Chapter 2.-Of God and His Exclusive
Eternity.
2. For certain parties
have
attempted to gain acceptance
for
the opinion that God the Father is not Almighty: not that
they have
been bold enough expressly to affirm this, but in their
traditions they
are convicted of entertaining and crediting such a notion.
For when
they affirm that there is a nature4
which God Almighty did not create, but of which at the same
time He
fashioned this world, which they admit to have been disposed
in beauty5
they thereby deny that God is almighty, to the effect of not
believing
that He could have created the world without employing, for
the purpose
of its construction, another nature, which had been in
existence
previously, and which He Himself had not made. Thus,
forsooth, [they
reason] from their carnal familiarity with the sight of
craftsmen and
house-builders, and artisans of all descriptions, who have
no power to
make good the effect of their own art unless they get the
help of
materials already prepared. And so these parties in like
manner
understand the Maker of the world not to be almighty, if6
thus He could not fashion the said world without the help of
some other
nature, not framed by Himself, which He had to use as His
materials. Or
if indeed they do allow God, the Maker of the world, to be
almighty, it
becomes matter of course that they must also acknowledge
that He made
out of nothing the things which He did make. For, granting
that He is
almighty, there cannot exist anything of which He should not
be the
Creator. For although He made something out of something, as
man out of
clay,7
nevertheless He certainly did not make any object out of
aught which He
Himself had not made; for the earth from which the clay
comes He had
made out of nothing. And even if He had made out of some
material the
heavens and the earth themselves, that is to say, the
universe and all
things which are in it, according as it is written, "Thou
who didst
make the world out of matter unseen,"8
or also "without form," as some copies give it; yet we are
under no
manner of necessity to believe that this very material of
which the
universe was, made, although it might be "without form,"
although it
might be "unseen," whatever might be the mode of its
subsistence,
could: possibly have subsisted of itself, as if it were
co-eternal and
co-eval with God. But whatsoever that mode was which it
possessed to
the effect of subsisting in some manner, whatever that
manner might be,
and of being capable of taking on the forms of distinct
things, this it
did not possess except by the hand of Almighty God, by whose
goodness
it is that everything exists,-not only every object which is
already
formed, but also every object which is formable. This,
moreover, is the
difference between the formed and the formable, that the
formed has
already taken on form, while the formable is capable of
taking the
same. But the same Being who imparts form to objects, also
imparts the
capability of being formed. For of Him and in Him is the
fairest figure9
of all things, unchangeable; and therefore He Himself is
One,
who
communicates to everything its I possibilities, not only
that it be
beautiful actually, but also that it be capable of being
beautiful. For
which reason we do most right to believe that God made all
things of
nothing. For, even although the world was made of some sort
of
material, this self-same material itself was made of
nothing; so that,
in accordance with the most orderly gift of God, there was
to enter
first the capacity of taking forms, and then that all things
should be
formed which have been formed. This, however, we have said,
in order
that no one might suppose that the utterances of the divine
Scriptures
are contrary the one to the other, in so far as it is
written at once
that God made all things of nothing, and that the world was
made of
matter without form.
Augustine,
But God,
when He begot the
Word,
begot that which
He is
Himself.
Neither out of nothing, nor of any material already
made and
founded did He then beget;
but He begot of
Himself that
which
He is
Himself.
For we too aim at this when we speak, (as we shall
see) if we
carefully consider the inclination17
of our will; not when we lie, but when we speak the truth.
For to what
else do we direct our efforts then, but to bring our own
very mind,
if
it can be done at all, in upon the mind of the hearer, with
the view of
its being apprehended and thoroughly discerned by him; so
that we may
indeed abide in our very selves, and make no retreat from
ourselves,
and yet at the same time put forth a sign of such a nature
as that by
it a knowledge of us18
may be effected in another individual; that thus, so far as
the faculty
is granted us, another mind may be, as it were, put forth by
the mind,
whereby it may disclose itself? This we do, making the
attempt19
both by words, and by the simple sound of the voice, and by
the
countenance, and by the gestures of the body,-by so many
contrivances,
in sooth, desiring to make patent that which is within;
inasmuch as we
are not able to put forth aught of this nature [in itself
completely]:
and thus it is that the mind of the speaker cannot become
perfectly
known; thus also it results that a place is open for
falsehoods.
God
the Father, on the other hand, who possessed both the will
and the
power to declare Himself with the utmost truth to minds
designed to
obtain knowledge of Him,
with the purpose of
thus
declaring Himself begot this [Word]
which He Himself is
who did
beget;
which [Person] is
likewise called His Power and Wisdom,20
inasmuch as it is by
Him that He
has wrought all things, and in order
disposed them;
of whom these words
are for this
reason spoken:
"She
(Wisdom) reacheth from one end to another mightily,
and sweetly doth
she order all things."21
1Cor.
1:23
But we preach Christ crucified,
unto the Jews
a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness;
1Cor. 1:24 But unto them which are called, both Jews and
Greeks,
Christ the power of
God,
and the wisdom of
God.
1Cor. 1:25 Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men;
and the weakness of
God is
stronger than men.
1Cor. 1:26 For ye see your calling, brethren,
how that not many wise
men after the flesh,
not many mighty, not
many noble, are
called:
1Cor. 1:28 And base things of the world, and things
which are
despised, hath God chosen,
yea, and things which
are not, to
bring to nought things that are:
1Cor. 1:29 That no flesh should glory in his presence.
1Cor. 1:30 But of him are ye in Christ Jesus,
who of God
is made unto us
wisdom,
and righteousness, and sanctification,
and redemption:
1Cor. 1:31 That, according as it is written, He that
glorieth, let him
glory in the Lord.
Chapter 4.-Of the Son of God as
Neither
Made by the 'father Nor Less Than the Father, and of
His Incarnation.
5. Wherefore The
Only-Begotten
Son of God was neither made
by
the Father; for, according to the word of an evangelist,
"all things
were made by Him:"22
nor begotten
instantaneously;23
since God, who is eternally24 wise,
has with Himself His eternal Wisdom:
nor unequal with the Father,
that is to say, in anything less than He; for an apostle
also speaks in
this wise, "Who, although He was constituted in the form
of God,
thought it not robbery to be equal with God."25
By this catholic faith,
therefore, those are excluded, on the one hand,
who affirm that the Son is the same [Person] as the Father;
for [it is
clear that] this Word could not possibly be with
God, were it not with God the Father, and [it is
just as evident that] He who is alone is equal
to no one,
We and our words are different.
And, on the other hand, those are equally excluded who
affirm that the Son is a creature, although not such
an one
as the rest
of the creatures are. For however great they declare the
creature to
be, if it is a creature, it has been fashioned and made.26
For the terms fashion and create27
mean one and the same thing; although in the usage of the
Latin tongue
the phrase create is employed at times instead of
what would be the strictly accurate word beget. But
the Greek language makes a distinction. For we call that creatura
(creature) which they call ktisma
or ktisij; and when we
desire to speak without ambiguity, we use not the word creare
(create), but the word condere
(fashion, found).
Consequently, if the Son is a creature, however
great
that may be, He has been made.
But we
believe in
Him by whom all
things (omnia) were made,
not in Him by whom the rest
of things (cetera) were made.
For here again we
cannot take this term all things in any other
sense
than as meaning whatsoever things have been made.
6. But as "the Word
was made flesh, and dwelt among us,"28
the same Wisdom which was begotten of God
condescended also to be created among men.29
There is a reference to this in the word, "The Lord created
me in the
beginning of His ways."30
For the beginning of His ways is the Head of the Church,
which is Christ31
endued with human nature
(homine indutus), by whom it was
purposed that
there should be given to us a pattern of living, that is, a
sure32
way by which we might reach God.
For by no other path was it possible
for us to return but by humility, who fell by pride,
according as it
was said to our first creation, "Taste, and ye shall be as
gods."33
Of this humility, therefore, that is to say, of the way by
which it was
needful for us to return, our Restorer Himself has deemed it
meet to
exhibit an example in His own person, "who thought it not
robbery to be
equal with God, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a
servant;"34
in order that
He
might be created Man in the beginning of His ways,
the Word by whom all things were made.
Wherefore, in so far as He is the
Only-begotten, He has no brethren; but in so far as He is
the
First-begotten, He has deemed it worthy of Him to give the
name of
brethren to all those who, subsequently to and by means of
His
pre-eminence,35
are born again into the grace of God through the adoption
of sons,
according to the truth commended to us by apostolic
teaching.36
Thus, then, the Son
according
to nature (naturalis filius) was born of
the very substance of the Father, the only one so born,
subsisting as
that which the Father is,37
God of God, Light of Light. We, on the other hand, are not
the light by
nature, but are enlightened by that Light, so that we may be
able to
shine in wisdom. For, as one says, "that was the true Light,
which
lighteth every man that cometh into the world."38
Therefore we add to the faith of things eternal likewise the
temporal
dispensation39
of our Lord, which He deemed it worthy of Him to bear for us
and to
minister in behalf of our salvation. For in so far as He is
the
only-begotten Son of God, it cannot be said of Him that He
was
and that He shall be, but only that He is;
because, on the one hand, that which was, now isnot;
and, on the other, that which shall be, as yet is
not. He, then, is unchangeable, independent of the condition
of times
and variation. And it is my opinion that this is the very
consideration
to which was due the circumstance that He introduced to the
apprehension of His servant Moses the kind of name [which He
then
adopted]. For when he asked of Him by whom he should say
that he was
sent, in the event of the people to whom he was being sent
despising
him, he received his answer when He spake in this wise: "I
Am that I
Am." Thereafter, too, He added this: "Thus shalt thou say
unto the
children of Israel, He that is (Qui est) has sent me unto
you."40
7. From this, I trust, it is now made patent
to spiritual minds that
there cannot possibly exist any nature contrary to God. For
if He is,-and
this
is
a word which can be spoken with propriety only of God (for
that
which truly is
remains unchangeably; inasmuch as that which is changed has
been
something which now it is not, and shall be something which
as yet it
is not),-it follows that God has nothing contrary to
Himself. For if
the question were put to us, What is contrary to white? we
would reply,
black; if the question were, What is contrary to hot? we
would reply,
cold; if the question were, What is contrary to quick? we
would reply,
slow; and all similar interrogations we would answer in like
manner.
When, however, it is asked, What is contrary to that which
is?
the right reply to give is, that which is not.
8. But whereas, in a temporal dispensation, as I have
said, with a
view to our salvation and restoration, and with the goodness
of God
acting therein, our changeable nature has been assumed by
that
unchangeable Wisdom of God, we add the faith in temporal
things which
have been done with salutary effect on our behalf, believing
in that
Son of God Who Was Born Through the Holy Ghost of the Virgin
Mary. For
by the gift of God, that is, by the Holy Spirit, there was
granted to
us so great humility on the part of so great a God, that He
deemed it
worthy of Him to assume the entire nature of man (totum
hominem) in the
womb of the Virgin, inhabiting the material body so that it
sustained
no detriment (integrum), and leaving it41
without detriment. This temporal dispensation is in many
ways craftily
assailed by the heretics. But if any one shall have grasped
the
catholic faith, so as to believe that the entire nature of
man was
assumed by the Word of God, that is to say, body, soul, and
spirit, he
has sufficient defense against those parties. For surely,
since that
assumption was effected in behalf of our salvation, one must
be on his
guard lest, as he believes that there is something belonging
to. our
nature which sustains no relation to that assumption, this
something
may fail also to sustain any relation to the salvation.42
And seeing that, with the exception of the form of the
members, which
has been imparted to the varieties of living objects with
differences
adapted to their different kinds, man is in nothing
separated from the
cattle but in [the possession of] a rational spirit
(rationali
spiritu), which is also named mind (mens), how is that faith
sound,
according to which the belief is maintained, that the Wisdom
of God
assumed that part of us which we hold in common with the
cattle, while
He did not assume that which is brightly illumined by the
light of
wisdom, and which is man's peculiar gift?
9. Moreover, those parties43
also are to be abhorred who deny that our Lord Jesus Christ
had in Mary
a mother upon earth; while that dispensation has honored
both sexes, at
once the male and the female, and has made it plain that not
only that
sex which He assumed pertains to God's care, but also that
sex by which
He did assume this other, in that He bore [the nature of]
the man
(virum gerendo), [and] in that He was born of the woman.
Neither is
there anything to compel us to a denial of the mother of the
Lord, in
the circumstance that this word was spoken by Him: "Woman,
what have I
to do with thee? Mine hour is not yet come."44
But He rather admonishesus to understand that, in respect of
His being
God, there was no mother for Him, the part of whose personal
majesty
(cujus majestatis personam) He was preparing to show forth
in the
turning of water into wine. But as regards His being
crucified, He was
crucified in respect of his being man; and that was the hour
which had
not come as yet, at the time when this word was spoken,
"What have I to
do with thee? Mine hour is not vet come;" that is, the hour
at which I
shall recognize thee. For at that period, when He was
crucified as man,
He recognized His human mother (hominem matrem), and
committed her most
humanely (humanissime) to the care of the best beloved
disciple.45
Nor, again, should we be moved by the fact that, when the
presence of
His mother and His brethren was announced to Him, He
replied, "Who is
my mother, or who my brethren?" etc.46
But rather let it teach us, that when parents hinder our
ministry
wherein we minister the word of God to our brethren, they
ought not to
be recognized by us. For if, on the ground of His having
said, "Who is
my mother?" every one should conclude that He had no mother
on earth,
then each should as matter of course be also compelled to
deny that the
apostles had fathers on earth; since He gave them an
injunction in
these terms: "Call no man your father upon the earth; for
one is your
Father, which is in heaven."47
10. Neither should the thought of the woman's womb impair
this faith
in us, to the effect that there should appear to be any
necessity for
rejecting such a generation of our Lord for the mere reason
that
worthless men consider it unworthy (sordidi sordidam
putant). For most
true are these sayings of an apostle, both that "the
foolishness of God
is wiser than men,"48
and that "to the pure all things are pure."49
Those,50
therefore, who entertain this opinion ought to ponder the
fact that the
rays of this sun, which indeed they do not praise as a
creature of God,
but adore as God, are diffused all the world over, through
the
noisomenesses of sewers and every kind of horrible thing,
and that they
operate in these according to their nature, and yet never
become
debased by any defilement thence contracted, albeit that the
visible
light is by nature in closer conjunction with visible
pollutions. How
much less, therefore, could the Word of God, who is neither
corporeal
nor visible, sustain defilement from the female body,
wherein He
assumed human flesh together with soul and spirit, through
the incoming
of which the majesty of the Word dwells in a less immediate
conjunction
with the frailty of a human body!51
Hence it is manifest that the Word of God could in no way
have been
defiled by a human body, by which even the human soul is not
defiled.
For not when it rules the body and quickens it, but only
when it lusts
after the mortal good things thereof, is the soul defiled by
the body.
But if these persons were to desire to avoid the defilements
of the
soul, they would dread rather these falsehoods and
profanities.
Chapter 5.-Of Christ's Passion,
Burial,
and Resurrection.
11. But little
[comparatively]
was the humiliation (humilitas)
of our Lord on our behalf in His being born: it was also
added that He
deemed it meet to die in behalf of mortal men. For "He
humbled Himself,
being made subject even unto death, yea, the death of the
cross:"52
lest any one of us, even were he able to have no fear of
death [in
general], should yet shudder at some particular sort of
death which men
reckon most shameful. Therefore do we believe in Him Who
Under Pontius
Pilate Was Crucified and Buried. For it was requisite that
the name of
the judge should be added, with a view to the cognizance of
the times.
Moreover, when that burial ismade an object of belief, there
enters
also: the recollection of the new tomb,53
which was meant to present a testimony to Him in His destiny
to rise
again to newness of life, even as the Virgin's womb did the
same to Him
in His appointment to be born. For just as in that sepulchre
no other
dead person was buried,54
whether before or after Him; so neither in that womb,
whether before or
after, was anything mortal conceived.
12. We believe also, that On the Third Day He Rose Again
from Tile
Dead, the first-begotten for brethren destined to come after
Him, whom
He has called into the adoption of the sons of God,55
whom [also] He has deemed it meet to make His own
joint-partners and
joint-heirs.56
Chapter 6.-Of Christ's Ascension into
Heaven.
13. We believe that He
Ascended into Heaven, which place
of
blessedness He has likewise promised unto us, saying, "They
shall be as
the angels in the heavens,"57
in that city which is the mother of us all,58
the Jerusalem eternal in the heavens. But it is wont to give
offense to
certain parties, either impious Gentiles or heretics, that
we should
believe in the assumption of an earthly body into heaven.
The Gentiles,
however, for the most part, set themselves diligently to ply
us with
the arguments of the philosophers, to the effect of
affirming that
there cannot possibly be anything earthly in heaven. For
they know not
our Scriptures, neither do they understand how it has been
said, "It is
sown an animal body, it is raised a spiritual body."59
For thus it has not been expressed, as if body were turned
into spirit
and became spirit; inasmuch as at present, too, our body,
which is
called animal (animale), has not been turned into soul and
become soul
(anima). But by a spiritual body is meant one which
has been
made
subject to spirit in such wise60
that it is adapted to a heavenly habitation, all frailty and
every
earthly blemish having been changed and converted into
heavenly purity
and stability. This is the change concerning which the
apostle likewise
speaks thus: "We shall all rise, but we shall not all be
changed."61
And that this change is made not unto the worse, but unto
the better,
the same [apostle] teaches, when he says, "And we shall be
changed."62
But the question as to where and in what manner the Lord's
body is in
heaven, is one which it would be altogether over-curious and
superfluous to prosecute. Only we must believe that it is in
heaven.
For it pertains not to our frailty to investigate the secret
things of
heaven, but it does pertain to our faith to hold elevated
and honorable
sentiments on the subject of the dignity of the Lord's body.
Chapter 7.-Of Christ's Session at the
Father's Right Hand.
14. We believe also that
He
Sitteth at the Right Hand of
the
Father. This, however, is not to lead us to suppose that God
the Father
is, as it were, circumscribed by a human form, so that, when
we think
of Him, a right side or a left should suggest itself to the
mind. Nor,
again, when it is thus said in express terms that the Father
sitteth,
are we to fancy that this is done with bended knees; lest we
should
fall into that profanity, in [dealing with] which an apostle
execrates
those who "changed the glory of the incorruptible God into
the likeness
of corruptible man."63
For it is unlawful for a Christian to set up any such image
for God in
a temple; much more nefarious is it, [therefore], to set it
up in the
heart, in which truly is the temple of God, provided it be
purged of
earthly lust and error. This expression, "at the right
hand,"
therefore, we must understand to signify a position in
supremest
blessedness, where righteousness and peace and joy are; just
as the
kids are set on the left hand,64
that is to say, in misery, by reason of unrighteousness,
labors, and
torments.65
And in accordance with this, when it is said that God
"sitteth," the
expression indicates not a posture of the members, but a
judicial
power, which that Majesty never fails to possess, as He is
always
awarding deserts as men deserve them (digna dignis
tribuendo); although
at the last judgment the unquestionable brightness of the
only-begotten
Son of God, the Judge of the living and the dead, is
destined yet to be66
a thing much more manifest among men.
Chapter 8.-Of Christ's Coming to
Judgment.
15. We believe also, that
at
the most seasonable time He
Will
Come from Thence, and Will Judge the Quick and the Dead:
whether by
these terms are signified the righteous and: sinners, or
whether it be
the case that those persons are here called the quick,
whom at that period He shall find, previous to [their]
death,67
upon the earth, while the dead denote those who
shall rise again at His advent. This temporal dispensation
not only is,
as
holds
good of that generation which respects His being God, but
also hath
been and shall be. For
our Lord hath been upon the earth, and at present He is in
heaven, and
[hereafter] He shall be
in His brightness as the Judge of the quick and the dead.
For He shall
yet come, even so as He has ascended, according to the
authority which
is contained in the Acts of the Apostles.68
It is in accordance with this temporal dispensation,
therefore, that He
speaks in the Apocalypse, where it is written in this wise:
"These
things saith He, who is, and who was, and who is to come."69
Chapter 9.-Of the Holy Spirit and the
Mystery of the Trinity.
16.
The divine generation, therefore, of our Lord, and his
human dispensation, having both been thus systematically
disposed and
commended to faith,70
there is added to our Confession, with a view to the
perfecting of the
faith which we have regarding God, [the doctrine of] The
Holy Spirit,
who is not of a nature inferior71
to the Father and the Son, but, so to say, consubstantial
and
co-eternal: for this Trinity is one God, not to the
effect that
the
Father is the same [Person] as the Son and the Holy Spirit,
but to the
effect that the Father is the Father, and the Son is the
Son, and the
Holy Spirit is the Holy Spirit; and this Trinity is one God,
according
as it is written,
"Hear, O Israel, the Lord your God is one God."72
At the same time, if we be interrogated on the subject of
each
separately, and if the question be put to us, "Is the Father
God?" we
shall reply, "He is God." If it be asked whether the Son is
God, we
shall answer to the same effect. Nor, if this kind of
inquiry be
addressed to us with respect to the Holy Spirit, ought we to
affirm in
reply that He is anything else than God;
being
earnestly on
our guard,
[however], against an acceptance of this merely in the
sense in which
it is applied to men, when it is said, "Ye are gods."73
For of all those who have been made and fashioned of the
Father,
through the Son, by the gift of the Holy Spirit, none are
gods
according to nature.
For it is this same Trinity that is signified when
an apostle says, "For of Him, and in Him, and through Him,
are all
things."74
Consequently, although, when we are interrogated on the
subject of each
[of these Persons] severally, we reply that that
particular one
regarding whom the question is asked, whether it be the
Father, or the
Son, or the Holy Spirit, is God, no one, notwithstanding
this, should
suppose that three Gods are worshipped by us.
17. Neither is it strange
that
these things are said in
reference to
an ineffable Nature, when even in those objects
which we
discern with
the bodily eyes, and judge of by the bodily sense, something
similar
holds good.
For take the instance of an interrogation on the subject of
a fountain, and consider how we are unable then to
affirm that
the said
fountain is itself the river; and how, when we are asked
about the
river, we are as little able to call it the fountain; and,
again, how
we are equally unable to designate the draught, which comes
of the
fountain or the river, either river or fountain.
Nevertheless, in the
case of this trinity we use the name water [for the
whole]; and
when the question is put: regarding each of these
separately, we reply
in each several instance that the thing is water.
- For if I
inquire whether it is water in the fountain,
the reply is given
that it
is water;
- and if we ask
whether
it is water in the river, no different
response is returned;
- and in the case
of the
said draught, no
other
answer can possibly be made
and yet, for all this,
we do
not speak of
these things as three waters, but as one water. At
the same
time, of
course, care must be taken that no one should conceive of
the ineffable
substance of that Majesty merely as he might think of this
visible and
material75
fountain, or river, or draught.
For in the case of these latter that
water which is at present in the fountain goes forth into
the river,
and does not abide in itself; and when it passes
from the river
or from
the fountain into the draught, it does not continue
permanently there
where it is taken from.
Therefore it is possible here that the same
water may be in view at one time under the appellation of
the fountain
and at another under that of the river, and at a third
under that of
the draught.
But in the case of that Trinity,
we have affirmed it
to be
impossible
that the
Father should be sometime the Son,
and
sometime the
Holy Spirit:
just as, in a tree, the root is nothing else than the
root, and the trunk (robur) is nothing else than the
trunk, and we
cannot call the branches anything else than branches for,
what is
called the root cannot be called trunk and branches; and
the wood which
belongs to the root cannot by any sort of transference be
now in the
root, and again in the trunk, and yet again in the
branches, but only
in the root;
since this rule of designation stands fast, so that the
root is wood. and the trunk is wood, and the branches are
wood, while
nevertheless it is not three woods that are thus
spoken of, but only
one.
Or, if these objects have some sort of dissimilarity, so
that on
account of their difference in strength they may be spoken
of, without
any absurdity, as three woods; at least all parties admit
the force of
the former example,-namely,
- that if three
cups
be filled out of one
fountain,
they may certainly be called three cups,
but cannot be spoken
of as three waters, but only as one all together.
Yet, at the same
time, when asked concerning the several cups, one by one,
we may answer
that in each of them by itself there is water; although in
this case no
such transference takes place as we were speaking of as
occurring from
the fountain into the river.
But these examples in things material
(corporalia exempla) have been adduced not in virtue of
their likeness
to that divine Nature, but in reference to the oneness
which subsists
even in things visible, so that it may be understood to be
quite a
possibility for three objects of some sort, not only
severally, but
also
all together, to obtain one single name; and that in this
way no one
may wonder and think it absurd that we should call the
Father God, the
Son God, the Holy Spirit God, and that nevertheless we
should say that
there are not three Gods in that Trinity, but one God
and one
substance.76
18. And, indeed, on this
subject of the Father and the
Son, learned and spiritual77
men have conducted discussions in many books, in which, so
far as men
could do with men,
they
have
endeavored to introduce an
intelligible
account
as to how the Father was not one personally with the
Son,
and
yet the two were one substantially;78
and as to what the Father was individually (proprie), and
what the Son:
to wit, that the former was the Begetter, the latter the
Begotten; the
former not of the Son, the latter of the Father: theformer
the
Beginning
of the latter, whence also He is called the Head of
Christ,79
although Christ likewise is the Beginning,80
but not of the Father; the latter, moreover, the Image81
of the former, although in no respect dissimilar, and
although
absolutely and without difference equal (omnino et
indifferenter
aequalis).
These questions are handled with greater breadth by those
who, in less narrow limits than ours are at present, seek
to set forth
the profession of the Christian faith in its totality.
Accordingly, in
so far as He is the Son, of the Father received He it that
He is, while
that other [the Father] received not this of the Son;
and in so
far as
He, in unutterable mercy, in a temporal dispensation
took upon Himself
the [nature of] man (hominem),-to wit,
the changeable creature that was
thereby to be changed into something better,-many
statements concerning
Him are discovered in the Scriptures,
which are
so
expressed as to have
given occasion to error in the impious intellects of
heretics, with
whom the desire to teach takes precedence of that to
understand, so
that they have supposed Him to be neither equal with
the Father nor
of
the same substance.
Such statements [are meant] as the following: "For
the Father is greater than I;"82
and, "The head of the woman is the man, the Head of
the man is Christ,
and the Head of Christ is God;"83
and, "Then shall He Himself be subject unto Him that
put all things
under Him;"84
and, "I go to my Father and your Father, my God and
your God,"85
together with some others of like tenor.
Now all these have had a place
given them, [certainly] not with the object of
signifying an inequality
of nature and substance; for to take them so would be
to falsify a
different class of statements,
- such as, "I
and
my Father are one"
(unum);86
- and, "He
that
hath seen me hath seen
my Father also;"87
- and, "The
Word
was God,"88
for He was not made, inasmuch as "all things
were made by Him;"89
- and, "He
thought
it not robbery to be
equal with God:"90
together with all the other passages of a
similar order.
But these
statements have had a place given them, partly with
a view to that
administration of His assumption of human nature
(administrationem
suscepti
hominis),
in accordance with which it is said that "He emptied
Himself:" not that that Wisdom was changed,
since it is
absolutely
unchangeable;
but that it was His will to make Himself known in
such
humble fashion to men. Partly then, I repeat, it is
with a view to this
administration that those things have been thus
written which the heretics
make the ground of their false allegations;
and partly it was
with a view to the consideration that the Son owes
to the Father that
which He is,91
-thereby also certainly owing this in particular to
the Father, to wit,
that He is equal to the same Father, or that He is
His Peer (eidem
Patri aequalis aut par est), whereas the Father owes
whatsoever He is
to no one.
19.
With respect to the Holy Spirit, however, there has
not been as
yet, on the part of learned and distinguished investigators
of the
Scriptures, a discussion of the subject full enough or
careful enough
to make it possible for us to obtain an intelligent
conception of what
also constitutes His special individuality
(proprium): in virtue of
which special individuality it comes to be the case
that we
cannot
call
Him either the Son or the Father,
but only the Holy Spirit; excepting
that they predicate Him to be the Gift of God,
so that we may believe
God not to give a gift inferior to Himself.
At the same time they hold
by this position, namely, to predicate the Holy Spirit neither
as
begotten, like the Son, of the Father; for Christ is
the only one
[so
begotten]: nor as [begotten] of the Son, like a Grandson
of the Supreme
Father: while they do not affirm Him to owe that which He
is to no one,
but [admit Him to owe it] to the Father, of whom are all
things; lest
we should establish two Beginnings without beginning (ne
duo
constituamus principia isne principio), which would be an
assertion at
once most false and most absurd, and one proper not to the
catholic
faith, but to the error of certain heretics.92
Some, however, have gone so far as to believe that the communion
of the
Father and the Son, and (so to speak) their Godhead (deitatem),
which
the
Greeks designate qeotha, is the Holy
Spirit; so that, inasmuch as the Father is God and the Son
God, the
Godhead itself, in which they are united with each
other,-to wit, the
former by begetting the Son, and the latter by cleaving to
the Father,93
-should [thereby] be constituted equal with Him by whom He
is begotten.
This Godhead, then, which they wish to be understood
likewise as the love
and charity subsisting between these two [Persons],
the one toward
the other, they affirm to have received the
name
of the Holy Spirit.
And this opinion of theirs they support by many
proofs
drawn from the
Scriptures; among which we might instance either the
passage which
says, "For the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by
the Holy
Ghost, who has been given unto us,"94
or many other proofs texts of a similar tenor: while they
ground their
position also upon the express fact that it is through the
Holy Spirit
that we are reconciled unto God; whence also, when He is
called the Gift
of God,
they will
have
it that sufficient indication is offered of
the love of God and the Holy Spirit being identical.
For we are not
reconciled unto Him except through that love in virtue
of which we are
also called sons:95
as we are no more "under fear, like servants,"96
because "love, when it is made perfect, casteth out
fear;"97
and [as] "we have received the spirit of liberty,
wherein we
cry, Abba,
Father."98
And inasmuch as, being reconciled and called back into
friendship
through love, we shall be able to become acquainted
with all the
secret
things of God, for this reason it is said of the
Holy Spirit that
"He
shall lead you into all truth."99
For the same reason also, that confidence in preaching
the truth, with
which the apostles were filled at His advent,100
is rightly ascribed to love; because diffidence also is
assigned to
fear, which the perfecting of love excludes. Thus,
likewise, the same
is called the Gift of God,101
because no one enjoys that which he knows, unless he
also love it. To
enjoy the Wisdom of God, however, implies nothing else
than to cleave
to the same in love (ei dilectione cohaerere).
Neither does any one
abide in that which he apprehends, but by love; and
accordingly the
Holy Spirit is called the Spirit of sanctity
(Spiritus Sanctus),
inasmuch as all things that are sanctioned (sanciuntur)102
are sanctioned with a view to their permanence, and
there is no doubt
that the term sanctity (sanctitatem) is derived from
sanction (a
sanciendo). Above all, however, that testimony is
employed by the
upholders of this opinion, where it is thus written,
"That which is
born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of
the Spirit is
spirit;"103
"for God is a Spirit."104
For here He speaks of our regeneration,105
which is not, according to Adam, of the flesh, but,
according to
Christ, of the Holy Spirit. Wherefore, if in this
passage mention is
made of the Holy Spirit, when it is said, "For God is a
Spirit," they
maintain that we must take note that it is not said,
"for the Spirit is
God,"106
but, "for God is a Spirit;" so that the very Godhead of
the Father and
the Son is in this passage called God, and that is the
Holy Spirit.
To
this is added another testimony which the Apostle John
offers, when he
says, "For God is love."107
For here, in like manner, what he says is not, "Love is
God,"108
but, "God is love;" so that the very Godhead is taken to
be love. And
with respect to the circumstance that, in that enumeration
of mutually
connected objects which is given when it is said, "All
things are
yours, and ye are Christ's, and Christ is God's,"109
as also,
"The head
of the
woman is the man, the Head of the man is
Christ, and the Head of Christ is God,"110 there
is no mention of
the Holy Spirit; this they affirm to be but an
application of the principle that, in general, t
he
connection
itself is
not wont to be enumerated among the things which are
connected with
each other.
Whence, also, those
who
read with closer attention appear
to recognize the express Trinity likewise in that
passage in which it
is said, "For of Him, and through Him,
and in
Him, are all things."111
"Of Him," as if it meant, of that One who owes it to no
one that He is:
"through
Him,"
as if the idea were, through a Mediator; "in Him," as if
it were, in that One who holds together, that is, unites
by
connecting.
20. Those parties oppose
this
opinion who think that the
said
communion, which we call either Godhead, or Love, or
Charity, is not a
substance. Moreover, they require the Holy Spirit to be set
forth to
them according to substance; n
either do
they
take it to have been
otherwise impossible for the expression God is Love" to
have been used,
unless love were a substance. In this, indeed, they are
influenced by
the wont of things of a bodily nature.
For if two bodies are
connected
with each other in such wise as to be placed in
juxtaposition one with
the other, the connection itself is not a body: inasmuch
as
when these
bodies which had been connected are separated, no such
connection
certainly is found [any more]; while, at the same time, it
is not
understood to have departed, as it were, and migrated,
as is
the case
with those bodies themselves.
But men like these should make their
heart pure, so far as they can, in order that they may have
power to
see that in the substance of God there is not anything of
such a nature
as would imply that therein substance is one thing, and that
which is
accident to substance (aliud quod accidat subsantioe)
another thing,
and not substance; whereas whatsoever can be taken to be
therein is
substance. These things, however, can easily be spoken and
believed;
but seen, so as to reveal how they are in themselves, they
absolutely
cannot be, except by the pure heart. For which reason,
whether the
opinion in question be true, or something else be the case,
the faith
ought to be maintained unshaken, so that we should call the
Father God,
the Son God, the Holy Spirit God, and yet not affirm three
Gods, but
hold the said Trinity to be one God; and again,
not affirm
these
[Persons] to be different in nature,
but hold them to be of the same
substance;
and further uphold it, not as if the Father were sometime
the Son, and sometime the Holy Spirit, but in such wise
that the Father
is always the Father, and the Son always the Son, and the
Holy Spirit
always the Holy Spirit.
Neither should we make any affirmation on the
subject of things unseen rashly, as if we had knowledge,
but [only
modestly] as believing. For these things cannot be seen
except by the
heart made pure; and [even] he who in this life sees them
"in part," as
it has been said, and "in an enigma,"112
cannot secure it that the person to whom he speaks shall
also see them,
if he is hampered by impurities of heart. "Blessed,"
however, "are they
of a pure heart, for they shall see God."113
This is the faith on the subject of God our Maker and
Renewer.
21. But inasmuch as love
is
enjoined upon us, not only
toward God,
when it was said, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all
thy heart,
and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind;"114
but also toward our neighbor, for "thou shalt love," saith
He, "thy
neighbor as thyself;"115
and inasmuch, moreover, as the faith in question is less
fruitful, if
it does not comprehend a congregation and society of men,
wherein
brotherly charity may operate;-
Chapter 10.-Of the Catholic Church,
the
Remission of Sins, and the Resurrection of the Flesh.
-Inasmuch, I repeat, as
this
is the case, we believe also
in
The Holy Church, [intending thereby] assuredly the Catholic.
For both
heretics and schismatics style their congregations churches.
But
heretics, in holding false opinions regarding God, do injury
to the
faith itself; while schismatics, on the other hand, in
wicked
separations break off from brotherly charity, although they
may believe
just what we believe. Wherefore neither do the heretics
belong to the
Church catholic, which loves God; nor do the schismatics
form a part of
the same, inasmuch as: it loves the neighbor, and
consequently readily
forgives the neighbor's sins, because it prays that
forgiveness may be
extended to itself by Him who has reconciled us to Himself,
doing away
with all past things, and calling us to a new life. And
until we reach
the perfection of this new life, we cannot be without sins.
Nevertheless it is a matter of consequence of what sort
those sins may
be.
22. Neither ought we only to treat of the
difference between sins,
but we ought most thoroughly to believe that those things in
which we
sin are in no way forgiven us, if we show ourselves severely
unyielding
in the matter of forgiving the sins of others.116
Thus, then, we believe also in The Remission of Sins.
23. And inasmuch
as there are three things of which man
consists,-namely, spirit, soul, and body,
which again are spoken of as
two, because frequently the soul is named along with the
spirit; for a
certain rational portion of the same, of which beasts are
devoid, is
called spirit: the principal part in us is the spirit;
next, the life
whereby we are united with the body is called the soul;
finally, the
body itself, as it is visible, is the last part in us. This
"whole
creation" (creatura), however, "groaneth and travaileth
until now."117
Nevertheless, He has given it the first-fruits of the
Spirit, in that
it has believed God, and is now of a good will.118
This spirit is also called the mind, regarding
which an apostle speaks thus:
"With the
mind I
serve the law of God."119
Which apostle likewise expresses himself thus in another
passage:
"For God is my witness, whom I serve in my spirit."120
Moreover, the soul, when as yet it lusts after carnal good
things, is
called the flesh. For a certain part thereof resists121 the
Spirit, not in
virtue of nature, but in virtue of the
custom of
sins; whence it is said,
"With the mind I serve the law of God, but
with the flesh the law of sin."
And this custom has been turned into a
nature, according to mortal generation, by the sin
of the first man.
Consequently it is also written in this wise, "And we were
sometime by
nature the children of wrath,"122
that is, of vengeance, through which it has come to pass
that we serve
the law of sin.
The nature of the soul, however, is perfect when it is
made subject to its own spirit, and when it
follows
that spirit as the
same follows God. Therefore "the animal man123
receiveth not the things which are of the Spirit of God."124
But the soul is not so speedily subdued to the spirit unto
good action,
as is the spirit to God unto true faith and goodwill; but
sometimes its
impetus, whereby it moves downwards into things carnal and
temporal, is
more tardily bridled. But inasmuch as this same soul is
also made pure,
and receives the stability of its own nature, under the
dominance of
the spirit, which is the head for it, which head of the
said soul has
again its own head in Christ, we ought not to despair of
the
restoration of the body also to its own proper nature. But
this
certainly will not be effected so speedily as is the case
with the
soul; just as the soul too, is not restored so speedily as
the spirit.
Yet it will take place in the appropriate season, at the
last trump,
when "the dead shall rise uncorrupted, and we shall be
changed."125
And accordingly we believe also in The Resurrection of the
Flesh, to
wit, not merely that that soul, which at present by reason
of carnal
affections is called the flesh, is restored; but that it
shall be so
likewise with this visible flesh, which is the flesh
according to
nature, the name of which has been received by the soul,
not in virtue
of nature, but in reference to carnal affections: this
visible flesh,
then, I say, which is the flesh properly so called, must
without doubt
be believed to be destined to rise again. For the Apostle
Paul appears
to point to this, as it were, with his finger, when he
says, "This
corruptible must put on incorruption."126
For when he says this,
he, as it were, directs his finger toward it. Now it is
that which is
visible that admits of being pointed out with the finger;
since the
soul might also have been called corruptible, for it is
itself
corrupted by vices of manners. And when it is read, "and
this mortal
[must] put on immortality," the same visible flesh is
signified,
inasmuch as at it ever and anon the finger is thus as it
were pointed.
For the soul also may thus in like manner be called
mortal, even as it
is designated corruptible in reference to vices of
manners. For
assuredly it is "the death of the soul to apostatize from
God;"127
which is its first sin in Paradise, as it is contained in
the sacred
writings.
24. Rise again,
therefore, the
body will, according to the
Christian
faith, which 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 onlybody.128
For when the apostle speaks of the flesh, he says, "There is
one flesh
of cattle, another of birds, another of fishes, another of
creeping
things: there are also both celestial bodies and terrestrial
bodies."129
Now what he has said here is not "celestial flesh," but
"both celestial
bodies and terrestrial bodies." For all flesh is also body;
but every
body is not also flesh. In the first instance, [for example,
this holds
good] in the case of those terrestrial bodies, inasmuch as
wood is
body, but not flesh. In the case of man, again, or in that
of cattle,
we have both body and flesh. In the case of celestial
bodies, on the
other hand, there is no flesh, but only those simple and
lucent bodies
which the apostle designates spiritual, while some call them
ethereal.
And consequently, when he says, "Flesh and blood shall not
inherit the
kingdom of God,"130
that does not contradict the resurrection of the flesh; but
the
sentence predicates what will be the nature of that
hereafter which at
present is flesh and blood. And if any one refuses to
believe that the
flesh is capable of being changed into the sort of nature
thus
indicated, he must be led on, step by step, to this faith.
For if you
require of him whether earth is capable of being changed
into water,
the nearness of the thing will make it not seem incredible
to him.
Again, if you inquire whether water is capable of being
changed into
air, he replies that this also is not absurd, for the
elements are near
each other. And if, on the subject of the air, it is asked
whether that
can be changed into an ethereal, that is, a celestial body,
the simple
fact of the nearness at once convinces him of the
possibility of the
thing. But if, then, he concedes that through such
gradations it is
quite a possible thing that earth should be changed into an
ethereal
body, why does he refuse to believe, when that will of God,
too, enters
in addition, whereby a human body had power to walk upon the
waters,
that the same change is capable of being effected with the
utmost
rapidity, precisely in accordance with the saying, "in the
twinkling of
an eye,"131
and without any such gradations, even as, according to
common wont,
smoke is changed into flame with marvellous quickness? For
our flesh
assuredly is of earth. But philosophers, on the ground of
whose
arguments opposition is for the most part offered to the
resurrection
of the flesh, so far as in these they assert that no terrene
body can
possibly exist in heaven, yet concede that any kind of body
may be
converted and changed into every [other] sort of body. And
when this
resurrection of the body has taken place, being set free
then from the
condition of time, we shall fully enjoy Eternal Life in
ineffable love
and steadfastness, without corruption.132
For "then shall be brought to pass the saying which is
written, Death
is swallowed up in victory. Where is, O death, thy sting?
Where is, O
death, thy contention?"133
25. This is the faith which in few words is given in the
Creed to
Christian novices, to be held by them. And these few words
are known to
the faithful, to the end that in believing they may be made
subject to
God; that being made subject, they may rightly live; that in
rightly
living, they may make the heart pure; that with the heart
made pure,
they may understand that which they believe.
178 Gratis.
179 Cf. Zech.
ix. 17.
180 Many Mss.
omit the
words: and holiness, and
righteousness, and charity.
181 Matt. xxii.
37, 39.
182 One edition
reads Dominum,
the
Lord,
the Holy Spirit, etc., instead of donum.
183 1 Cor. x.
13.
1 i.e.
the
third order of catechumens,
embracing those thoroughly prepared for baptism.
2 Chap. x. §0
24.
3 I Cor. xv. 50
4 Luke xxiv.
39.
5 City of
God,
Bk. xxii. Ch. 21.
1 Hab. ii. 4;
Rom. i.
17; Gal. iii. 11; Heb. x. 38.
2 Rom. x. 10.
3 Isa. vii. 9,
according to the rendering of the
Septuagint.
4 Naturam.
5 Reading pulchre
ordinatum. Some
editions give pulchre ornatum = beautifully
adorned.
6 Si mundum
fabricare non posset. For si
some Mss. give qui = inasmuch as He could not, etc.
7 De limo
=
of mud.
8 Wisd. xi. 17.
9 Speciosissima
species = the seemliest
semblance.
10 John i. 3.
11 John xiv. 6;
1 Cor.
1. 24.
12 For qui
several Mss. give quibus
here =
under many other appellations is the Lord Jesus Christ
introduced to
our mental apprehensions, by which He is commended to our
faith.
13 For Rector
we also find Creator
= Creator.
14 Wisd. vii.
27.
15 Adopting the
Benedictine version per ipsam
innotescit dignis animis secretissimus Pater. There
is,
however, great variety of reading here. Some Mss. give ignis
for dignis = the most hidden fire of the Father is
made known to minds. Others give signis = the most
hidden Father is made known by signs to minds, Others have innotescit
animus
secretissimus
Patris, or innotescit signis
secretissimus Pater = the most hidden mind of the
Father is
made known by the same, or = the most hidden Father is made
known by
the same in signs.
16 Sonantia
verba
= sounding, vocal words.
17 Appetitum.
18 Nostra
notitia
= our knowledge.
19 Reading conantes
et
verbis, etc.
Three gooD Mss. give conante fetu verbi = as the
offspring of the word makes the attempt. The Benedictine
editors
suggest conantes fetu verbi = making the attempt by
the offspring of the word.
20 1 Cor. i.
24.
21 Wisd viii.
1.
22 John i. 3.
23 According to
the
literal meaning of the phrase ex
tempore. It may, however, here be used as = under
conditions
of time, or in time.
24 Reading sempiterne:
for
which sempiternus
= the eternal wise God, is also given
25 Phil. ii. 6
26 Condita
et facta
est.
27 Condere
and creare.
28 John i. 14.
29 Adopting in
hominibus
creavi. One
important Ms. gives in omnibus = amongst all.
30 Prov. viii.
22,
with creavit me
instead of the possessed me of the English version.
31 Various
editions
give principium et caput
Ecclesiae est Christus = the beginning of His ways and
the
Head of the Church is Christ.
32 For via
certa
others give via
recta = a right way.
33 Gen. iii. 5.
34 Phil. ii. 6,
7.
35 Per ejus
primatum
= by means of His
standing as the First-born. We follow the Benedictine
reading, qui
post ejus et per ejus primatum in Dei gratiam renascuntur.
But there is another, although less authoritative, version,
viz. qui
post
ejus
primitias in Dei gratia nascimur = all of us who,
subsequently to His first-fruits, are born in the grace of
God.
36 Luke viii.
21; Rom.
viii. 15-17; Gal. iv. 5; Eph. i. 5;
Heb. ii. 11.
37 Id
existens quod
Pater est, etc.
Another version is, idem existens quod Pater Deus =
subsisting as the same that God the Father is.
38 John i. 9.
39 The term dispensatio
occurs very
frequently as the equivalent of the Greek oi0konomi/a
= economy, designating the Incarnation.
40 Ex. iii. 14.
41 Deserens.
With less point, deferens
has been suggested = bearing it, or delivering it.
42 Or it may =
he
should fail to have
any relation to the salvation.
43 Referring to
the
Manicheans.
44 John ii. 4.
45 John xix.
26, 27.
46 Matt. xii.
48.
47 Matt. xxiii.
9.
48 1 Cor. i.
25.
49 Tit. i. 15.
50 In reference
to the
Manicheans.
51 The
Benedictine
text gives, quibus
intervenientibus habitat majestas Vervi ab humani corporis
fragilitate
secretius. Another well-supported version is, ad
humani corporis fragilitatem, etc. = more retired in
relation
to the frailty of the human body.
52 Phil. ii. 8.
53 For monumenti
some editions give testamenti
= testament.
54 John xix.
41.
55 Eph. i. 5.
56 Rom. viii.
17.
57 Matt. xxii.
30.
58 Gal. iv. 26.
59 1 Cor. xv.
44.
60 Adopting the
Benedictine reading, quod ita
spiritui subditum est. But several Mss. give quia
ita coaptandum est = it is understood to be a
spiritual body,
In that it is to be so adapted as to suit a heavenly
habitation.
61 1 Cor. xv.
51,
according to the Vulgate's transposition
of the negative.
62 1 Cor. xv.
52.
63 Rom. i. 23.
64 Matt. xxv.
33.
65 Reading propter
iniquitates,
labores atque
cruciatus. Several Mss. give propter iniquitatis
labores, etc. = by reason of the labors and torments
of
unrighteousness.
66 Reading futura
sit; for which fulsura
sit also occurs = is destined to shine much mare
manifestly,
etc.
67 The text
gives
simply ante mortem.
Some editions insert nostram = previous to our
death.
68 Acts i. 11.
69 Rev. i. 8.
70 Instead of fideique
commendata
et
divina
generatione, etc., another, but weakly supported,
version is, fide
atque
commendata divina,
etc., which makes the sense = The faith, therefore, having
been
systematically disposed, and our Lord's divine generation
and human
dispensation having been commended to the understanding,
etc..
71 Non
minore
natura quam Pater. The
Benedictine editors suggest minor for minore
= not inferior in nature, etc..
72 Deut. vi. 4.
73 Ps. lxxxii.
6.
74 Rom. xi. 36.
75 Corporeum
=
corporeal.
76 Many Mss.,
however,
insert colamus
after Deum in the closing sentence, sed
unum Deum unamque substantiam.
The sense then will be = and that nevertheless we should
worship in
that Trinity not three Gods, but one God and one substance.
77 Spiritales,
for which religiosi
= religious, is also sometimes given.
78 Non unus
esset
Pater et Filius, sed unum essent
= how the Father and the Son were not one in person, but
were one in
essence.
79 1 Cor. xi.
3.
80 In reference
probably to John viii. 25, where the Vulgate
gives principium qui et loquor vobis as the literal
equivalent for the Greek thn a0rxhn
o_,ti kai/ lalw/ u/hi=n.
81 Col. i. 15.
82 John xiv.
28.
83 1 Cor. xi.
3.
84 1 Cor. xv.
28.
85 John xx. 17.
86 John x. 30
87 John xiv. 9.
88 John i. 1.
89 John i. 3.
90 Phil. ii. 9.
[See
R. V.].
91 Or it may be
= that
the Son owes it to the Father that He is.
92 In
reference,
again, to Manichean errorists.
93 Patri
cohoerendo
= by close connection
with the Father.
94 Rom. v. 5.
95 1 John iii.
1. The
word Dei = of God,
is sometimes added here.
96 Rom. viii.
15.
97 1 John iv.
18.
98 Rom. viii.
15.
99 John xvi.
13.
100 Acts ii. 4.
101 Eph. iii.
7, 8.
102 Instead of
sanciuntur,
which
is the
reading of the Mss., some editions give sanctificantur
= all things that are sanctified are sanctioned, etc..
103 John iii.
6.
104 John iv.
24.
105 Reading,
with the
Mss. and the Benedictine editors, Hic
enim regenerationem nostram dicit. Some editions give
Hoc
for Hic, and dicunt for dicit
= for they say that this expresses our regeneration.
106 Quoniam
Spiritus Deus est. But various
editions and Mss. give Dei for Deus
= for the Spirit is of God.
107 1 John iv.
16.
108 Here again,
instead of dilectio Deus est,
we also find dilectio Dei est = love is of God.
109 1 Cor. iii.
22, 23.
110 1 Cor. xi.
3.
111 Rom. xi.
36.
112 1 Cor.
xiii. 12.
113 Matt. v. 8.
114 Deut. vi.
5.
115 Luke x. 27.
116 Matt. vi.
15
117 Rom. viii.
22.
118 Reading spiritūs.
Taking spiritus,
the
sense might be = Nevertheless, the spirit hath imparted the
first-fruits, in that it has believed God, and is now of a
good will.
119 Rom. vii.
25.
120 Rom. i. 9.
121 Instead of
caro
nominatur.
Pars enim ejus
quoedam resistit, etc., some good Mss. read caro
nominatur et resistit, etc. = is called the flesh, and
resists, etc.
122 Eph. ii. 3.
123 Animalis
homo,
literally
= the soulish
man.
124 1 Cor. ii.
14.
125 1 Cor. xv.
52.
126 1 Cor. xv.
53.
127 3 The text
gives, Mors
quippe
animae est
apostatare a Deo. The reference, perhaps, is to
Ecclus. x.
12, where the Vulgate has, initium superbioe hominis,
apostatare a Deo.
128 4 Augustin
refers
to this statement in the passage quoted
from the Retractations in the Introductory Notice
above..
129 1 Cor. xv.
39, 40.
130 1 Cor. xv.
50.
131 1 Cor. xv.
52.
132 1 Instead
of a
temporis conditione liberati,
aeterna vita ineffabili caritate atque stabilitate sine
corruptione
perfruemur, several Mss. read, corpus a temporis
conditione liberatum aeterna vita ineffabili caritate
perfruetur
= the body, set free from the condition of time, shall fully
enjoy
eternal life in ineffable love.
133 1 Cor. xv.
54, 55.
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