chapter one

POLEMIC AGAINST PELAGIUS AND CAELESTIUS (411–418)

Augustine himself gives an account of his relationship to Pelagius when reporting on his trial in Lydda (Diospolis). He says that he  rst heard this saintly man praised greatly, but then learnt from trustworthy resources of concerns about his doctrine of grace. When Pelagius, upon arriving in Africa, came to Hippo, Augustine unfortunately missed him and met him only briey at anti-Donatist conferences in Carthage.1 He was, however, much concerned after reading Pelagius’ book Denatura, which was brought to him by two former disciples of Pelagius, Timasius and Jacobus, and in which it was said that God’s grace consists of human good nature, endowed in its creation with the gift of the free choice of the will, and possibly also of the divine law and forgiveness of the penitent. This led Augustine to write a trea- tise against him (De natura et gratia), where, however, he did not mention his name in order to provide the saintly man with a chance of emending his teaching without causing a public nuisance.2 He also addressed a polite let- ter to Pelagius in which he invited him to adopt a position of humility and gratitude to God.3 This account is amended with an interesting detail in Augustine’s late work De dono perseverantiae: here it is said that back in Rome, before he left for Africa, Pelagius was alarmed by the motto of Augustine’s spirituality expressed in his Confessions, “Grant what you command, and command what you will,” and had an argument over its accuracy with an unnamed bishop, who mentioned it in his presence.4 This event may presumably

1 De gest. Pel. 22,46: BA 21, 532. 2 De gest. Pel. 23,47: BA 21, 534; see also De pecc. mer. III,1,1: CSEL 60, 129; Retract. II,33: CCL 57, 117. 3 De gest. Pel. 26,51–29,53: BA 21, 540–546; this short letter (Ep. 146: CSEL 44, 273f.) is also cited here in full (De gest. Pel. 27–28,52: BA 21, 542–544). On this letter, see Y.-M. Duval, “La correspondence” (the author argues that it was a letter in which Augustine, with unusual politeness, reacted to Pelagius’ unsuccessful attempt at a meeting in Hippo). 4 De dono persev. 20,53: BA 24, 730. See above, chap. I.1.3 incl. n. 35 and II.2.4. Some scholars take the view that it might have been Paulinus of Nola (see P. Courcelle, Les Confessions, 580 incl. n. 2; P. Brown, “The Patrons of Pelagius”, 211; E. TeSelle, “Ru nus”, 90); others maintain it was a close friend of Augustine’s, Alypius (see D. Mara oti, L’uomo tra 168 part three: chapter one be dated to 404–405, together with the other presumed link between the two men which precedes their encounter, i.e., Pelagius’ letter (now lost) to Paulinus of Nola dealing with grace, which in all likelihood Augustine knew from Paulinus, his correspondent.5 In his Retractationes Augustine says that he had already argued with the Pelagian position before his  rst anti-Pelagian work, though not in writing, but in his sermons and speeches as he did not want to start an open argument in which Pelagius’ name might be discredited.6 Was there, then, a covert argument between the two men before 411? Scholars are still divided over this question: on one hand, it is not quite clear what importance Augustine attached to Pelagius’ teaching before 411. Perhaps, as bishop of Hippo, he was more preoccupied with the agenda of the conference with the Donatists in June of that year than the teachings of an ascetic lay Briton,7 who until 410 was the spiritual leader of the Roman aristocracy.8 Or was he—given the importance he had already been attaching to the doctrine of grace for  fteen years—interested in this kind of spirituality based on volitional ascetism after all?9 On the other hand, it seems certain that Pelagius was very suspicious of Augustine’s doctrine of grace because he was convinced it might demotivate the ascetical eforts of men (and could perhaps be regarded as analogous to social corruption grounded in the “grace” of the powerful, not in justice considering human acts in an impartial way10). However, the precise devel- legge e grazia. Analisi teologica del “De spiritu et littera” di S. Agostino, Brescia 1983, 34f.) or Evodius (see A. Solignac, “Autour du De natura de Pélage”, in: M. Soetard, ed., Valeurs dans le stoïcisme. Du Portique à nos jours. Textes rassemblés en hommage à M. Spanneut, Lille 1993, 182; Y.-M. Duval, “Pélage en son temps”, 98f., n. 16). 5 See De grat. Chr. pecc. orig. I,35,38: BA 22, 126; Ep. 186,1: CSEL 57, 46. 6 See Retract. II,33: CCL 57, 116f. On the sermons concerned, see P.-M. Hombert, “Augus- tin”. As for the speeches (conlocutiones), Augustine may be referring here e.g. to his exposi- tions of the book of Job as recorded by his friends (see above, chap. II.3.3). 7 Pelagius’ origin and the cultural and political role of Pelagianism in the British Isles, which managed to free themselves from the dominion of Rome in 410, are emphasised by J.N.L. Myres, “Pelagius”, and J. Morris, “Pelagian Literature”, 55–60. 8 This traditional image has recently been advocated by e.g. P.-M. Hombert, Nouvelles recherches, IX–XIII. 9 See G. Martinetto, “Les premières réactions antiaugustiniennes de Pélage”, in: REAug 17, 1971, 83–117. The issue is summarised by B. Delaroche, Saint Augustin, 24–36. 10 The social-political aspect of Pelagian spirituality is emphasised by J.N.L. Myres, “Pela- gius”, 24–31. However, W. Liebeschuetz objects that Pelagianism was not concerned with a polemic against “grace” (not even in the sense of social favouritism) and that social aims were of no interest to it. Pelagius and his followers put all the emphasis on personal moral and spiritual perfection, not on a demand for social reforms (see W. Liebeschuetz, “Did the Pelagian Movement Have Social Aims?”, 236f.). See also above, p. 162, n. 17. On Pelagius’