Against Two Letters of the Pelagians — Book Iii

St. Augustine of Hippo

  1. 0. Greeting
  2. 1. [I.]— Statement.
  3. 2. [II.]— The Misrepresentation of the Pelagians Concerning the Use of the Old Law.
  4. 3. — Scriptural Confirmation of the Catholic Doctrine.
  5. 4. [III.]— Misrepresentation Concerning the Effect of Baptism.
  6. 5. — Baptism Puts Away All Sins, But It Does Not at Once Heal All Infirmities.
  7. 6. [IV.]— The Calumny Concerning the Old Testament and the Righteous Men of Old.
  8. 7. — The New Testament is More Ancient Than the Old; But It Was Subsequently Revealed.
  9. 8. — All Righteous Men Before and After Abraham are Children of the Promise and of Grace.
  10. 9. — Who are the Children of the Old Covenant.
  11. 10. — The Old Law Also Given by God.
  12. 11. — Distinction Between the Children of the Old and of the New Testaments.
  13. 12. — The Old Testament is Properly One Thing — The Old Instrument Another.
  14. 13. — Why One of the Covenants is Called Old, the Other New.
  15. 14. [V.]— Calumny Concerning the Righteousness of the Prophets and Apostles.
  16. 15. — The Perfection of Apostles and Prophets.
  17. 16. [VI.]— Misrepresentation Concerning Sin in Christ.
  18. 17. [VII.]— Their Calumny About the Fulfilment of Precepts in the Life to Come.
  19. 18. — Perfection of Righteousness and Full Security Was Not Even in Paul in This Life.
  20. 19. — In What Sense the Righteousness of Man in This Life is Said to Be Perfect.
  21. 20. — Why the Righteousness Which is of the Law is Valued Slightly by Paul.
  22. 21. — That Righteousness is Never Perfected in This Life.
  23. 22. — Nature of Human Righteousness and Perfection.
  24. 23. — There is No True Righteousness Without the Faith of the Grace of Christ.
  25. 24. [VIII.]— There are Three Principal Heads in the Pelagian Heresy.
  26. 25. [IX.]— He Shows that the Opinion of the Catholics is the Mean Between that of the Manicheans and Pelagians, and Refutes Both.
  27. 26. [X.]— The Pelagians Still Strive After a Hiding-Place, by Introducing the Needless Question of the Origin of the Soul.

Augustine goes on to refute other matters which are calumniously objected by the Pelagians in the same letter sent to Thessalonica; and expounds, in opposition to their heresy, what those who are truly Catholic say concerning the utility of the law; what they teach of the effect and virtue of baptism; what of the discrepancy between the two Testaments, the Old and the New; what concerning the righteousness and perfection of the prophets and apostles; what of the appellation of sin in Christ, when He is said in the likeness of sinful flesh concerning sin to have condemned sin, or to have become sin; and finally, what they profess concerning the fulfilment of the commandments in the future life.