Grace and the Will According to Augustine (Supplements to Vigiliae Christianae volume 115)

The doctrine on grace, one of the most discussed themes in his later years, was regarded by Augustine as the very core of Christianity. This book traces the gradual crystallisation of this teaching, including its unacceptable consequences (such as double predestination, inherited guilt which deserves eternal punishment, and its transmission through libidinous procreation). How did the reader of Cicero and “the books of the Platonists” reach the ideas that appear in his polemic against Julian (and which remind one of Freud rather than the Stoics or Plotinus)? That is the point of departure of this book. It surely cannot be expected that there is a definite answer to the question; rather, the aim is to follow and understand the development. Grace and the Will according to Augustine......Page 4 Contents......Page 8 Acknowledgements......Page 12 Abbreviations of Periodicals and Series......Page 14 Introduction......Page 16 Part I: "Nothing else do I have but will" (386-395)......Page 20 1. God as the Guarantor of the World Order and the Giver of Knowledge (Philosophical Dialogues from Cassiciacum in 386)......Page 22 1.1. Happiness as deum habere (De beata vita)......Page 24 1.2. Perfect Order (De ordine)......Page 25 1.3. God as the Giver of Knowledge (Soliloquia)......Page 27 2. The Universe of Will (Works before Augustine's Ordination as Presbyter: 387-390)......Page 30 2.1. The Image of God in Man (De quantitate animae)......Page 31 2.2. The Origin of Evil in the Will and Good Will as Happiness (De libero arbitrio I)......Page 33 2.3. The Love of God Poured Out into Human Hearts (De moribus Ecclesiae catholicae et de moribus Manichaeorum)......Page 38 2.4. The Crevice in the Universe of Will (De Genesi contra Manichaeos)......Page 40 2.5. The Analysis of the Will according to De diversis quaestionibus LXXXIII,1-61......Page 43 2.6. Gratia as Grace in De vera religione......Page 45 3.1. "I do what I will not to do" (De duabus animabus, Contra Fortunatum, De libero arbitrio III)......Page 50 3.2. The Adoption of Men as Sons of God (De fide et symbolo; De sermone Domini in monte; Enarrationes in Psalmos 1-32; De Genesi inperfectus liber)......Page 60 3.3. Augustine's Expositions of the Epistles to the Romans and Galatians......Page 64 3.3a. {Expositio quarundam propositionum ex Epistola ad Romanos}......Page 66 3.3b. De diversis quaestionibus LXXXIII 66-68; 76......Page 70 3.3c. {Epistolae ad Romanos inchoata expositio}......Page 74 3.3d. Epistolae ad Galatas expositionis liber unus......Page 76 Part II: "The Grace of God Conquered" (395-411)......Page 82 Introduction......Page 84 1. Answer to Simplicianus......Page 86 1.1. Romans 7 (Ad Simplicianum I,1)......Page 87 1.2. Romans 9 (Ad Simplicianum I,2)......Page 90 2. Confessions......Page 104 2.1. God's Presence in Man (Confessiones I)......Page 105 2.2. Evil for Evil Itself (Confessiones II-VII)......Page 106 2.3. Conversion (Confessiones VIII)......Page 108 2.4. "Grant what you command, and command what you will" (Confessiones IX-X)......Page 112 2.5. Eternity and Time (Confessiones XI-XIII)......Page 114 3. Other Works from the Beginning of the Episcopate......Page 120 3.1a. The "Merit of Faith" and the Fulfilment of the Law......Page 122 3.1b. Adoptive Sonship......Page 123 3.1c. The Gift of Light......Page 125 3.1d. God Does Not Depend on Man......Page 126 3.2. Grace Given Gratis (Enarrationes in Psalmos, In Epistolam Ioannis ad Parthos)......Page 127 3.3. Vindication of Grace (Adnotationes in Iob)......Page 131 3.4. Causes Hidden in God (De Genesi ad litteram I-IX)......Page 133 3.5. Grace Excluding Pride (De virginitate)......Page 139 3.6. Grace for Grace (Tractatus in Iohannis Evangelium 1-16)......Page 141 4. Anti-Donatist Works......Page 148 4.1. The Sacrament of Grace and Grace Itself......Page 151 4.2. The Catholic Church and the "Columba"......Page 156 4.3. Persecution......Page 160 4.4. Impact on the Will and Theology of Violence......Page 162 4.5. The Answer to Simplicianus and the Anti-Donatist Polemic......Page 167 Part III: "The Will is Prepared by the Lord" (411-430)......Page 172 Introduction......Page 174 1. Polemic against Pelagius and Caelestius (411-418)......Page 182 1.1. Inherited Sin (De peccatorum meritis et remissione et de baptismo parvulorum)......Page 187 1.2. God Persuades the Will (De spiritu et littera)......Page 196 1.3. Wounded Nature (De natura et gratia)......Page 202 1.4. Can Man Avoid Sin? (De perfectione iustitiae hominis)......Page 206 1.5. Pelagius' "Hypocrisy" (De gestis Pelagii)......Page 210 1.6. Cognitive and Affective Grace (De gratia Christi et de peccato originali I)......Page 215 1.7. Infants Must Bear Sin (De gratia Christi et de peccato originali II)......Page 219 2. Other Works from the Period 411-430......Page 228 2.1. The Origin of Individual Souls (De Genesi ad litteram X, Ep. 166 and 190, De anima et eius origine)......Page 229 2.2. The Grace of Seeing God and the Grace of God's Presence in Man (De videndo Deo, De praesentia Dei)......Page 239 2.3. The Grace of the New Testament (De gratia Novi testamenti)......Page 243 2.4. Christian Existence As a Struggle with Concupiscence (Sermones 151-156 on Rom. 7:5-8:17)......Page 247 2.5. The Image of God in Man and the Gift of the Spirit (De Trinitate)......Page 254 2.5a. The Image of God......Page 255 2.5b. The Turning of the Will and the Gift of the Holy Spirit......Page 257 2.5c. The Gratuity of Grace and Human Merits......Page 260 2.6. Attractio voluptatis (Tractatus in Iohannis Evangelium 17-124)......Page 263 2.7. "Good Concupiscence" (Enarrationes in Psalmos 118)......Page 269 2.8. The Dialectic of Will and Grace (De bono viduitatis, Ep.157, De patientia, Enchiridion ad Laurentium, Retractationes)......Page 272 2.9. The Epopee of Grace and Condemnation in De civitate Dei......Page 281 2.10a. The Gift of Will ({De gratia et libero arbitrio, De correptione et gratia})......Page 293 2.10b. Grace and Predestination ({De praedestinatione sanctorum, De dono perseverantiae})......Page 301 3. Polemic against Julian of Eclanum (419-430)......Page 312 3.1. "I" and Concupiscence (De nuptiis et concupiscentia)......Page 313 3.2. Between Manichaeism and Pelagianism (Contra duas epistulas Pelagianorum)......Page 322 3.3. Concupiscence and Guilt (Contra Iulianum)......Page 327 3.4. Enslaved Freedom (Contra Iulianum opus imperfectum)......Page 334 Conclusion......Page 352 Epilogue: Augustine as a Philosopher of the Will......Page 362 Works by Augustine......Page 368 Other Sources......Page 373 Literature......Page 376 Indices......Page 394 I. Index locorum......Page 396 II. Index nominum......Page 430 III. Index notionum......Page 437 Tracing the gradual crystallisation of Augustine's doctrine on grace in the individual periods of his thinking, this book also shows the unacceptable consequences of Augustine's teaching as criticised by his Pelagian opponents.