CONTENTS OF THE MORALS OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH. CHAP. I.-How the pretensions of the Manichæans are to be refuted. Two Manichæan falsehoods. . CHAP. II.—He begins with arguments, in compliance with the mistaken method of the Manichæans. CHAP. III.-Happiness is in the enjoyment of man's chief good. Two conditions of the chief good: 1st, nothing is better than it; 2d, it cannot be lost against the will. CHAP. VIII.-God is the chief good, whom we are to seek after with supreme affection.. CHAP. IX.-Harmony of the Old and New Testament on the precepts of charity. . CHAP. X.-What the church teaches about God. The two gods of the Manichæans. CHAP. XI.-God is the one object of love; therefore He is man's chief good. Nothing is better than God. God cannot be lost against our will. . . CHAP. XII. We are united to God by love, in subjection to Him. CHAP. XIII.—We are joined inseparably to God by Christ and His Spirit. CHAP. XXV.-Four moral duties regarding the love of God, of which love the reward is eternal life and CHAP. XXVI.-Love of ourselves and of our neighbor. CHAP. XXVII.-On doing good to the body of our neighbor. CHAP. XXVIII.--On doing good to the soul of our neighbor. Two parts of discipline, restraint and in- struction. Through good conduct we arrive at the knowledge of the truth. PAGE CHAP. XXX. The Church apostrophized as teacher of all wisdom. Doctrine of the Catholic Church. 62 OF THE MORALS OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH.' [DE MORIBUS ECCLESIÆ CATHOLICE]. A.D. 388. BE IT IS LAID DOWN AT THE OUTSET THAT THE CUSTOMS OF THE HOLY LIFE OF THE CHURCH SHOULD REFERRED TO THE CHIEF GOOD OF MAN, THAT IS, GOD. WE MUST SEEK AFTER GOD WITH SUPREME AFFECTION; AND THIS DOCTRINE IS SUPPORTED IN THE CATHOLIC CHURCH BY THE AUTHORITY OF BOTH TESTAMENTS. THE FOUR VIRTUES GET THEIR NAMES FROM DIFFERENT FORMS OF THIS LOVE. THEN FOLLOW THE DUTIES OF LOVE TO OUR NEIGHBOR. IN THE CATHOLIC CHURCH WE FIND EXAMPLES OF CONTINENCE AND OF TRUE CHRISTIAN CONDUCT. CHAP. I.--HOW THE PRETENSIONS OF THE MAN- CH.EAN FALSEHOODS. of the obstructions which made it difficult to reach the meaning. This commonly happens as regards the holy books of the Old Testa1. ENOUGH, probably, has been done in our ment, if only the man who meets with diffiother books in the way of answering the ig-culties applies to a pious teacher, and not to norant and profane attacks which the Mari-a profane critic, and if he begins his inquiries chæans make on the law, which is called the from a desire to find truth, and not in rash Old Testament, in a spirit of vainglorious opposition. And should the inquirer meet boasting, and with the approval of the unin- with some, whether bishops or presbyters, or structed. Here, too, I may shortly touch any officials or ministers of the Catholic Church, who either avoid in all cases opening upon the subject. For every one with average intelligence can easily see that the ex-up mysteries, or, content with simple faith, planation of the Scriptures should be sought he must not despair of finding the knowledge have no desire for more recondite knowledge, for from those who are the professed teachers of the Scriptures; and that it may happen, of the truth in a case where neither are all and indeed always happens, that many things. able to teach to whom the inquiry is adseem absurd to the ignorant, which, when they dressed, nor are all inquirers worthy of learnare explained by the learned, appear all the ing the truth. Diligence and piety are both more excellent, and are received in the ex- necessary: on the one hand, we must have knowledge to find truth, and, on the other planation with the greater pleasure on account hand, we must deserve to get the knowledge. Written in the year 388. In his Retractations (i. 7) Augustin says "When I was at Rome after my baptism, and could not bear in silence the vaunting of the Manichæans about their pretended and misleading continence or abstinence, in which, to deceive the inexperienced, they claim superiority over true Christians, to whom they are not to be compared, I wrote two books, one on the morals of the Catholic Church, the other on the morals of the Manichæans." 2. But as the Manichæans have two tricks for catching the unwary, so as to make them take them as teachers,-one, that of finding fault with the Scriptures, which they either misunderstand or wish to be misunderstood, 2 [This is commonly supposed to have been the first work of the other, that of making a show of chastity any importance written by the Author against Manichæism. and of notable abstinence, this book shall What he here refers to it is not easy to conjecture.-A. H. N.] contain our doctrine of life and morals ac- happily; and there is no human being but ascording to Catholic teaching, and will perhaps sents to this statement almost before it is make it appear how easy it is to pretend to made. But the title happy cannot, in my virtue, and how difficult to possess virtue. I opinion, belong either to him who has not will refrain, if I can, from attacking their what he loves, whatever it may be, or to him weak points, which I know well, with the vio-who has what he loves if it is hurtful, or to lence with which they attack what they know nothing of; for I wish them, if possible, to be cured rather than conquered. And I will quote such testimonies from the Scriptures as they are bound to believe, for they shall be from the New Testament; and even from this I will take none of the passages which the Manichæans when hard pressed are accustomed to call spurious, but passages which they are obliged to acknowledge and approve. And for every testimony from apostolic teaching I will bring a similar statement from the Old Testament, that if they ever become willing to wake up from their persistent dreams, and to rise towards the light of Christian faith, they may discover both how far from being Christian is the life which they profess, and how truly Christian is the Scripture which they cavil at. CHAP. 2.-HE BEGINS WITH ARGUMENTS, IN him who does not love what he has, although it is good in perfection. For one who seeks what he cannot obtain suffers torture, and one who has got what is not desirable is cheated, and one who does not seek for what is worth seeking for is diseased. Now in all these cases the mind cannot but be unhappy, and happiness and unhappiness cannot reside at the same time in one man; so in none of these cases can the man be happy. I find, then, a fourth case, where the happy life exists,— when that which is man's chief good is both loved and possessed. For what do we call enjoyment but having at hand the objects of love? And no one can be happy who does not enjoy what is man's chief good, nor is there any one who enjoys this who is not happy. We must then have at hand our chief good, if we think of living happily. 5. We must now inquire what is man's chief good, which of course cannot be anything inferior to man himself. For whoever follows after what is inferior to himself, becomes himself inferior. But every man is bound to 3. Where, then, shall I begin? With au- follow what is best. Wherefore man's chief thority, or with reasoning? In the order of good is not inferior to man. Is it then somenature, when we learn anything, authority thing similar to man himself? It must be so, precedes reasoning. For a reason may seem if there is nothing above man which he is weak, when, after it is given, it requires au- capable of enjoying. But if we find somethority to confirm it. But because the minds thing which is both superior to man, and can of men are obscured by familiarity with dark-be possessed by the man who loves it, who ness, which covers them in the night of sins can doubt that in seeking for happiness man and evil habits, and cannot perceive in a way should endeavor to reach that which is more suitable to the clearness and purity of reason, excellent than the being who makes the enthere is most wholesome provision for bring- deavor. For if happiness consists in the ing the dazzled eye into the light of truth enjoyment of a good than which there is under the congenial shade of authority. nothing better, which we call the chief good, since we have to do with people who are per- how can a man be properly called happy who verse in all their thoughts and words and has not yet attained to his chief good? or how actions, and who insist on nothing more than can that be the chief good beyond which someon beginning with argument, I will, as a con- thing better remains for us to arrive at? cession to them, take what I think a wrong Such, then, being the chief good, it must be method in discussion. For I like to imitate, something which cannot be lost against the as far as I can, the gentleness of my Lord will. For no one can feel confident regard. Jesus Christ, who took on Himself the evil of ing a good which he knows can be taken death itself, wishing to free us from it. from him, although he wishes to keep and cherish it. But if a man feels no confidence But CHAP. 3. HAPPINESS IS IN THE ENJOYMENT regarding the good which he enjoys, how can he be happy while in such fear of losing it? OF MAN'S CHIEF GOOD. TWO CONDITIONS OF 4. How then, according to reason, ought man to live? We all certainly desire to live CHAP. 4.-MAN-WHAT? 6. Let us then see what is better than man. This must necessarily be hard to find, unless |