Chapter IV.

St. Ambrose turns against the Novatians themselves another objection concerning blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, showing that it consists in an erroneous belief, proving this by St. Peter’s words against Simon Magus, and other passages, exhorting the Novatians to return to the Church, affirming that such is our Lord’s mercy that even Judas would have found forgiveness had he repented.

20. But we have heard that you are accustomed to bring forward as an objection that which is written: “Every sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men, but blasphemies against the Spirit shall not be forgiven unto men. And whosoever shall speak a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him, but whosoever shall speak against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, nor in that which is to come.”168    S. Matt. xii. 31, 32. By which quotation the whole of your assertion is destroyed and done away, for it is written: “Every sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men.” Why, then, do you not remit them? Why do you bind chains which you do not loose? Why do you tie knots which you do not unfasten? Forgive the others, and deal with those who you think are bound for ever by the authority of the Gospel for sinning against the Holy Spirit.

21. But let us consider the case of those whom the Lord so binds, going back to the words before the passage quoted, that we may understand it more clearly: The Jews were saying: “This man doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub, prince of the devils.” Jesus replied: “Every kingdom divided against itself shall be destroyed, and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand; for if Satan casteth out Satan, he is divided against himself, how then shall his kingdom stand? But if I cast out devils by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out?”169    S. Matt. xii. 24 ff.

22. Now we see plainly here that the words are expressly used of those who were saying that the Lord Jesus cast out devils through Beelzebub, to whom the Lord gave that answer, because they were of the heritage of Satan, who compared the Saviour of all to Satan, and attributed the grace of Christ to the kingdom of the devil. And that we might know that He was speaking of this blasphemy, He added: “O generation of vipers, how can ye speak good, being yourselves evil?” He says, then, that those who thus speak attain not to forgiveness.

23. Then, when Simon, depraved by long practice of magic, had thought he could gain by money the power of conferring the grace of Christ and the infusion of the Holy Spirit, Peter said: “Thou hast neither part nor lot in this faith, for thy heart is not right with God. Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray the Lord, if perchance this thought of thy heart may be forgiven thee, for I see that thou art in the bond of iniquity and in the bitterness of gall.”170    Acts viii. 21 ff. We see that Peter by his apostolic authority condemns him who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit through magic vanity, and all the more because he had not the clear consciousness of faith. And yet he did not exclude him from the hope of forgiveness, for he called him to repentance.

24. The Lord then replies to the blasphemy of the Pharisees, and refuses to them the grace of His power, which consists in the remission of sins, because they asserted that His heavenly power rested on the help of the devil. And He affirms that they act with satanic spirit who divide the Church of God, so that He includes the heretics and schismatics of all times, to whom He denies forgiveness, for every other sin is concerned with single persons, this is a sin against all. For they alone wish to destroy the grace of Christ who rend asunder the members of the Church for which the Lord Jesus suffered, and the Holy Spirit was given us.

25. Lastly, that we may know that He is speaking of those who destroy the unity of the Church, we find it written: “He that is not with Me is against Me, and he that gathered not with Me, scattereth.”171    S. Matt. xii. 30. And that we might know that He is speaking of these, He at once added: “Therefore I say unto you, every sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men, but blasphemies against the Spirit shall not be forgiven unto men.” When He says, “Therefore say I unto you,” is it not evident that He intended the words following to be laid to heart by us beyond the others? And He rightly added: “A good tree bringeth forth good fruits, but a bad tree bringeth forth bad fruits,”172    S. Matt. vii. 17. for an evil association cannot produce good fruits. The tree, then, is the association; the fruits of the good tree are the children of the Church.

26. Return, then, to the Church, those of you who have wickedly separated yourselves. For He promises forgiveness to all who are converted, since it is written: “Whosoever shall call on the Name of the Lord shall be saved.”173    Joel ii. 32. And lastly, the Jewish people who said of the Lord Jesus, “He hath a devil,”174    S. John viii. 43. and “He casteth out devils through Beelzebub,” and who crucified the Lord Jesus, are, by the preaching of Peter, called to baptism, that they may put away the guilt of so great a wickedness.

27. But what wonder is it if you should deny salvation to others, who reject your own, though they lose nothing who seek for penance from you? For I suppose that even Judas might through the exceeding mercy of God not have been shut out from forgiveness, if he had expressed his sorrow not before the Jews but before Christ. “I have sinned,” he said, “in that I have betrayed righteous blood.”175    S. Matt. xxvii. 5. Their answer was: “What is that to us, see thou to that.” What other reply do you give, when one guilty of a smaller sin confesses his deed to you? What do you answer but this: “What is that to us, see thou to that”? The halter followed on those words, but the punishment is all the more severe, the smaller the sin is.

28. But if they be not converted, do you at least repent, who by many a slip have fallen from the lofty pinnacle of innocence and faith. We have a good Lord, Whose will it is to forgive all, Who called you by the prophet, and said: “I, even I, am He that blotteth out transgressions, and I will not remember, but do thou remember, and let us plead together.”176    Isa. xliii. 25 [LXX.]. St. Ambrose, taking the Septuagint reading, makes the contrast to be between man’s remembering and God’s forgetting. But the contrast in the Hebrew is different: God will do away sins of His pure mercy and challenges Israel to bring forward any merits which can plead for pardon. God shows that His mercy is even greater than His justice. St. Ambrose, as is shown more clearly in chap. vi., is merely using a verbal antithesis.

CAPUT IV.

Aliam objectionem ex blasphemia in Spiritum sanctum petitam retorquet in ipsos Novatianos; ostenditque per eam blasphemiam intelligi debere fidem non rectam: quod ubi Petri adversus Simonem magum sententia, nec non Evangelico testimonio confirmavit, eosdem haereticos ad reditum in Ecclesiam cohortatur, ac tantam Domini clementiam esse asserit, ut Judae traditori veniam si apud Christum poenituisset, non fuisset denegaturus.

20. Perlatum est tamen ad nos, etiam illud vos objicere 0501C solere, quod dicatis scriptum esse: Omne peccatum et blasphemia remittetur hominibus: Spiritus 0502Aautem blasphemiae non remittetur hominibus. Et quicumque dixerit verbum contra Filium hominis, remittetur ei: qui autem dixerit contra Spiritum sanctum, non remittetur ei, neque in hoc saeculo, neque in futuro (Matth. XII, 31 et seq). Quo exemplo omnis assertio vestra destruitur et absolvitur; scriptum est enim: Omne peccatum et blasphemia remittetur hominibus. Cur igitur non remittitis? Cur alligatis vincula, quae non solvitis? Cur nodos nectitis, quos non relaxatis? Remittite caeteris: agite de iis, quos peccantes in Spiritum sanctum Evangelica auctoritate in perpetuum astringi putatis.

421 21. Et tamen quos astringat, consideremus, repetentes superiora lectionis ipsius, ut evidentius comprehendamus. Dicebant Judaei: Hic non ejicit 0502Bdaemonia nisi in Beelzebub principe daemoniorum. Respondit Jesus: Omne regnum divisum contra se destruetur, et omnis civitas vel domus divisa contra se, non stabit; si enim Satanas Satanam ejicit, adversum se divisus est: quomodo ergo stabit regnum ejus? Quod si ego in Beelzebub ejicio daemonia, filii vestri in quo ejiciunt (Matt. XII, 24 et seq.)?

22. De his utique expressum videmus, qui Dominum Jesum in Beelzebub ejicere daemonia loquebantur, quibus sic respondit Dominus, quod Satanae haereditas in iis esset, qui Satanae compararent Salvatorem omnium, et in regno diaboli constituerent gratiam Christi. Et ut cognosceremus quia de hac dixit blasphemia, adjunxit: Progenies viperarum, quomodo potestis bona loqui, cum sitis 0502Cmali? Hos ergo qui haec loquuntur, negat ad veniam pertinere.

0503A 23. Denique (Decr. ca. I, q. 1, cap. Petrus) Petrus Simoni, qui magicae artis consuetudine depravatus, putasset quod gratiam Christi per impositionem manus, atque infusionem Spiritus sancti compararet pecunia, ait: Non est tibi pars, neque sors in hac fide; quia cor tuum non est rectum apud Deum. Poenitentiam itaque ageab hac nequitia tua, et precare Dominum, si forte remittatur tibi haec recordatio cordis tui; in obligatione enim iniquitatis, et amaritudine fellis video te esse (Act. VIII, 21 et seq.). Vides quod hunc magica vanitate blasphemantem in Spiritu sancto Apostolica auctoritate condemnet; et eo magis quia puram conscientiam fidei non habebat: et tamen non interclusit ei spem veniae, quem invitavit ad poenitentiam?

0503B 24. Responsum est igitur a Domino blasphemiae Pharisaeorum; et ideo (De Poenit., dist. I, c. Iis potestatis) his potestatis suae gratiam negat, quae in remissione peccatorum est, qui coelestem ejus potestatem diabolico fultam suffragio vindicarent. Eos quoque asserit diabolico uti spiritu, qui separarent Ecclesiam Domini; ut omnium temporum haereticos et schismaticos comprehenderet, quibus indulgentiam negat, quod omne peccatum circa singulos est, hoc in universos. Soli enim sunt qui volunt solvere Christi gratiam, qui Ecclesiae 422 membra discerpunt, propter quam passus est Dominus Jesus, Spiritusque sanctus datus est nobis.

25. Denique ut sciatis quia de dispersoribus dicit, sic habemus scriptum: Qui non est mecum, contra 0503Cme est: et qui non colligit mecum, dispergit (Matt. XII, 30). Et ut sciremus de his dictum, statim subjunxit: Ideo dico vobis: omne peccatum et blasphemia remittetur hominibus, Spiritus autem blasphemiae non remittetur hominibus (Ibid., 31). Cum dicit: Ideo dico vobis: nonne evidenter hoc prae caeteris a nobis intelligi voluit? Meritoque adjunxit: Arbor bona bonos fructus facit, mala autem arbor malos fructus facit (Matth. VII, 17); congregatio enim mala bonum facere fructum non potest. Arbor itaque congregatio est, fructus bonae arboris filii Ecclesiae sunt.

26. Et ideo revertimini ad Ecclesiam, si qui vos separastis impie. Omnibus enim conversis pollicetur veniam; quia scriptum est: Omnis quicumque invocaverit nomen Domini, salvus erit (Joel II, 32). Denique 0503D etiam Judaeorum populus qui dicebat de Domino Jesu: Daemonium habet (Joan. VIII, 48); qui dicebat: In Beelzebub ejicit daemonia (Luc. XI, 15); qui crucifixit Dominum Jesum, Petri praedicatione vocatur ad baptismum, ut sceleris tanti merita deponat.

27. [Alias cap. V.] Sed quid mirum (De Poenit., dist. I, c. Iis potestatis, § quid mirum), si salutem negatis aliis, qui vestram recusatis, licet illi nihil 0504A differant, qui a vobis poenitentiam petunt. Arbitror enim quod etiam Judas potuisset tanta Dei miseratione non excludi a venia, si poenitentiam non apud Judaeos, sed apud Christum egisset. Peccavi, inquit, quod tradiderim sanguinem justum (Matth. XXVII, 54). Responderunt: Quid ad nos? Tu videris. Quae vox alia vestra est, cum etiam minoris peccati reus vobis factum proprium confitetur? Quid respondetis aliud, nisi hoc: Quid ad nos? Tu videris. Hunc sermonem laqueus sequitur: eo feraliore poena, quo culpa est minor.

28. Sed si isti non convertuntur, vel vos revertimini, qui lapsu vario de innocentiae fideique praecelso fastigio decidistis. Bonum dominum habemus, qui velit donare omnibus, qui te per prophetam vocavit dicens: Ego sum, ego sum qui deleo iniquitates; 0504Bet memor non ero: tu autem memor esto, et judicemur (Esai. XLIII, 25).