Chapter 6.—21. It is indeed better (as no one ever could deny) that men should be led to worship God by teaching, than that they should be driven to it by fear of punishment or pain; but it does not follow that because the former course produces the better men, therefore those who do not yield to it should be neglected. For many have found advantage (as we have proved, and are daily proving by actual experiment), in being first compelled by
fear or pain, so that they might afterwards be influenced by teaching, or might follow out in act what they had already learned in word. Some, indeed, set before us the sentiments of a certain secular author, who said,
"’Tis well, I ween, by shame the young to train,
And dread of meanness, rather than by pain."2506
| 2506
Ter. Adelph. act 1. sc. i. 32, 33.
|
This is unquestionably true. But while those are better who are guided aright by love, those are certainly more numerous who are corrected by fear. For, to answer these persons out of their own author, we find him saying in another place,
"Unless by pain and suffering thou art taught,
Thou canst not guide thyself aright in aught."2507
| 2507
This is not found in the extant plays of Terence.
|
But, moreover, holy Scripture has both said concerning the former better class, "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear;"2508
and also concerning the latter lower class, which furnishes the majority, "A
servant will not be corrected by words; for though he understand, he will not answer."
2509
In saying, "He will not be corrected by words," he did not order him to be left to himself, but implied an admonition as to the means whereby he ought to be corrected; otherwise he would not have said, "He will not be corrected by words," but without any qualification, "He will not be corrected." For in another place he says that not only the
servant, but also the undisdained son, must be corrected with
stripes, and that with great fruits as the result; for he says, "Thou
shall beat him with the
rod, and shall
deliver his
soul from
hell;"
2510
and elsewhere he says, "He that spareth the
rod hateth his son."
2511
For, give us a man who with right
faith and true understanding can say with all the energy of his
heart, "My
soul thirsteth for
God, for the living
God: when shall I come and appear before
God?"
2512
and for such an one there is no need of the
terror of
hell, to say nothing of temporal punishments or imperial
laws, seeing that with him it is so indispensable a
blessing to
cleave unto the
Lord, that he not only dreads being parted from that
happiness as a heavy
punishment, but can scarcely even bear delay in its attainment. But yet, before the good sons can say they have "a desire to depart, and to be with
Christ,"
2513
many must first be recalled to their
Lord by the
stripes of temporal scourging, like
evil slaves, and in some degree like good-for-nothing fugitives.
22. For who can possibly love us more than Christ, who laid down His life for His sheep?2514
And yet, after calling Peter and the other
apostles by His words alone, when He came to summon
Paul, who was before called
Saul, subsequently the
powerful builder of His
Church, but originally its cruel persecutor, He not only
constrained him with His voice, but even
dashed him to the
earth with His
power; and that He might forcibly bring one who was raging amid the
darkness of infidelity to desire the
light of the
heart, He first struck him with physical
blindness of the
eyes. If that
punishment had not been
inflicted, he would not afterwards have been
healed by it; and since he had been wont to see nothing with his
eyes open, if they had remained unharmed, the Scripture would not tell us that at the imposition of Ananias’
hands, in order that their sight might be restored, there fell from them as it had been scales, by which the sight had been obscured.
2515
Where is what the Donatists were wont to
cry: Man is at
liberty to believe or not believe? Towards whom did
Christ use
violence? Whom did He compel? Here they have the
Apostle Paul. Let them recognize in his case
Christ first compelling, and afterwards teaching; first striking, and afterwards consoling. For it is wonderful how he who entered the service of the
gospel in the first instance under the compulsion of bodily
punishment, afterwards
labored more in the
gospel
than all they who were called by word only;
2516
and he who was compelled by the greater influence of
fear to
love, displayed that
perfect love which casts out
fear.
23. Why, therefore, should not the Church use force in compelling her lost sons to return, if the lost sons compelled others to their destruction? Although even men who have not been compelled, but only led astray, are received by their loving mother with more affection if they are recalled to her bosom through the enforcement of terrible but salutary laws, and are the objects of far more deep congratulation than those whom she had never lost. Is it not a part
of the care of the shepherd, when any sheep have left the flock, even though not violently forced away, but led astray by tender words and coaxing blandishments, to bring them back to the fold of his master when he has found them, by the fear or even the pain of the whip, if they show symptoms of resistance; especially since, if they multiply with growing abundance among the fugitive slaves and robbers, he has the more right in that the mark of the master is recognized on them, which is not
outraged in those whom we receive but do not rebaptize? For the wandering of the sheep is to be corrected in such wise that the mark of the Redeemer should not be destroyed on it. For even if any one is marked with the royal stamp by a deserter who is marked with it himself, and the two receive forgiveness,2517
| 2517
Accipiant: sc. the baptizer and the baptized; and so the Mss. The common reading is "accipiat."
|
and the one returns to his service, and the other begins to be in the service in which he had no part before, that mark is not effaced in either of the two, but rather it is recognized in both of them, and approved with the
honor which is due to it because it is the king’s. Since then they cannot show that the destination is bad to which they are compelled, they maintain that they ought to be compelled by force even to what is good. But we have shown that
Paul was
compelled by
Christ; therefore the
Church, in trying to compel the Donatists, is following the example of her
Lord, though in the first instance she waited in the hopes of needing to compel no one, that the prediction of the
prophet might be fulfilled concerning the
faith of kings and peoples.
24. For in this sense also we may interpret without absurdity the declaration of the blessed Apostle Paul, when he says, "Having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled."2518
Whence also the
Lord Himself bids the
guests in the first instance to be invited to His great
supper, and afterwards compelled; for on His
servants making answer to Him, "
Lord, it is done as Thou hast commanded, and yet there is
room," He said to them, "Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in."
2519
In those, therefore, who were first brought in with
gentleness, the former obedience is fulfilled; but in those who were compelled, the
disobedience is
avenged. For what else is the meaning of "Compel them to come in," after it had previously said, "Bring in," and the answer had been made, "
Lord, it is done as Thou commanded, and yet there is
room"? If He had wished it to be understood that they were to be compelled by the terrifying force of
miracles, many
divine
miracles were rather
wrought in the sight of those who were first called, especially in the sight of the
Jews, of whom it was said, "The
Jews require a sign;"
2520
and, moreover, among the Gentiles themselves the
gospel was so commended by
miracles in the time of the
apostles, that had these been the means by which they were ordered to be compelled, we might rather have had good grounds for supposing, as I said before, that it was the earlier
guests who were compelled. Wherefore, if the
power which the
Church has received by
divine appointment in its due
season, through the
religious character and the
faith of kings, be the
instrument
by which those who are found in the highways and hedges—that is, in
heresies and
schisms—are compelled to come in, then let them not find fault with being compelled, but consider whether they be so compelled. The
supper of the
Lord is the
unity of the body of
Christ, not only in the sacrament of the altar, but also in the bond of peace. Of the Donatists themselves, indeed, we can say that they compel no man to any good thing; for whomsoever they compel, they compel to nothing else but
evil.
E.C.F. INDEX & SEARCH
