Translation Hide
De la grâce de Jésus-Christ et du péché originel

LIVRE PREMIER. DE LA GRÂCE DE JÉSUS-CHRIST.

Saint Augustin prouve qu'il faut juger Pélage, non pas sur des aveux feints et simulés, quand il s'agit de la grâce, mais sur ses propres écrits. Or, Pélage fit toujours consister la grâce dans la nature et le libre arbitre, ou dans la connaissance de la loi. Dès lors la grâce divine n'est à ses yeux que la possibilité de la volonté et de l'action, mais non pas un secours donné à la volonté dans l'action. De plus il soutenait que la grâce n'est conférée qu'à ceux qui la méritent, et qu'alors elle ne leur procure qu'une plus grande facilité d'accomplir les commandements. Augustin cite des fragments de l'ouvrage de Pélage sur « le Libre arbitre », qui établissent cette erreur en termes formels. Il démontre ensuite qu'autre chose est la loi et autre chose la grâce, et développe les caractères de la grâce véritable et chrétienne. Il venge ensuite saint Ambroise des louanges que lui donnait Pélage en l'invoquant à l'appui de son erreur; il cite même des paroles de l'évêque de Milan qui font de la grâce divine le plus bel éloge.

Translation Hide
A Treatise on the grace of christ, and on original sin

Book I.

On the Grace of Christ.

Wherein he shows that Pelagius is disingenuous in his confession of grace, inasmuch as he places grace either in nature and free will, or in law and teaching; and, moreover, asserts that it is merely the "possibility" (as he calls it) of will and action, and not the will and action itself, which is assisted by divine grace; and that this assisting grace, too, is given by God according to men's merits; whilst he further thinks that they are so assisted for the sole purpose of being able the more easily to fulfil the commandments. Augustin examines those passages of his writings in which he boasted that he had bestowed express commendation on the grace of God, and points out how they can be interpreted as referring to law and teaching,--in other words, to the divine revelation and the example of Christ which are alike included in "the teaching,"--or else to the remission of sins; nor do they afford any evidence whatever that Pelagius really acknowledged Christian grace, in the sense of help rendered for the performance of right action to natural faculty and instruction, by the inspiration of a most glowing and luminous love; and he concludes with a request that Pelagius would seriously listen to Ambrose, whom he is so very fond of quoting, in his excellent eulogy in commendation of the grace of God.