Chapter 64.—143. Petilianus said: "‘Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.’ You therefore, not being meek, have lost both heaven and earth alike."
144. Augustin answered: Again and again you may hear the Lord saying, "Ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and even in the whole earth."2158
How is it, then, that those men have not lost
heaven and
earth, who, in order to
avoid communicating with all the
nations of the
earth,
despise the words of Him that sitteth in
heaven? For, in
proof of your
meekness, it is not your words but the cudgels of the Circumcelliones which should be examined. You will say, What has that to do with us? Just as though we were making the remark with any other object except to extract that answer from you. For the reason that
your schism is a valid charge against you is that you do not allow that you are chargeable with another’s sin, whereas you have separated from us for no other reason but that you charge us with the sins of other men.
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