Catholic Theology Plain Pure Peaceable, Section 22
SECT. XXII. The words of Fulgentius to the ſame ſence.
663. I Muſt crave of the Reader that he remember that my reciting the Judgement of theſe Fathers for the falling away and periſhing of many that were in a ſtate of Life, is not at all as declaring my own judgement, but Theirs; none then that I read of thinking otherwiſe. *Except Jovinian be truly accuſed by Hierome, the brevity and obſcurity of whoſe accuſation and confutation, leaveth us very uncertain what it was that Jovinian held. But we are ſure that the ſpirit o… uncharitableneſs and concention though in a good … learn…d man) had no …all hand in the ſtigm…zing of him and Vigilantius as Hereticks.. I ſhall (for the End ſake) be yet a little more …edious in citing ſome of the ſayings of Fulgentius.
Fulg. l. 1. de Verit. praedeſt. cap. 6. To good men God giveth what good they have, and keepeth it: But to the wicked and ungodly, God neither ever could prepare or give evil works, which they ſhould damnably ſerve: nor did he ever put into them evil wills by which they ſhould culpably will things unjuſt: but he prepared for them the puniſhment of Hell, that they might feel revenging juſtice in endleſs fire. An evil will is not of God: And therefore the juſt Judge doth puniſh it in men, becauſe the good Creator findeth not in it the order of his Creation. And perſeverance and contumacy in ſin and pride, becauſe it is not of Gods giving, is condemned by God revenging.
Et l. 1. ad Monim. c. 26. He will puniſh in the wicked, that they are bad, which he gave not, nor did he predeſtinate them to any iniquity: and that they willed unjuſtly was none of his gift. And becauſe the perſevering iniquity of an evil will, ought not to remain unpuniſhed, he predeſtinated ſuch to deſtruction, becauſe he prepared juſt puniſhment for them—Obſerve that God predeſtinated wicked and ungodly men, to juſt puniſhment, not to any unju… work: to the penalty, not to the fault: to the puniſhment, n… to the tranſgreſſion: to the deſtruction which the anger of a juſt judge requiteth ſinners with; not to that deſtruction (or death) by which the iniquity of ſinners provoketh Gods wrath againſt them. The Apoſtle calls them Veſſels of wrath, not Veſſels of ſin.
Cap. 27. The wicked are not predeſtinated to the firſt death of the ſoul, but to the ſecond death they are:—That which followeth the ſentence of a juſt Judge; not that which preceded in the evil concupiſcence of the ſinner.
Ibid. c. 23. It beſeemeth believers to confeſs that the good and juſt God, fore-knew indeed that men would ſin, (for all things to come are known to him. For they were not future, if they were not in his fore-knowledge:) But not that he predeſtinated any to ſin. For if he predeſtinated man to any ſin, he would not puniſh man for ſin. For Gods predeſtination prepareth for men, either the godly remiſſion of their ſins, or the juſt puniſhment of them. God therefore could never predeſtinate man to that, which he had reſolved both to forbid by his precept, and to waſh away by his mercy, and puniſh by his juſtice. God therefore predeſtinated to eternal puniſhment, the wicked who he foreknew would perſevere to the death in ſin. Wherein as his fore-knowledge of mans iniquity is not to be blamed, ſo his predeſtinatio… of juſt revenge is to be praiſed: That we may acknowledge, that he predeſtinated not man to any ſin, whom he predeſtinated to be puniſhed deſervedly for ſin.
And ad Monimum li. 1. pag. (edit. Baſil.) 68. reciting Auguſti… words he ſaith [He taught that only pride was the cauſe of mans iniquity, and that God predeſtinated not men to ſin, but to damnation; and that they are not helped by God, the cauſe is in themſelves and not in God.] The ſame he reciteth again ex lib. 2. Aug. de baptiſ. parvul. [that their wills be not helpt by grace, the cauſe is in themſelves and not in God.] The ſame he again repeateth pag. 69. 70, 71, 72. and [that Auguſtine's mind was that good works God both fore-knew and predeſtinated:—But evil works, that is, ſin, he foreknew indeed, but did not predeſtinate (or decree.) For there is not Gods work, but his judgement. Therefore in ſin Gods work is not, becauſe that ſin ſhould be done was not decreed by him: But therefore there is his judgement, becauſe it is not left unrevenged, that an evil man worketh without God working.]
And ib. li. 1. pag. 15. [That which is not in his work, never was in predeſtination. Therefore men are not predeſtinated to ſin.] So p. 29. And p. 31. and forward.
And p. 29. [No man juſtly ſinneth though God juſtly permit him to ſin: For he is juſtly forſaken of God, who forſaketh God. And becauſe man forſaking God, ſinneth, God forſaking man keepeth juſtice.]
664. I am loth to weary the Reader with more. Should I do the like by Auguſtines words it would be too weariſome. His judgement is the very ſame as theirs. I will only cite one paſſage out of him, about mans Power to believe.
Tract. 53. in Johan. having ſhewed that God only foreknoweth mens ſin, and foretelleth it (as the Jews) but cauſeth it not, he cometh to anſwer John 12. 39. They could not believe &c. If they could not how was it their ſin?—ſaying, [You hear the queſtion, brethren, and ſee how deep it is: But we anſwer as we can.—Why could they not believe? If you ask me, I quickly anſwer, Becauſe they would not. For God foreſaw their evil will, and foretold it by the Prophet—He blinded their eyes, &c. And I anſwer that their own wills deſerved this alſo. For God blindeth and hardeneth, by forſaking and not helping; which he may do by a judgement ſecret, but not unjuſt. This all religious piety ought to hold unſhaken. Far be it from us then to ſay that there is iniquity with God: If he help, he doth it mercifully; if he help not, he doth juſtly.]
665. By all this the Reader may ſee paſt all doubt, that Auguſtine and his two diſciples, (than whom none known to us in the whole world then went higher for Predeſtination and Grace) did plainly take up with this, that 1. GOD NEITHER CAUSED OR WILLED SIN, no, not ITS BEING, or the forbidden ACT.
2. That OUR SIN was of OUR SELVES.
3. That ALL GRACE and perſerverance was OF GOD.
4. That ELECTION was ABSOLUTE of GOD's meer will, and not upon his foreknowledge of any merits of mans.
5. That God predeſtinated none to ſin, but predeſtinated men to Puniſhment, ONLY ON THE FORESIGHT of their wilful ſin.
6. That he hardened men but by deſerting them.
7. That he never forſook them till they forſook him firſt, and deſerved it by ſin.
In a word, that mans deſtruction is of himſelf, but his help of God; who reſolvedly chooſeth ſome to ſalvation, and helpeth them accordingly with that effectual grace, and eſpecial perſeverance, which he juſtly giveth not to others, though if he would he could.