Chapter 62.—139. Petilianus said: "And again it is written, ‘Every sin which a man shall sin is without the body; but he that sinneth in the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.’"
140. Augustin answered: This too is not written as you have quoted it, and see how far it has led you astray. The apostle, writing to the Corinthians, says, "Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body."2156
But this is one thing, and that is another which the
Lord said in the
gospel: "All manner of
sin and blasphemy shall be
forgiven unto men: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy
Ghost, it shall not be
forgiven him, neither in this
world, neither in the
world to come."
2157
But you have begun a sentence from the writing of the
apostle, and ended it as though it were one from the
gospel, which I fancy you have done not with any intention to
deceive, but through mistake; for neither passage has any bearing on the matter in
hand. And why you have said this, and in what sense you have said it, I am wholly unable to perceive, unless it be that, whereas you had said above that all were
condemned by the
Lord who had broken any one of His
commandments, you have considered since how many there are in your party who
break not one but many of them; and lest an objection should be brought against you on that score, you have sought, by way of surpassing the difficulty, to bring in a distinction of
sins, whereby it might be seen that it is one thing to
break a
commandment in respect of which pardon may easily be obtained, another thing to
sin against the Holy
Ghost, which shall receive no
forgiveness, either in this
world or in the
world to come. In your dread, therefore, of infection from
sin, you were
unwilling to pass this over in
silence; and again, in your dread of a
question too
deep for your powers, you wish to touch cursorily on it in passing, in such a
state of agitation, that, just as men who are setting about a task in
haste, and consequent confusion, are wont to fasten their
dress or shoes awry, so you have not thought fit either to see what
belongs to what, or in what context or what sense the passage which
you quote occurs. But what is the
nature of that
sin which shall not be
forgiven, either in this
world or in the
world to come, you are so
far from knowing, that, though you believe that we are actually living in it, you yet
promise us
forgiveness of it through your
baptism. And yet how could this be possible, if the
sin be of such a nature that it cannot be forgiven, either in this world or in the world to come?
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