Retractations 2.55–2.67

At the same time I also wrote books of Questions on the same seven divine books, which I chose to call so because I set forth the things discussed there as matters to be inquired into rather than resolved after inquiry; although very many more things in them seem to me to have been so thoroughly treated that they may not undeservedly be judged resolved and explained as well. We had also begun to consider the books of Kingdoms in the same way, but, having not progressed far, we turned our mind to other things that were more pressing. In the first book, where the subject is the variegated rods which Jacob placed in the water so that the sheep, when they were conceiving, might see them as they drank and bear variegated offspring, the reason why he did not place them for those conceiving a second time, that is, when they conceived other offspring, but only at the first conception, was not well explained by us. For the explanation of the other question, where it is asked why Jacob said to his father-in-law, “You have cheated me of my wages by ten lambs,” untangled truthfully enough, shows that this one was not solved as it should have been. In the third book too, where the subject is the high priest, how he begot children when he was obliged to enter the holy of holies twice a day, where the altar of incense was, to offer incense morning and evening, where, as the law says, one who was unclean could not enter, and the same law says that a man becomes unclean even from conjugal intercourse, whom it commands indeed to be washed with water but says that even when washed he is unclean until evening (from which I said it followed that he either had to be continent or the incense had to be interrupted on some days): I did not see that it did not follow. For what is written, “He will be unclean until evening,” can be understood thus: that through the evening itself he would no longer be unclean, but only up to it, so that at the evening time he would offer incense clean, having joined with his wife after the morning incense for the begetting of children. And likewise, where it was asked how the high priest was forbidden to go in to his father's dead body, when, since there was only one high priest, he ought not to be made high priest except after the death of the priest his father, I said that therefore it was necessary that, before the father was buried, his son should be appointed immediately after his death to succeed his father, also because of the continuity of the incense, which had to be offered twice a day; and this priest is forbidden to go in to the dead body of his father not yet buried. But I paid too little attention to the fact that this could have been commanded rather because of those who were going to be high priests not succeeding fathers who were high priests, but yet being from the sons, that is, from the descendants, of Aaron, if perhaps a high priest either had no sons or had such reprobate ones that none of them ought to succeed his father; as Samuel succeeded the high priest Eli, though he himself was not a priest's son, but was yet of the sons, that is, the descendants, of Aaron. Also, concerning the thief to whom it was said, “Today you will be with me in paradise,” I set down as certain that he was not visibly baptized, whereas it is uncertain, and it is rather to be believed that he was baptized, as I too have argued elsewhere afterward. Likewise, what I said in the fifth book, where the mothers in the Gospel genealogies are mentioned, that they are set down only together with the fathers, is indeed true, but it does not bear on the matter being discussed. The discussion was about those who married the wives of their brothers or kinsmen who had died without sons, because of the two fathers of Joseph, one of whom Matthew mentions and the other Luke. This question I discussed carefully in this work when reviewing our work Against Faustus the Manichaean. This work begins thus: “When the holy Scriptures, which are called canonical…”

At the same time a certain Vincentius Victor, in Mauretania Caesariensis, found at the house of a certain Spanish presbyter, Peter, a small work of mine in which, in one place, concerning the origin of the soul of each human being, whether souls are propagated from that soul of the first man and then from parents, or whether, as to that one man, individual souls are given to individuals without any propagation, I confessed that I did not know, though I knew that the soul is not body but spirit; and against these statements of mine he wrote two books to the same Peter, which Renatus the monk sent me from Caesarea. Having read them, I gave four in reply: one to Renatus the monk, another to the presbyter Peter, and two to Victor himself. The one to Peter, although it has the length of a book, is nevertheless a letter, which I did not wish to separate from the other three. In all these, in which many necessary things are discussed, I defended my hesitation concerning the origin of the souls given to individual human beings, and I showed his many errors and the perversities of his presumption. Yet I treated him, as a young man not to be hastily abhorred but still to be taught, with as much gentleness as I could, and I received writings from him of his correction. The book of this work to Renatus begins thus: “Your sincerity toward us…”; and that to Peter thus: “To my most beloved lord, father, and fellow presbyter Peter…”; and of the last two, to Vincentius Victor, the first begins thus: “What I thought should be written to you…”

I wrote two books On Adulterous Marriages, wishing to solve, as far as I could according to the Scriptures, a most difficult question. Whether I did so with complete clarity I do not know; indeed I feel that I have not reached perfection in this matter, although I have opened many of its recesses; whoever reads intelligently will be able to judge this. The first book of this work begins thus: “The first question, dearest brother Pollentius…”; and the second thus: “To what you had written to me…”

Meanwhile a certain book of some heretic, either a Marcionite or one of those whose error holds that God did not make this world and that the God of the law given through Moses and of the prophets belonging to that law is not the true God but a most wicked demon, was being read at Carthage in the seaside square, with many flocking together and listening most attentively. Brothers who were most zealous Christians got hold of it and sent it to me without any delay to refute, earnestly asking that I too should not put off replying. I refuted it in two books, which I headed Against an Adversary of the Law and the Prophets, because the manuscript itself which was sent did not have the author's name. This work begins thus: “The book which you sent, dearest brothers…”

During the same time Dulcitius, tribune and notary, was here in Africa as executor of the imperial orders given against the Donatists. He had written a letter to Gaudentius of Thamugadi, bishop of the Donatists, one of those seven whom they had chosen at our conference as advocates of their defense, urging him to Catholic unity and dissuading him from the burning by which he was threatening to consume himself and his people together with the church in which he was, adding also that, if they thought themselves righteous, they should rather flee according to the command of the Lord Christ than burn themselves in abominable fires. Gaudentius wrote back two letters, one short, because, as he asserted, the bearer was in a hurry, the other long, as if replying more fully and carefully. The aforementioned tribune thought these should be sent to me, so that I myself might rather refute them. I refuted both in one book. When this reached the hands of the same Gaudentius, he wrote back to me himself what he saw fit, answering with no reason, but rather showing that he could neither answer nor keep silent. Although this can be clear enough to those who read intelligently and compare what we and he said, I did not wish to leave it, whatever it was, without a reply. Hence it came about that these books of ours to him were two. This work begins thus: “Gaudentius, bishop of the Donatists at Thamugadi…”

Then I also wrote a book Against Lying. The occasion of this work was that, in order to track down the Priscillianist heretics, who think that their heresy should be concealed not only by denying but also by lying, it seemed to certain Catholics that they ought to pretend to be Priscillianists so as to penetrate their hiding places. Forbidding this to be done, I composed this book. This book begins thus: “You have sent me much to read…”

There follow four books which I wrote against two letters of the Pelagians to Boniface, bishop of the Roman church; for when the letters came into his hands, he himself sent them to me, finding my name slanderously brought into them. This work begins thus: “I knew you indeed by your most celebrated reputation…”

Meanwhile the four books of Julian the Pelagian, which I mentioned above, also came into our hands, in which I found that the things which the one who had sent them to Count Valerius had excerpted from them had not all been written to that count in the way in which Julian had said them, but some of them had been somewhat changed. I wrote, therefore, six books against those four; but the first two of mine refute Julian's impudence by the testimonies of the saints who defended the Catholic faith after the apostles, since he thought that the dogma of the Manichaeans should be thrown at us because we say that original sin is derived from Adam, which is loosed through the washing of regeneration not only in adults but also in little children. How much Julian himself helps the Manichaeans by some of his opinions I showed in the latter part of my first book. The other four of ours answer those four of his, one to one. But in the fifth volume of this so great and so elaborate work, where I mentioned that an ugly husband used to set a beautiful picture before his wife during intercourse, so that she would not bear ugly children, I set down the man's name as though certain, whereas it is uncertain, because my memory deceived me. Soranus, the medical writer, wrote that a king of Cyprus used to do this, but did not give his proper name. This work begins thus: “Your insults and abusive words, Julian…”

I also wrote a book On Faith, Hope, and Charity, when the one to whom it is written had asked me that he might have some small work of mine that would never leave his hands, the kind the Greeks call an enchiridion (handbook). In it I seem to myself to have covered quite carefully how God is to be worshiped, which divine Scripture defines as the truly genuine wisdom of man. This book begins thus: “I cannot say, dearest son Laurentius, how much I delight in your learning…”

I wrote a book On the Care to Be Taken for the Dead, when I had been asked by letter whether it profits anyone after death that his body is buried at the shrine of some saint. This book begins thus: “To your holiness, venerable fellow bishop Paulinus…”

The book which I headed On the Eight Questions of Dulcitius would not have to be mentioned in this work among my books, since it is made up of things which I had written earlier in other works, except that some discussion inserted by us is found in it, and to one of those questions I gave an answer not from any small work of mine but what could occur to me at the time. This book begins thus: “As far as it seems to me, dearest son Dulcitius…”

Because of those who, when the grace of God is defended, think that free choice is denied, and who therefore defend free choice in such a way as to deny the grace of God, asserting that it is given according to our merits, I wrote a book whose title is On Grace and Free Choice. I wrote it to the monks of Hadrumetum, in whose monastery a dispute had begun about this matter, so that some of them were compelled to consult me. This book begins thus: “Because of those who … man's free choice…”

Again to the same monks I wrote another book, which I headed On Rebuke and Grace, when it had been reported to me that someone there had said that no one should be rebuked if he does not do God's commandments, but only prayed for, that he may do them. This book begins thus: “Having read your letter, Valentinus, dearest brother…” These ninety-three works in two hundred and thirty-two books I recalled having dictated when I reviewed them, not knowing whether I would yet dictate any more; and I published the review of them in two books at the urging of the brothers, before I had begun to review the letters and the sermons to the people, some dictated, others spoken by me.