Chapter VIII.

It was the Lord’s will to confer great gifts on His disciples. Further, the Novatians confute themselves by the practices of laying on of hands and of baptism, since it is by the same power that sins are remitted in penance and in baptism. Their conduct is then contrasted with that of our Lord.

34. It is the will of the Lord that His disciples should possess great powers; it is His will that the same things which He did when on earth should be done in His Name by His servants. For He said: “Ye shall do greater things than these.”47    S. John xiv. 12; S. Matt. x. 8. He gave them power to raise the dead. And whereas He could Himself have restored to Saul the use of his sight, He nevertheless sent him to His disciple Ananias, that by his blessing Saul’s eyes might be restored, the sight of which he had lost.48    Acts ix. 17. Peter also He bade walk with Himself on the sea, and because he faltered He blamed him for lessening the grace given him by the weakness of his faith.49    S. Matt. xiv. 31. He Who Himself was the light of the world granted to His disciples to be the light of the world through grace.50    S. Matt. v. 14. And because He purposed to descend from heaven and to ascend thither again, He took up Elijah into heaven to restore him again to earth at the time which should please Him. And being baptized with the Holy Spirit and with fire, He foreshadowed the Sacrament of Baptism at the hands of John.51    S. Matt. iii. 11.

35. And in fine He gave all gifts to His disciples, of whom He said: “In My Name they shalt cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents; and if they shall drink any deadly thing it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall do well.”52    S. Mark xvi. 17, 18. So, then, He gave them all things, but there is no power of man exercised in these things, in which the grace of the divine gift operates.

36. Why, then, do you lay on hands, and believe it to be the effect of the blessing, if perchance some sick person recovers? Why do you assume that any can be cleansed by you from the pollution of the devil? Why do you baptize if sins cannot be remitted by man? If baptism is certainly the remission of all sins, what difference does it make whether priests claim that this power is given to them in penance or at the font? In each the mystery is one.

37. But you say that the grace of the mysteries works in the font. What works, then, in penance? Does not the Name of God do the work? What then? Do you, when you choose, claim for yourselves the grace of God, and when you choose reject it? But this is a mark of insolent presumption, not of holy fear, when those who wish to do penance are despised by you. You cannot, forsooth, endure the tears of the weepers; your eyes cannot bear the coarse clothing, the filth of the squalid; with proud eyes and puffed-up hearts you delicate ones say with angry tones, “Touch me not, for I am pure.”

38. The Lord said indeed to Mary Magdalene, “Touch Me not,”53    S. John xx. 17. but He Who was pure did not say, “because I am pure.” Do you, Novatian, dare to call yourself pure, whilst, even if you were pure as regards your acts, you would be made impure by this saying alone? Isaiah says: “O wretched that I am, and pricked to the heart; for that being a man, and having unclean lips, I dwell also in the midst of a people having unclean lips,”54    Isa. vi. 5. and do you say, “I am clean,” when, as it is written, not even an infant of a day old is pure?55    Job xiv. 4 [LXX.]. David says, “And cleanse me from my sin,”56    Ps. li. [l.] 2. whom for his tender heart the grace of God often cleansed; are you pure who are so unrighteous as to have no tenderness, as to see the mote in your brother’s eye, but not to consider the beam which is in your own eye? For with God no one who is unjust is pure. And what is more unjust than to desire to have your sins forgiven you, and yet yourself to think that he who entreats you ought not to be forgiven? What is more unjust than to justify yourself in that wherein you condemn another, whilst you yourself are committing worse offences?

39. Then, too, the Lord Jesus when about to consecrate57    Celebraturus. the forgiveness of our sins replied to John, who said: “I ought to be baptized of Thee, and comest Thou to me? Suffer it now, for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness.”58    S. Matt. iii. 14, 15. And the Lord indeed came to a sinner, though indeed He had no sin, and desired to be baptized, having no need of cleansing; who, then, can tolerate you, who think there is no need for you to be cleansed by penance, because you say you are cleansed by grace, as though it were now impossible for you to sin?

CAPUT VIII.

Quanta discipulis suis Christus contulerit. Novatianos dum manus imponunt ac baptismum conferunt, a se ipsis redargui; quippe quod eadem auctoritate peccata remittantur in poenitentia atque in baptismate. Ad extremum eorum tumor maxime Dominico exemplo 0476Dcastigatur.

34. [Alias cap. VII.] Vult Dominus plurimum posse discipulos suos, vult a servulis suis ea fieri in 0477A nomine suo, quae faciebat ipse positus in terris (Joan. XIV, 12). Denique ait: Et majora his facietis (Matth. X, 8). Dedit ut mortuos suscitarent. Et cum ipse Saulo reddere posset usum videndi, eum tamen ad Ananiam discipulum suum misit; ut ejus benedictione Saulo refunderentur oculi, quos amiserat (Act. IX, 7). Petrum quoque secum in mari jussit ambulare, et quia titubavit, reprehendit illico, eo quod doni gratiam fidei pusillitate minuisset (Matth. XIV, 29). Dedit etiam discipulis ut lux mundi essent per gratiam (Matth. V, 14), qui erat ipse lux mundi. Et quia descensurus esset e coelo, et in coelum ascensurus, Eliam ad coelum levavit (IV Reg. II, 11), inde eum in terris complacito redditurus tempore. Baptizaturus quoque in Spiritu sancto et igne (Matth. 0477B III, 11) 400 per Joannem baptismatis sacramenta praemisit.

35. Omnia denique donavit discipulis suis, de quibus ait: In nomine meo daemonia ejicient, linguis loquentur novis, serpentes tollent; et si mortiferum quid biberint, non eis nocebit: supra aegros manus imponent, et bene habebunt (Marc. XVI, 17, 18). Omnia ergo dedit, sed nulla in his hominis potestas est, ubi divini muneris gratia viget.

36. Cur ergo manus imponitis, et benedictionis opus creditis, si quis forte revaluerit aegrotus? Cur praesumitis aliquos a colluvione diaboli per vos mundari posse? Cur baptizatis, si per hominem peccata dimitti non licet? In baptismo utique remissio peccatorum omnium est: quid interest, utrum per 0477C poenitentiam, an per lavacrum hoc jus sibi datum sacerdotes vindicent? Unum in utroque mysterium est.

37. Sed dicis quia in lavacro operatur mysteriorum gratia. Quid in poenitentia? Nonne Dei nomen operatur? Quid ergo? Ubi vultis, vindicatis vobis Dei gratiam: ubi vultis, repudiatis? Sed hoc insolentis arrogantiae, non sancti timoris est; ut fastidio vobis sint, qui volunt agere poenitentiam. Perpeti videlicet flentium lacrymas non potestis. Non ferunt oculi vestri vilia vestimentorum, illuviem sordidatorum, superbo oculo et tumido corde delicati mei, indignanti voce dicentes singuli: Nolite me tangere, quia mundus sum.

38. Dicit quidem Dominus ad Mariam Magdalenam: 0477DNoli me tangere (Joan. XX, 17); sed non dixit, quia mundus sum, qui mundus erat: tu audes, Novatiane, mundum te dicere, qui etsi operibus 0478A mundus esses, hoc solo verbo fieres immundus? Esaias dicit: O miser ego, et compunctus corde; quia cum sim homo, et immunda labia habeam, in medio quoque populi immunda labia habentis habitem (Esai. VI, 5)! et tu dicis, mundus sum, cum mundus non sit, ut scriptum est, nec unius diei infans (Job. XIV, 4)? David dicit: Et a delicto meo munda me (Psal. L, 4), quem utique misericordem saepe Domini justificavit gratia: tu mundus, cum tam injustus sis, ut non miserearis; ut festucam in oculo fratris tui videas, trabem autem quae in oculo tuo est, non consideres (Matth. VII, 3)? Immundus enim apud Deum omnis iniquus. Quid autem injustius, quam ut velis tibi dimitti peccata tua, cum roganti ipse non putes remittenda? Quid injustius, quam ut te 0478B justifices, in quo damnas alterum; cum graviora committas?

39. Denique remissionem celebraturus peccatorum nostrorum Dominus Jesus dicenti sibi Joanni: Ego a te debeo baptizari, et tu venis ad me! respondit: Sine modo; sic enim decet nos implere omnem justitiam (Matth. III, 14, 15). Et Dominus quidem venit ad peccatorem, cum peccatum ipse non haberet; et baptizari voluit, cui mundari necesse non erat: vos quis ferat, qui putatis vobis opus non esse mundari per poenitentiam; 401 quia mundatos vos esse dicitis per gratiam, quasi jam peccare vobis impossibile sit?