confutes the idea of finless perfection, and in anfwering their arguments, fhews the nature of the controversy at that time. He defends the doctrine of original fin, and the custom of baptizing infants, and evinces the novelty of the Pelagian notion of man's original innocence fince the fall*.

In his book of nature and grace he argues in much the fame manner, and opposes a Pelagian writer, who extolled nature, and who found fault with those who charged their fin on the weakness of the human powers. In this treatise he obferves, that Pelagianifm appears to him to make a man forget, why he is a Chriftian. His two books, written exprefsly against Pelagius, contain a shrewd answer to a fhrewd adversary. Auguftine's inaccurate notion of the term juftification, confounding it with fanctification, appears very plainly in this treatife §. of which more hereafter. In the fame treatise appears alfo Pelagius's falfe notion of grace, as confifting in external revelation only. The heretic's idea of "power" from God, and of "will and being" from man, mentioned in the beginning of this treatife, is remarkably defcriptive of his fentiments. Auguftine's tract of predeftination and grace is agreeable to his other works ||. In the fame volume are the epiftles of Profper and Hilary concerning Semi-Pelagianifm in Gaul. Their coincidence in fentiment with Auguftine is apparent, and the rife of this femi-herefy and its views are by them illuftrated.

His obfervations on the good of perfeverance Thew us his notion of this grace, which feems, however, different from the account in the fixth and tenth chapters of St. John.

Satan ever inclines men to extremes; and there were not wanting thofe, who, owning the doctrine of grace so strenuously preached by Augustine, be

gan

* Aug. opera, tom. vi, Tom. vi. Id. § p. 166. Id.

gan to think it wrong or abfurd to rebuke men for fin. "If I act wrong, I am not to be blamed, but God is to be prayed to to give me what he has not given me. It would be right to blame me, if, through my own fault, I were debarred of the power of doing good."

He

To answer these objections, and to fhew the confiftency of the doctrines of grace with the use of means, exhortations, and endeavours, Auguftine wrote his little tract of "rebuke and grace*." cannot be said to have done full justice to the subject it required an accurate courfe of argumentation. But the little which he fays is fufficient for ferious and humble minds. The proud and the careless alone are overcome by fuch perverfions as thefe which occafioned the tract. "O man, in the precept, know what thou oughteft to poffefs; in rebuke know thou art without it through thy own fault; in prayer know whence thou know whence thou mayft receive

what thou defireft."

"Thou art to be rebuked, because thou art not willing to be rebuked. Thou wouldst not have thy vices to be shewn thee; thou wouldst not have them fmitten, nor have the wholesome pain, that thou mightest seek the physician."

"This is the utility of rebuke, which is used falubrioufly, fometimes in a greater, fometimes in a lefs degree, according to the diverfity of fins; and is then wholesome, when the fupreme Phyfician pleafes." He fhews that original fin in itself deferves rebuke, that from the pain of rebuke the regenerated will may arife, if the perfon rebuked be a fon of promise, "that while the rod of correction founds outwardly, God within may work to will and to do by fecret inspiration."

* Tom. vi.

He

See the fubject fully, and as appears unanswerably confidered in Edwards's Free-will.

He fhews the difference between the state of Adam, when perfect, and that of the beft Chriftians while on earth. "They, though far lefs comfortable than he, because of the manifold conflict of the new and the old man, are nevertheless supplied with much ftronger grace, even that of God made man, to emancipate them from their evils.”

Jerom's writings against Pelagianifm should now be confidered. But of them it will fuffice to fay, that he is no less than Auguftine determined in his oppofition to the herefy. His doctrine of grace is found; and an humility of fpirit highly adapted indeed to the fubject, but very contrary to the natural temper of that choleric writer, appears. One short fentence deferves to be immortalized: Hæc hominibus fola perfectio, fi imperfectos fe effe noverint*. "This is the only perfection of men, to know themselves imperfect.'

* Jerom's works, Vol. 1, 91 P. Go.

CAHP.

CHAP. V.

A SHORT VIEW OF AUGUSTINE'S CITY OF GOD.

THE

HE fubject of this great work is fo much of a piece with the hiftory before us, the work itlelf is fo remarkable a monument of genius, learning, and piety united, and deferves fo well both of the claffical fcholar, and the Theologian, that the reader will either expect fome account of it, or at least excuse me, if I attempt it. Ecclefiaftical antiquity has been too much depreciated in our times, and students in divinity have been difcouraged from the study of the fathers. In truth, a felection of them ought to be made; to praise or dispraise the primitive writers in general is obviously abfurd. But Auguftine's city of God deferves an unqualified commendation. The young student who fhall meditate on it with deep attention, will find it richly to repay his labour, and the following review of its plan and contents may teach him what he is to expect from it.

The capture of Rome by Alaric the Goth, and the fubfequent plunder and miseries of the imperial city, had opened the mouths of the Pagans, and the true God was blafphemed on the account. Christianity was looked on as the cause of the declenfion of the empire; and however trifling fuch an argument may appear at this day, at that time it had fo great weight, that it gave occafion to Auguftine, IN HIS ZEAL FOR THE HOUSE OF GOD, to write this treatise.

The work itself confifts of twenty-two books. The first states the objections made by the Pagans, and answers them in form. It was a remarkable fact that all who fled to the church called the

Bafilicæ

Bafilicæ of the apoftles, whether Chriftians or not, were preferved from military fury. The Author takes notice of this fingular circumstance, as a proof of the great authority of the name and doctrine of Chrift, even among Pagans, and fhews that no inftance can be found in their hiftory, where many vanquished people were spared out of refpect to their religious worship. He justly obferves therefore, that the evils accompanying the late difafter ought to be afcribed to the ufual events of war, the benefits to the power of the name of Chrift. His thoughts on the promifcuous diftribution of good and evil in this life are uncommonly excellent. "If all fin, he observes, were now punished, nothing might feem to be referved to the laft judgment. If the divinity punished no fin openly now, his providence might be denied. In like manner in profperous things, if fome petitions for temporal things were not abundantly answered, it might be faid that they were not at God's difpofal. If all petitions were granted, it might be thought, that we fhould ferve God only for the fake of worldly things." And in a number of elegant allufions he goes on to fhew the benefit of afflictions to the righteous, and the curfe which accompanies them to the wicked*. He mentions alfo the propriety of punishing the godly often in this life, because they are not fufficiently weaned from the world, and because they do not rebuke the fins of the world as they ought, but conform too much to the tafte of ungodly He answers the objections drawn from their fufferings in the late difafter. Many Christians, fay they, are led captive. It would be very miferable,

men.

* Pari motu exagitatum & exhalat horribiliter cœnum, & fuaviter fragrat unguentum, &c. It is a juft recommendation of this treatife, that its Latinity is of a fuperior tafte to that of his other works, which were written to the populace; this was meant for the perufal of philofophers. Ff

VOL. II.