little notice is taken of them by the early orthodox Fathers; but enough is said to shew, that they considered their doctrines concerning Grace, Faith, Election, and Salvation, as heretical and unscriptural. The peace of the Church seems to have been very little disturbed by any dissension upon these points during the first four centuries; and as a proof of this, it may be observed, that there is nothing of a controversial spirit in the exposition the Fathers have given of the texts in Scripture, which have since been the subject of so much dispute. They explained not only the true sense of these passages, but the sense which was admitted and understood to be the true one by all the members of the Catholic Church. The principal object of their writings was, to establish the divine origin and superior excellence of the Gospel dispensation; and to enforce the duty and necessity of lively faith and practical obedience. The universality of the Redemption purchased by the death of Christ, the assistance of Divine grace vouchafed to every sincere believer of the Gospel, the freedom of the human will, and the possibility of every Christian working out his Salvation, are treated in the passages I have quoted, as fundamental and undisputed truths. This harmony and agreement continued to the beginning of the 5th century, when Pelagius" extolled

extolled the powers of the human mind to a degree which superseded all influence of the Holy Spirit. He was warmly opposed by Augustine, Bishop of Hippo in Africa, a man of lively parts, but of unsteady principles; of active zeal, but so deficient in learning, that it is doubted whether he could read the Scriptures of the New Testament in their original language, or was acquainted with the writings of the primitive Fathers. He was in the early part of his life a Manichæan, and though he had renounced that heresy, some remains of it seems to have been still left upon his mind; and in combating the error of Pelagius, he naturally fell into the opposite extreme. Not content with asserting the necessity of Divine grace in forming a Christian temper and a saving faith, he maintained that human exertions are of no avail, and that the whole of man's salvation is effected by the irresistible operation of the Holy Spirit; and that God, from the foundation of the world, decreed to save some men, and to consign others to eternal punishment (y): thus were the tenets of the Basilidians

(y) These doctrines were so directly in opposition to what he had written before the Pelagian controversy, that towards the end of his life he thought it necessary to publish" Retractations," in which he acknowledged a change of opinion: Propterea, says he, nunc facio libros, in quibus opuscula mea retractanda suscepi, ut

nec

lidians and Valentinians upon these points, without the other absurdities of those sects, brought. forth,

nec me ipsum in omnibus me secutum fuisse, demonstrem. Cap. 21. De Dono Perseverantiæ.-I know of no author, antient or modern, in whose works there are so many contradictions and inconsistencies as in those of Augustine. That he did not always support Calvinistic opinions, as they have been since called, fully appears from the quotations which I have given from several of his early works. Mihi licet addere, quod si diversas Sancti Augustini sententias in hac materia colligere vellem, corpus quoddam ex diversissimis partibus coaptarem. Uno loco dicit, nostram salutem absoluto decreto esse definitam; alibi nihilominus affirmat pendere illam a nostra voluntate; Præscientiam esse posteriorem decreto Reprobationis, et esse item anteriorem: Nostra libertate gratiam adimpleri, et libertatem in usum a gratia deduci: Gratiam esse victricem, sed et eidem nostram libertatem, resistere : Solum peccatum originis plures in damnationem perpetuam conjicere, et homines damnari ob propria tantum peccata, et libertatis rebellionem: Hic arma sumsit contra gratiam, et hic eandem evexit. Joannes Adamus quoted page 15 of Cardinal Noris's Vind. Aug. "It is however certain, says Mosheim, that the accuracy and solidity of Augustine's judgement were by no means proportionable to the eminent talents now mentioned; and that, upon many occasions, he was more guided by the violent impulse of a warm imagination, than by the cool dictates of reason and prudence. Hence that ambiguity which appears in his writings, and which has sometimes rendered the most attentive readers uncertain with respect to his real sentiments; and hence also the just complaints which many

forth from the same impure source of Eastern Philosophy, by a person of high station in the Church, of irreproachable character, and in other respects of orthodox faith, and put into a regular and systematic form, for the purpose of refuting an acknowledged and dangerous error. But even these advantages, aided by ingenious reasoning and an imposing style, could not procure a general adoption of the novel doctrine of Absolute Decrees; and almost the whole body of Christians still adhered to the opinions concerning Predestination and Grace, which had prevailed, without interruption or doubt for more than four hundred years. The controversy soon subsided, and the subject was scarcely discussed in the next four

hundred

have made of the contradictions that are so frequent in his works, and of the levity and precipitation with which he set himself to write upon a variety of subjects, before he had examined them with a sufficient degree of attention and diligence." Vossius, p. 666, says, that Augustine gave four different interpretations, in different parts of his works, of these words; Who will have all men to be saved;' 1. Tim. c. 2. v. 4. There was likewise so much obscurity even in the later writings of Augustine, that Prosper could not ascertain what was his opinion upon an important point. Vide Grot. de Dog. Pel. p. 362. The charge of inconsistency, though in a less degree, may be urged against Calvin also. And indeed there is no class of writers, in whom we find so many inconsistencies, as in those who maintain Calvinistic opinions.

hundred years (%). About the middle of the ninth century, Goteschalc (a) brought the opinions of Augustine again into public notice, and, by his vehement support of them, gave so much offence, that he was degraded from the priesthood, publicly whipped in the presence of Charles the Bald, king of France, and committed to prison, where he remained the rest of his life. His doctrines were condemned in two councils, the one summoned by Raban, Archbishop of Mentz, the other by Hincmar, Archbishop of Rheims. The proceedings against him were by no means justifiable, but they prove what were the sentiments of the Church at this period (b). In the darker ages,

(z) In this interval lived Gregory the Great, the only Pope who has left any considerable writings, but, if we may believe Hincmar, he was no advocate for absolute decrees; Quisquis omnes beati Gregorii libros solicita consideratione perlustrare sategerit, ita geminam Prædestinationem, ut sicut Electi ad Vitam, ita Reprobi a Deo prædestinentur ad Mortem, nequaquam illum dixisse vel intellexisse reperiet. Page 35. The same author also says, that Leo the Great supported the doctrine of Universal Redemption. P. 274.

(a) Goteschalus... hujus iniquæ fabulationis resuscitator. Hincmar, p. 101.

(b) The following letter from Raban to Hincmar, will sufficiently shew what was thought of Goteschalc and his doctrines, and also what effects they produced; Reverendissimo Fratri et Consacerdoti Hincmaro Archiepiscopo

PP