Chapter 87.—190. Petilianus said: "For neither has the Lord God at any time rejoiced in human blood, seeing that He was even willing that Cain, the murderer of his brother, should continue to exist in his murderer’s life."
191. Augustin answered: If God was unwilling that death should be inflicted on him who slew his brother, preferring that he should continue to exist in his murderer’s life, see whether this be not the cause why, seeing that the heart of the king is in the hand of God, whereby he has himself enacted many laws for your correction and reproof, yet no law of the king has commanded that you should be put to death, perhaps with this very
object, that any one of you who persists in the obstinate self-will of his sacrilegious madness should be tortured with the punishment of the fratricide Cain, that is to say, with the life of a murderer. For we read that many were slain in mercy by Moses the servant of the Lord; for in that he prayed thus in intercession to the Lord for their wicked sacrilege, saying, "O Lord, if Thou wilt forgive their sin—; and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of the book which Thou hast written,"
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his unspeakable
charity and
mercy are plainly shown. Could it be, then, that he was suddenly changed to
cruelty, when, on descending from the mount, he ordered so many
thousands to be slain? Consider, therefore, whether it may not be a sign of greater
anger on the part of
God, that, whilst so many
laws have been enacted against you, you have not been ordered by any
emperor to be put to
death. Or do you think that you are not to be compared to that fratricide? Hearken
to the
Lord speaking through His
prophet: "From the rising of the sun, even unto the going down of the same, my name shall be great among the Gentiles; and in every place
incense shall be offered unto my name, and a pure offering; for my name shall be great among the
heathen, saith the
Lord of
hosts."
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On this
brother’s
sacrifice you show that you look with malignant
eyes, over and above the respect which
God pays to it; and if ye have ever heard that "from the rising of the sun, unto the going down of the same, the
Lord’s name is to be
praised,"
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which is that living
sacrifice of which it is said, "Offer unto
God thanksgiving,"
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then will your
countenance fall like that of yonder murderer. But inasmuch as you cannot
kill the whole
world, you are involved in the same guilt by your mere
hatred, according to the words of John, "Whosoever hateth his
brother is a murderer."
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And I would that any
innocent brother might rather fall into the
hands of your Circumcelliones, to be murdered by their weapons, than be subjected to the poison of your tongue and rebaptized.
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