Chapter 50.—60. But if it is clear that Petilianus has made no answer to those first words of my epistle, and that, when he has endeavored to make an answer, he has shown all the more clearly how incapable he was of answering, what shall I say in respect of those portions of my writings which he has not even attempted to answer, on which he has not touched at all? And yet if any one shall be willing to review their character, having in his
possession both my writings and those of Petilianus, I think he will understand by what confirmation they are supported. And that I may show you this as shortly as I can, I would beg you to call to mind the proofs that were advanced from holy Scripture, or refresh your memory by reading both what he has brought forward as against me, and what I have brought forward in my answer as against you, and see how I have shown that the passages which he has brought forward are antagonistic not to me,
but rather to yourselves; whilst he has altogether failed to touch those which I brought forward as especially necessary, and in that one passage of the apostle which he has endeavored to make use of as though it favored him, you will see how he found himself without the means of making his escape.
61. For the portion of this epistle which he wrote to his adherents—from the beginning down to the passage in which he says, "This is the commandment of the Lord to us, ‘When they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another;’2429
and if they
persecute you in that also,
flee ye to a third"—came first into my
hands, and to it I made a reply; and when this reply of ours had fallen, in turn, into his
hands, he wrote in answer to it this which I am now refuting, showing that he has made no reply to mine. In that first portion, therefore, of his writings to which I first replied, these are the passages of Scripture which he conceives to be opposed to us: "Every good
tree bringeth forth good fruit, but
a
corrupt tree bringeth forth
evil fruit. Do men
gather grapes of
thorns?"
2430
And again: "A good man, out of the good
treasure of his
heart, bringeth forth good things: and an
evil man, out of the
evil treasure, bringeth forth
evil things."
2431
And again: "When a man is
baptized by one that is dead, his washing profiteth him nothing."
2432
From these passages he is anxious to show that the man who is
baptized is made to partake of the character of him by whom he is
baptized; I on the other
hand, have shown in what sense these passages should be received, and that they could in no
wise aid his view. But as for the other expressions which he has used against
evil and accursed men, I have sufficiently shown that they are applicable to the
Lord’s
wheat,
dispersed, as was foretold and
promised, throughout the
world, and that they might rather be used by us against you.
Examine them again, and you will find it so.
62. But the passages which I have advanced to assert the truth of the Catholic Church, are the following: As regards the question of baptism, that our being born again, cleansed, justified by the grace of God, should not be ascribed to the man who administered the sacrament, I quoted these: "It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man:"2433
and "
Cursed be every one that trusteth in man;"
2434
and that, "
Salvation belongeth unto the
Lord;"
2435
and that, "
Vain is the help of man;"
2436
and that, "Neither is he that planteth anything, neither he that watereth, but
God that giveth the increase;"
2437
and that He in whom men believe justifieth the
ungodly, that his
faith may be
counted to him for
righteousness.
2438
But in behalf of the
unity of the
Church itself, which is spread abroad throughout all the
world, with which you do not hold
communion, I urged that the following passages were prophesied of
Christ: that "He shall have
dominion also from
sea to
sea, and from the
river unto the ends of the
earth;"
2439
and, "I shall give Thee the
heathen for Thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the
earth for Thy possession;"
2440
and that the
covenant of
God made with
Abraham may be quoted in behalf of our, that is, of the Catholic
communion, in which it is written, "In thy
seed shall all
nations of the
earth be
blessed;"
2441
which
seed the
apostle interprets, saying, "And to thy
seed, which is
Christ."
2442
Whence it is evident that in
Christ not only Africans or Africa, but all the
nations through which the Catholic
Church is spread abroad, should receive the
blessing which was
promised so long before. And that the
chaff is to be with the
wheat even to the time of the last winnowing, that no one may excuse the
sacrilege of his own separation from the
Church by calumnious
accusations of other men’s offenses, if he shall have left or deserted the
communion of all
nations;
and to show that the society of
Christians may not be divided on account of
evil ministers, that is,
evil rulers in the
Church, I further quoted the passage, "All whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works; for they say and do not."
2443
With regard to these passages of holy Scripture which I advanced to
prove my points, he neither showed how they ought to be otherwise interpreted, so as to prove that they neither made for us nor against you, nor was he willing to touch them in any way. Nay, his whole object was could it have been achieved, that by the tumultuous outpouring of his abuse, it might never occur to any one at all, who after reading my epistle might have been willing to read his as well, that
these things had been said by me.
E.C.F. INDEX & SEARCH
