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“Pelagius on Free Will”
From Augustine: De Gratia Christi, 5
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Relevant
books Augustine Four Anti-Pelagian Writings (Fathers of the Church) -------------- Gerald Bonner See particularly chapters "Pelagianism and Augustine" "Augustine and Pelagianism" -------------- Peter Brown Religion and Society in the Age of St. Augustine See the
chapter -------------- Theodore De Bruyn -------------- J. Patout Burns The development of Augustine's doctrine of operative grace -------------- Robert Dodaro (See chapter See the chapter by James Wetzel: Snares of Truth: Augustine on Free will and Predestination.) -------------- John Ferguson Pelagius: A Historical and Theological Study -------------- B.R. Rees -------------- B.R. Rees -------------- James Wetzel -------------- Robert Van De Weyer The Letters of Pelagius (Early Christian Writings) -------------- Ed. R. Williams (See chapters by R. A. Markus, The Legacy of Pelagius; and L. Wickham, Pelagianism in the East.) |
“We distinguish,” says he, “three things, arranging
them in a certain graduated order. We put in the first place ‘ability;’ in the
second, ‘volition;’ and in the third, ‘actuality.’ The ‘ability’ we place in our
nature, the ‘volition’ in our will, and the ‘actuality’ in the effect. The
first, that is, the ‘ability,’ properly belongs to God, who has bestowed it on
His creature; the other two, that is, the ‘volition’ and the ‘actuality,’ must
be referred to man, because they flow forth from the fountain of the will. For
his willing, therefore, and doing a good work, the praise belongs to man; or
rather both to man, and to God who has bestowed on him the ‘capacity’ for his
will and work, and who evermore by the help of His grace assists even this
capacity. That a man is able to will and effect any good work, comes from God
alone. So that this one faculty can exist, even when the other two have no
being; but these latter cannot exist without that former one. I am therefore
free not to have either a good volition or action; but I am by no means able not
to have the capacity of good. This capacity is inherent in me, whether I will or
no; nor does nature at any time receive in this point freedom for itself. Now
the meaning of all this will be rendered clearer by an example or two. That we
are able to see with our eyes is not of us; but it is our own that we make a
good or a bad use of our eyes. So again (that I may, by applying a general case
in illustration, embrace all), that we are able to do, say, think, any good
thing, comes from Him who has endowed us with this ‘ability,’ and who also
assists this ‘ability;’ but that we really do a good thing, or speak a good
word, or think a good thought, proceeds from our own selves, because we are also
able to turn all these into evil. Accordingly,—and this is a point which needs
frequent repetition, because of your calumniation of us,—whenever we say that a
man can live without sin, we also give praise to God by our acknowledgment of
the capacity which we have received from Him, who has bestowed such ‘ability’
upon us; and there is here no occasion for praising the human agent, since it is
God’s matter alone that is for the moment treated of; for the question is not
about ‘willing,’ or ‘effecting,’ but simply and solely about that which may
possibly be.” |
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original Latin text
From Augustine: De Gratia Christi, 5
On the Grace of Christ
Pelagius' views about free will
Pelagius and Pelagianism
Augustine debate with Pelagius
Migne Latin
Patrologiae Latinae Cursus Completus
Patrologia Latina