Chapter 9.—The Catholics Maintain the Doctrine of Original Sin, and Thus are Far from Being Manicheans.

Listen, then, for a little while, and observe what is involved in this question. Catholics say that human nature was created good by the good God as Creator; but that, having been corrupted by sin, it needs the physician Christ. The Manicheans affirm, that human nature was not created by God good, and corrupted by sin; but that man was formed by the prince of eternal darkness of a mixture of two natures which had ever existed—one good and the other evil. The Pelagians and Cœlestians say that human nature was created good by the good God; but that it is still so sound and healthy in infants at their birth, that they have no need at that age of Christ’s medicine. Recognise, then, your name in your dogma; and cease from intruding upon the catholics, who refute you, a name and a dogma which belong to others. For truth rejects both parties—the Manicheans and yourselves. To the Manicheans it says: “Have ye not read that He which made man at the beginning, made them male and female; and said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife; and they twain shall be one flesh? Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What, therefore, God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.”156    1 Thess. iv. 3–5.    Matt. xix. 4–6. Now Christ shows, in this passage, that God is both the Creator of man, and the uniter in marriage of husband and wife; whereas the Manicheans deny both these propositions. To you, however, He says: “The Son of man is come to seek and to save that which is lost.”157    See Heb. xi. 4–6.    Luke xix. 10. But you, admirable Christians as you are, answer Christ: “If you came to seek and to save that which was lost, then you did not come for infants; for they were not lost, but are born in a state of salvation: go to older men; we give you a rule from your own words: ‘They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick.’”158    Matt. ix. 12. Now, as it happens, the Manichean, who says that man has evil mixed in his nature, must wish his good soul at any rate to be saved by Christ; whereas you contend that there is in infants nothing to be sired by Christ, since they are already safe.159    The words “in body” are added here in the text of the Benedictine edition, though it is found in almost none of the mss., because it is found in the passage as quoted in the Unfinished Work, iii. 138. And thus the Manichean besets human nature with his detestable censure, and you with your cruel praise. For whosoever shall believe your laudation, will never bring their babes to the Saviour. Entertaining such impious views as these, of what use is it that you fearlessly face that which is enacted for you160    This clause alludes to the Imperial edicts which Honorius issued, enacting penalties against the Pelagian heretics. in order to induce salutary fear and to treat you as a human being, and not as that poor animal of yours which was surrounded with the coloured feathers to be driven into the hunting toils? Need was that you should hold the truth, and, on account of zeal for it, have no fear; but, as things are, you evade fear in such wise that, if you feared, you would rather run away from the net of the malignant one than run into it. The reason why your catholic mother alarms you is, because she fears for both you and others from you; and if by the help of her sons who possess any authority in the State she acts with a view to make you afraid, she does so, not from cruelty, but from love. You, however, are a very brave man; and you deem it the coward’s part to be afraid of men. Well then, fear God; and do not try with such obstinacy to subvert the ancient foundations of the catholic faith. Although I could even wish that spirited temper of yours would entertain some little fear of human authority, at least in the present case. I could wish, I say, that it would rather tremble through cowardice than perish through audacity.

9. Audi ergo breviter, quid in ista quaestione versetur. Catholici dicunt humanam naturam a creatore Deo bono conditam bonam, sed peccato vitiatam medico Christo indigere. Manichaei dicunt humanam naturam, non a Deo conditam bonam peccatoque vitiatam, sed ab aeternarum principe tenebrarum de commixtione duarum naturarum, quae semper fuerunt, una bona et una mala, hominem creatum. Pelagiani et Coelestiani dicunt humanam naturam a bono Deo conditam bonam, sed ita esse in nascentibus parvulis sanam, ut Christi non habeant necessariam in illa aetate medicinam. Agnosce igitur in tuo dogmate nomen tuum, et Catholicis a quibus confutaris, desine objicere et dogma et nomen alienum. Nam Veritas utrosque redarguit; et Manichaeos, et vos. Manichaeis enim dicit: Non legistis quia qui ab initio fecit hominem, masculum et feminam fecit eos? et dixit, Propter hoc relinquet homo patrem et matrem, et adhaerebit uxori suae; et erunt duo in carne una: itaque jam non sunt duo, sed una caro. Quod ergo Deus conjunxit, homo non separet (Matth. XIX, 4-6). Ita quippe ostendit et hominum conditorem, et conjugum copulatorem Deum, adversus Manichaeos, qui utrumque horum negant. Vobis autem dicit: Venit Filius hominis quaerere et salvare quod perierat (Luc. XIX, 10). Sed vos, egregii christiani, respondete Christo: Si quod perierat quaerere et salvare venisti, ad parvulos non venisti; isti nec perierant, et salvi nati sunt: vade ad majores, de verbis tuis tibi praescribimus: Non est opus sanis medicus, sed male habentibus (Matth. IX, 12). Ita fit ut Manichaeus qui homini commixtam dicit esse naturam malam, velit inde saltem salvari a Christo animam bonam: tu vero in parvulis, cum salvi sint corpore , nihil a Christo salvandum esse contendis. Ac per hoc Manichaeus quidem naturam humanam detestabiliter vituperat; sed tu crudeliter laudas. Quicumque enim tibi crediderint laudatori, infantes suos non offerrent Salvatori. Tam scelerata sentienti, quid tibi prodest non metuere quod tibi fit ut salubriter metuas, et te hominem facit esse , non bestiam, 0442 quae circumdatur pinnis, ut cogatur in retia? Opus erat ut veritatem teneres, ejusque studio non timeres: nunc vero ita non times, ut si timeres, evaderes potius retia maligni , quam incurreres. Mater Catholica te ideo terret, quia et tibi et aliis a te timet: et si per filios suos in aliqua potestate positos agit ut timeas, non id agit crudelitate, sed charitate. Tu autem vir fortissimus timere homines, ignavum putas. Deum ergo time, et noli antiqua fidei catholicae fundamenta conari tanta obstinatione subvertere. Quanquam iste tuus animus animosus, utinam saltem in hac causa homines timeret: utinam, inquam, saltem paveret ignavia , quam periret audacia.