The bishop of Calama, one of the difciples of Auguftine, going to vifit his diocefe, was attacked by the Circumcelliones, robbed, and fo ill-treated, that he escaped with difficulty. Upon this, Crifpinus the Donatift bishop of Calama, was fined by the magiftrate according to the laws. He denied himself to be a Donatift, and the two bishops of Calama appeared in court, and pleaded before a great multitude, nor did Auguftine refufe his affiftance to the church on this occafion. The Donatift was convicted, and required to pay the fine. But the difciple of Auguftine, fatisfied with his victory, begged that the fine might be remitted, which request was granted accordingly. The pride of the Donatift refused to ftoop, and he appealed to the Emperor, who ordered the law to be executed with the greatest rigour on the whole party. The bifhops of the general church, however, with Auguftine at their head, implored for them the imperial clemency, with fuccefs. No doubt it would have been far more agreeable to the maxims of Chriftianity, had no methods but those of argument been employed against the Donatifts. But the difficulties of the cafe have been stated; and the conduct of Auguftine, and no doubt of other godly perfons in Africa, was in general of a piece with the mild behaviour which they difplayed on this occafion. Inftances, however, of iniquitous and oppreffive exactions against the peaceable Donatifts, would naturally take place, amidst the indignation of men's minds against the Circumcelliones. Nor is there any thing in all this which impeaches the acknowledged fincerity, meeknefs, and piety of the bishop of Hippo, notwithstanding the mistake of judgment, which happened to him in common with the whole church at that time. It is a delicate and difficult matter to fettle, VOL. II. G g in in all cafes, how far the civil magiftrate ought to interfere in religion. Different ages are apt to run into different extremes, as either fuperftition or profaneness predominates. Doubtlefs there is a middle path of rectitude in this fubject, which I have endeavoured to defcribe on a former occafion, though, to apply it with exactnefs to all cafes and circumftances would be difficult in itfelf, and foreign to the defign of this hiftory. Donatifm, however, under the charitable and argumentative labours of Auguftine, received a blow, from which it never recovered, and the fect dwindled gradually into infignificance and the moft pleafing part of the story is, that by the fuppreffion of the Circumcelliones, the Ecclefiaftical face of Africa must have been abundantly meliorated, and, in all probability, a great acceffion made to the real church of Chrift*. * After examining Auguftine's writings concerning the Donatifts, particularly letters the 48, 50, 64, and 127, and the narrative of Poffidonius, I have endeavoured to compress into this chapter the substance of the historical information, which they contain, without troubling myself or the reader with particular citations. I have done on this occafion, what I profefs to do generally, to the best of my ability, namely, formed my judg ment on original evidences, and not on the opinions and reasonings of any modern whatever. Laborious task! compared with the cafe of copying other hiftorians; invidious alfo, because it often obliges one to run counter to modern representations! but it is the task of a real hiftorian. CHAP. CHAP. VII. THE REST OF AUGUSTINE'S WORKS REVIEWED. THE HE two tracts, on lying, addreffed to Confentius, demonstrate the foundness of the author's views in morality. Such indeed is the connection between one part of divine truth and another, that those who have the juftest and the largest views of Gospel-grace, have always the most exact and extenfive ideas of moral duty, and what is more, exemplify them in life and converfation. For the fame felf-righteousness, which tarnishes the luftre of divine grace, always induces its votary to curtail the demands of the divine law, to adulterate it with pride and the love of the world, and to render a thousand things allowable in practice, which an humble and holy foul muft abhor. We have feen what vague and dangerous notions of veracity had begun to prevail during the progrefs of fuperftition, from which even fuch men as Ambrose and Chryfoftom were not exempt; and that what are called pious frauds had in fome instances been esteemed laudable. Auguftine in the treatife before us, defines lying to be "The faying of one thing and thinking of another," and in all cafes, even for the moft pious and falutary purposes, he excludes lying as unchriftian. The fecond chapter of the epifle to the Galatians had been perverfely interpreted in that part of it which relates to the diffimulation of Peter*. He refcues the divine oracles from the abuse, and demonftrates from the most exprefs and determinate decifions of the New Teftament, that all deceit of the tongue is wicked. The talk was worthy of him * Aug. opera, tom. iv. page 2, him, who was the principal inftrument of the revival of godlinefs in the church *. His treatife on faith and works was written to obviate the Antinomianifm, which fome were in his time defirous of introducing. Men, who still perfevered in their fins, defired to be baptized; and. there were those who fupported their unreasonable wifhes, and thought it fufficient to teach them, after baptifm, how they ought to live, ftill holding out a hope to their minds, that they might be faved as by fire, because they had been baptized, though. they never repented of their fins. In anfwer to these dangerous abuses, our author fhews, that the true saving faith works by love, that the inftruction of catechumens includes morals, as well as doctrines; that the labour of catechizing is exceeding profitable to the church, and that perfons ought to be catechized before they receive baptifm, that they may know how vain it is to think of being eternally faved without holinefs. He juftly obferves, that the eunuch's anfwer to Philip, *In this chapter, the other works of Auguftine, which have not fallen under our confideration in the preceding chapters, are confidered, fo far as I think them worthy of the reader's particular attention. Those parts of his voluminous writings, which are either mere repetitions of what has been elsewhere illuftrated, or feem not to convey any interesting inftruction, or handle fubjects which have been much better treated by those who have had the advantage of later improvements, are omitted. The book of Meditations, though more known to English readers than any other of the works afcribed to Auguftine, on account of the tranflation of it into our language by Stanhope, feems not to be his, both on account of its ftyle, which is fententious, concife, abrupt, and void of any of thofe claffical. elegancies, which now and then appear in our author's genuine writings, and alfo on account of the prayers to deceased Saints which it contains. This laft circumftance peculiarly marks it to have been of a later date than the age of Auguftine. Frauds of this kind were commonly practifed on the works of the fathers in the monaftic times For the most part, however, this book may be read with profit by the ferious reader, beceuse of the devotional spirit in which it refembles the genuine works of Augustine. 4 Philip, "I believe that Jefus is the Son of God," virtually and radically involved in it, a knowledge of the true character of the perfon and offices of Chrift, and of the qualities which belong to his members. He fupports his doctrine by Scripture-authority, particularly by that of St. James in his fecond. chapter; and against thofe who fay, that they would believe in Chrift and come to him, and are hindered, he obferves, "We do not prohibit fuch as are willing, from coming to Chrift, but we prove by their own practice, that they are not willing to come to Chrift; nor do we forbid them to believe in Chrift, but demonftrate that they are not willing to believe in Christ, who believe that adulterers can be his members." On the whole, he reprobates the most dangerous notion of the poffibility of baptized perfons being faved in their fins, and recommends ftrongly an attention to church-difcipline, and to the wholesome practice of catechizing, fhewing through the whole a zeal for the caufe of holinefs, and a fear of men's abufing the doctrines of grace *. In a fmall treatise to Simplician the aged bishop of Milan, who was both the inftructor and the fucceffor of Ambrofe, he undertakes to folve the difficulties ufually grounded on the ninth chapter to the Romans. And he defends the doctrine of divine grace in his ufual manner. His remarks on "It is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that fheweth mercy," will deferve to be transcribed. "It is not faid, it is not of him that is unwilling and defpifes, but of God who hardens. Nothing is done by God to make men worse; only that is not bestowed, which might make them better. Since human fociety is connected by giving and receiving, who does not ⚫ Id. p. 18. fee, |