| CAP. I. DE SCRIPTURA SANCTA, VERO DEI VERBO. | CHAPTER I Of The Holy Scripture Being The True Word of God |
| 1. Credimus et confitemur, Scripturas Canonicas sanctorum Prophetarum et Apostolorum utriusque Testamenti ipsum verum esse verbum Dei, et auctoritatem sufficientem ex semetipsis, non ex hominibus habere. Nam Deus ipse loqutus est Patribus, Prophetis, et Apostolis, et loquitur adhuc nobis per Scripturas Sanctas. | We believe and confess the canonical Scriptures of the holy prophets and apostles of both Testaments to be the true Word of God, and to have sufficient authority of themselves, not of men. For God himself spoke to the fathers, prophets, apostles, and still speaks to us through the Holy Scriptures. |
| 2. Et in hac Scriptura Sancta habet universalis Christi Ecclesia plenissime exposita, quæcunque pertinent cum ad salvificam fidem, tum ad vitam Deo placentem recte informandam, quo nomine distincte a Deo præceptum est, ne ei aliquid vel addatur vel detrahatur (Deut. iv. 2; Apoc. xxii. 18,19). | And in this Holy Scripture, the universal Church of Christ has the most complete exposition of all that pertains to a saving faith, and also to the framing of a life acceptable to God; and in this respect it is expressly commanded by God that nothing be either added to or taken from the same. |
| 3. Sentimus ergo, ex hisce Scripturis petendam esse veram sapientiam et pietatem, ecclesiarum quoque reformationem et gubernationem, omniumque officiorum pietatis institutionem, probationem denique dogmatum reprobationemque aut errorum confutationem omnium, sed et admonitiones omnes juxta illud Apostoli: Omnis Scriptura divinitus inspirata utilis est ad doctrinam, ad redargutionem, etc. (2 Tim. iii. 16, 17), et iterum, Hæc tibi scribo, inquit ad Timotheum apostolus (in 1 Epist. iii. 15), ut noris, quomodo oporteat, te versari in domo Dei, etc. Et idem ille rursus ad Thess.: Cum (ait) acciperetis sermonem a nobis, accepistis non sermonem hominum, sed sicut erat vere, sermonem Dei, etc. (1 Thess. ii. 13). Nam ipse in Evangelio dixit Dominus: Non vos estis loquentes illi, sed Spiritus Patris mei loquitur in vobis. Ergo, qui vos audit, me audit; qui autem vos spernit, me spernit (Matt. x. 20; Luc. x. 16; Joh. xiii. 20). | We judge, therefore, that from these Scriptures are to be derived true wisdom and godliness, the reformation and government of churches; as also instruction in all duties of piety; and, to be short, the confirmation of doctrines, and the rejection of all errors, moreover, all exhortations according to that word of the apostle, "All scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof," etc. (II Timothy 3:16-17). Again, "I am writing these instructions to you," says the apostle to Timothy, "So that you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God," etc. (I Timothy 3:14-15). Again, the self-same apostle to the Thessalonians: "When," says he, "You received the word of God which you heard from us, you accepted it, not as the word of men but as what it really is, the Word of God," etc. (I Thess. 2:13) For the Lord himself has said in the gospel, "It is not you who speak, but the Spirit of my Father speaking through you"; therefore "He who hears you hears me, and he who rejects me rejects him who sent me" (Matt. 10:20; Luke 10:16; John 13:20) |
| 4. Proinde cum hodie hoc Dei verbum per prædicatores legitime vocatos annunciatur in Ecclesia, credimus ipsum Dei verbum annunciari et a fidelibus recipi, neque aliud Dei verbum vel fingendum, vel coelitus esse exspectandum: atque in præsenti spectandum esse ipsum verbum, quod annunciatur, non annunciantem ministrum, qui, etsi sit malus et peccator, verum tamen et bonum manet nihilominus verbum Dei. | Wherefore when this Word of God is now preached in the church by preachers lawfully called, we believe that the very Word of God is proclaimed, and received by the faithful; and that neither any other Word of God is to be invented nor is to be expected from heaven: and that now the Word itself which is preached is to be regarded, not the minister that preaches; for even if he be evil and a sinner, nevertheless the Word of God remains still true and good. |
| 5. Neque arbitramur, prædicationem illam externam tanquam inutilem ideo videri, quoniam pendeat institutio veræ religionis ab interna Spiritus illuminatione: propterea, quod scriptum sit: Non erudiet quis proximum suum. Omnes enim cognoscent me (Jer. xxxi. 34), et: Nihil est, qui rigat aut qui plantat, sed qui incrementum dat, Deus (1 Cor. iii. 7). Quamquam enim nemo veniat ad Christum, nisi trahatur a Patre coelesti (Joh. vi. 44 ), ac intus illuminetur per Spiritum, scimus tamen, Deum omnino velle prædicari verbum Dei, etiam foris. Equidem potuisset per Spiritum Sanctum, aut per ministerium angeli absque ministerio S. Petri instituisse Cornelium in Actis Deus, ceterum rejicit hunc nihilominus ad Petrum, de quo angelus loquens: Hic, inquit, dicet tibi, quid oporteat te facere (Act. x. 6). | Neither do we think that therefore the outward preaching is to be thought as fruitless because the instruction in true religion depends on the inward illumination of the Spirit, or because it is written "And no longer shall each man teach his neighbor..., for they shall all know me" (Jer. 31:34), And "Neither he who plants nor he that waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth" (I Cor. 3:7). For although "No one can come to Christ unless he be drawn by the Father" (John 6:44), And unless the Holy Spirit inwardly illumines him, yet we know that it is surely the will of God that his Word should be preached outwardly also. God could indeed, by his Holy Spirit, or by the ministry of an angel, without the ministry of St. Peter, have taught Cornelius in the Acts; but, nevertheless, he refers him to Peter, of whom the angel speaking says, "He shall tell you what you ought to do." |
| 6. Qui enim intus illuminat, donato hominibus Spiritu Sancto, idem ille præcipiens dixit ad discipulos suos: Ite in mundum universum, et prædicate evangelium omni creaturæ (Marc. xvi. 15). Unde Paulus Lydiæ apud Philippos purpurariæ prædicavit verbum exterius, interius autem aperuit mulieri cor Dominus (Act. xvi. 14): Idemque Paulus collocata gradatione eleganti (ad Rom. x. 13–17), tandem infert: Ergo fides ex auditu est; auditus autem per verbum Dei. | For he that illuminates inwardly by giving men the Holy Spirit, the same one, by way of commandment, said unto his disciples, "Go into all the world, and preach the gospel to the whole creation" (Mark 16:15). And so in Phillippi, Paul preached the word outwardly to Lydia, a seller of purple goods; but the Lord inwardly opened the woman's heart (Acts 16:14). And the same Paul, after a beautiful development of his thought, in Romans 10:17 at length comes to the conclusion, "So faith comes from hearing and hearing from the Word of God by the preaching of Christ." |
| 7. Agnoscimus interim, Deum illuminare posse homines etiam sine externo ministerio, quos et quando velit, id quod ejus potentiæ est. Nos autem loquimur de usitata ratione instituendi homines, et præcepto et exemplo tradita nobis a Deo. | At the same time we recognize that God can illuminate whom and when he will, Even without the external ministry, for that is in his power; but we speak of the usual way of instructing men, delivered unto us from God, both by commandment and examples. |
| 8. Execramur igitur omnes hæreses Artemonis, Manichæorum, Valentinianiorum, Cerdonis et Marcionitarum, qui negarunt Scripturas a Spiritu Sancto profectas: vel quasdam illarum non receperunt, vel interpolarunt et corruperunt. | We therefore detest all the heresies of Artemon, the Manichaeans, the Valentinians, of Cerdon, and the Marcionites, who deny that the Scriptures proceeded from the Holy Spirit; or did not accept some parts of them, or interpolated and corrupted them. |
| 9. Interim nihil dissimulamus, quosdam Veteris Testamenti libros a veteribus nuncupatos esse apocryphos, ab aliis ecclesiasticos, utpote quos in ecclesiis legi voluerunt quidem, non tamen proferri ad auctoritatem ex his fidei confirmandam. Sicuti et Augustinus in lib. de civitate Dei (xviii. 38) commemorat, in libris Regum adduci Prophetarum quorundam nomina et libros, sed addit, hos non esse in canone, ac sufficere ad pietatem eos libros, quos habemus. | And yet we do not conceal the fact that certain books of the Old Testament were by the ancient authors called apocryphal, and by the others ecclesiastical; in as much as some would have them read in the churches, but not advanced as an authority from which the faith is to be established. As Augustine also, in his De Civitate Dei, book 18, ch. 38, remarks that "In the books of the Kings, the names and books of certain prophets are cited"; but he adds that "They are not in the canon"; and that "those books which we have suffice unto godliness." |
| CAP. II. DE INTERPRETANDIS SCRIPTURIS SANCTIS, ET DE PATRIBUS, CONCILIIS, ET TRADITIONIBUS. | CHAPTER II Of Interpreting The Holy Scripture; and of Fathers, Councils, and Traditions |
| 1. Scripturas Sanctas, dixit Apostolus Petrus, non esse interpretationis privatæ (2 Pet. i. 20). Proinde non probamus interpretationes quaslibet; unde nec pro vera aut genuina Scripturarum interpretatione agnoscimus eum, quem vocant sensum Romanæ ecclesiæ, quem scilicet simpliciter Romanæ ecclesiæ defensores omnibus obtrudere contendunt recipiendum: sed illam duntaxat Scripturarum interpretationem pro orthodoxa et genuina agnoscimus, quæ ex ipsis est petita Scripturis (ex ingenio utique ejus linguæ, in qua sunt scriptæ, secundum circumstantias item expensæ, et pro ratione locorum vel similium vel dissimilium, plurium quoque et clariorum expositæ), cum regula fidei et caritatis congruit, et ad gloriam Dei hominumque salutem eximie facit. | The apostle peter has said that the Holy Scriptures are not of private interpretation (2 Pet. 1:20), and thus we do not allow all possible interpretations. Nor consequently do we acknowledge as the true or genuine interpretation of the Scriptures what is called the conception of the Roman Church, that is, what the defenders of the Roman Church plainly maintain should be thrust upon all for acceptance. But we hold that the interpretation of the Scripture to be orthodox and genuine which is gleaned from the Scriptures themselves (from the nature of the language in which they were written, likewise according to the circumstances in which they were set down, and expounded in the light of and unlike passages and of many and clearer passages) and which agree with the rule of faith and love, and contributes much to the glory of God and man's salvation. |
| 2. Proinde non aspernamur sanctorum Patrum Græcorum Latinorumque interpretationes, neque reprobamus eorundem disputationes ac tractationes rerum sacrarum cum Scripturis consentientes: a quibus tamen recedimus modeste, quando aliena a Scripturis aut his contraria adferre deprehenduntur. Nec putamus, illis ullam a nobis hac re injuriam irrogari, cum omnes uno ore nolint sua scripta æquari canonicis, sed probare jubeant, quatenus vel consentiant cum illis, vel dissentiant, jubeantque consentientia recipere, recedere vero a dissentientibus. | Wherefore we do not despise the interpretations of the holy Greek and Latin fathers, nor reject their disputations and treatises concerning sacred matters as far as they agree with the Scriptures; but we modestly dissent from them when they are found to set down things differing from, or altogether contrary to, the Scriptures. Neither do we think that we do them any wrong in this matter; seeing that they all, with one consent, will not have their writings equated with the canonical Scriptures, but command us to prove how far they agree or disagree with them, and to accept what is in agreement and to reject what is in disagreement. |
| 3. Eodem in ordine collocantur etiam conciliorum definitiones vel canones. | And in the same order also we place the decrees and canons of councils. |
| 4. Quapropter non patimur, nos in controversiis religionis vel fidei causis urgeri nudis Patrum sententiis aut conciliorum determinationibus, multo minus receptis consuetudinibus, aut etiam multitudine idem sentientium, aut longi temporis præscriptione. Ergo non alium sustinemus in causa fidei judicem, quam ipsum Deum, per Scripturas Sanctas pronunciantem, quid verum sit, quid falsum, quid sequendum sit, quidve fugiendum. Ita judiciis nonnisi spiritualium hominum, ex verbo Dei petitis, acquiescimus. Jeremias certe cæterique prophetæ sacerdotum concilia, contra legem Dei instituta, damnarunt graviter, ac monuerunt diligenter, ne audiamus Patres, aut insistamus viæ illorum, qui, in suis ambulantes adinventionibus, a lege Dei deflexerunt. | Wherefore we do not permit ourselves, in controversies about religion or matters of faith, to urge our case with only the opinions of the fathers or decrees of councils; much less by received customs, or by the large number of those who share the same opinion, or by the prescription of a long time. Who Is The Judge? Therefore, we do not admit any other judge than God himself, who proclaims by the Holy Scriptures what is true, what is false, what is to be followed, or what to be avoided. So we do assent to the judgments of spiritual men which are drawn from the Word of God. Certainly Jeremiah and other prophets vehemently condemned the assemblies of priests which were set up against the law of God; and diligently admonished us that we should not listen to the fathers, or tread in their path who, walking in their own inventions, swerved from the law of God. |
| 5. Pariter repudiamus traditiones humanas, quæ, tametsi insigniantur speciosis titulis, quasi divinæ apostolicæque sint, viva voce Apostolorum et ceu per manus virorum Apostolicorum succedentibus Episcopis, ecclesiæ traditæ; compositæ tamen cum Scripturis, ab his discrepant, discrepantiaque illa sua ostendunt, se minime esse Apostolicas. Sicut enim Apostoli inter se diversa non docuerunt, ita et Apostolici non contraria Apostolis ediderunt Quinimo impium esset adseverare, Apostolos viva voce contraria scriptis suis tradidisse. | Likewise we reject human traditions, even if they be adorned with high-sounding titles, as though they were divine and apostolical, delivered to the Church by the living voice of the apostles, and, as it were, through the hands of apostolical men to succeeding bishops which, when compared with the Scriptures, disagree with them; and by their disagreement show that they are not Apostolic at all. For as the apostles did not contradict themselves in doctrine, so the apostolic men did not set forth things contrary to the apostles. On the contrary, it would be wicked to assert that the apostles by a living voice delivered anything contrary to their writings. |
| 6. Paulus disserte dicit: Eadem se in omnibus ecclesiis docuisse (1 Cor. iv. 17); et iterum non alia, inquit, scribimus vobis, quam quæ legitis aut etiam agnoscitis (2 Cor. i. 13). Alibi rursus testatur: Se et discipulos suos (i. e., viros Apostolicos), eadem ambulare via et eodem spiritu pariter facere omnia (2 Cor. xii. 18). Habuerunt quondam et Judæi suas traditiones seniorum, sed refutatæ sunt graviter a Domino, ostendente, quod earum observatio legi Dei officiat, et his Deus frustra colatur (Matt. xv. 8, 9; Marc. vii. 6, 7). | Paul affirms expressly that he taught the same things in all churches (I Cor. 4:17). And, again, "For we write you nothing but what you can read and understand." (II Cor. 1:13). Also, in another place, he testifies that he and his disciples - that is, apostolic men - walked in the same way, and jointly by the same Spirit did all things (II Cor. 12:18). Moreover, the Jews in former times had the traditions of their elders; but these traditions were severely rejected by the Lord, indicating that the keeping of them hinders God's law, and that God is worshipped in vain by such traditions (Matt. 15:1 ff.; Mark 7:1 ff). |
| CAP. III. DE DEO, UNITATE EJUS ET TRINITATE. | CHAPTER III Of God, His Unity and Trinity |
| 1. Deum credimus et docemus unum esse essentia vel natura, per se subsistentem, sibi ad omnia sufficientem, invisibilem, incorporeum, immensum, æternum, creatorem rerum omnium, tum visibilium tum invisibilium, summum bonum, vivum, et omnia vivificantem et conservantem, omnipotentem et summe sapientem, clementem, sive misericordem, justum atque veracem. | We believe and teach that God is one in essence or nature, subsisting in himself, all sufficient in himself, invisible, incorporeal, immense, eternal, Creator of all things both visible and invisible, the greatest good, living, quickening and preserving all things, omnipotent and supremely wise, kind and merciful, just and true. |
| 2. Pluralitatem vero Deorum abominamur, quod diserte scriptum sit, Dominus Deus tuus unus est (Deut. vi. 4). Ego sum Dominus Deus tuus, non sint tibi dii alieni ante faciem meam (Exod. xx. 2, 3). Ego Dominus et nullus ultra, præter me non est Deus. An non ego Dominus et non est alius præter me solum? Deus justus et salvans, nullus præter me (Isa. xlv. 5). Ego Jehovah, Jehovah Deus, misericors, clemens et longanimis, immensæ bonitatis et veritatis (Exod. xxxiv. 6). | Truly we detest many gods because it is expressly written: "The Lord your God is one Lord" (Deut.6:4). "I am the Lord your God. You shall have no other gods before me" (Ex. 20:2-3). "I am the Lord, and there is no other god besides me. Am I not the Lord, and there is no other God beside me? A righteous God and a Savior; there is none besides me" (Isa. 45:5, 21). "The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness" (Ex. 34:6). |
| 3. Eundem nihilominus Deum immensum, unum et indivisum, credimus et docemus personis inseperabiliter et inconfuse esse distinctum, Patrem, Filium, et Spiritum Sanctum, ita ut Pater ab æterno Filium generavit, Filius generatione ineffabili genitus sit, Spiritus Sanctus vero procedat ab utroque, idque ab æterno, cum utroque adorandus: ita ut sint tres non quidem Dii sed tres Personæ consubstantiales, coæternæ et coæquales, distinctæ quoad hypostases, et ordine alia aliam præcedens, nulla tamen inæqualitate. Nam quoad naturam vel essentiam ita sunt conjunctæ, ut sint unus Deus, essentiaque divina communis sit Patri, Filio, et Spiritui Sancto. | Notwithstanding we believe and teach that the same immense, one and indivisible God is in person inseparably and without confusion distinguished as Father, Son and Holy Spirit so, as the Father has begotten the Son from eternity, the Son is begotten by an ineffable generation, and the holy Spirit truly proceeds from them both, and the same from eternity and is to be worshipped with both. Thus there are not three gods, but three persons, cosubstantial, coeternal, and coequal; distinct with respect to hypostases, and with respect to order, the one preceding the other yet without any inequality. For according to the nature or essence they are so joined together that they are one God, and the divine nature is common to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. |
| 4. Distinctionem enim personarum manifestam tradidit nobis Scriptura, angelo ad divam virginem inter alia dicente: Spiritus Sanctus superveniet in te et virtus Altissimi obumbrabit tibi, et quod nascetur sanctum, vocabitur Filius Dei (Luc. i. 35). Sed et in baptismo Christi auditur vox coelitus delata super Christo dicens: Hic est Filius meus dilectus (Matt. iii. 16, 17; Joh. i. 32). Adparebat et Spiritus Sanctus in specie columbæ. Cumque ipse juberet baptizare Dominus, jussit baptizare in nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti (Matt. xxviii. 19). Item alibi in Evangelio dixit: Spiritum Sanctum mittet Pater nomine meo (Joh. xiv. 26). Idem iterum: Cum, inquit, venerit Paracletus, quem ego mittam vobis a Patre, Spiritus veritatis, qui a Patre procedit, ille testimonium perhibebit de me, etc. (Joh. xv. 26). Breviter recipimus Symbolum Apostolorum, quod veram nobis fidem tradit. | For Scripture has delivered to us a manifest distinction of persons, the angel saying, among other things, to the Blessed Virgin, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God" (Luke 1:35). And also in the baptism of Christ a voice is heard from heaven concerning Christ, saying, "This is my beloved Son" (Math. 3:17). The Holy Spirit also appeared in the form of a dove (John 1:32). And when the Lord himself commanded the apostles to baptize, he commanded them to baptize "in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit" (Matt. 28:19). Elsewhere in the Gospel he said: "The Father will send the Holy Spirit in my name" (John 14:26), and again he said: "When the Counselor comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness to me," etc. (John 15:26). In short, we receive the Apostles' Creed because it delivers to us the true faith. |
| 5. Damnamus ergo Judæos et Mahumetistas, omnesque sacrosanctam et adorandam hanc trinitatem blasphemantes. Damnamus item omnes hæreses atque hæreticos, docentes, Filium et Spiritum Sanctum nuncupatione esse Deum; item creatum ac serviens aut alteri officiale esse in trinitate, esse in ea denique inæquale, majus aut minus, corporeum aut corporaliter effigiatum, moribus vel voluntate diversum, aut confusum vel solitarium, quasi Filius et Spiritus Sanctus affectiones et proprietates sint unius Dei Patris, ut Monarchici senserunt, Noëtiani, Praxeas, Patripassiani, Sabellius, Samosatenus, Aëtius, Macedonius, Anthropomorphitæ, Arius, et similes. | Therefore we condemn the Jews and Mohammedans, and all those who blaspheme that sacred and adorable Trinity. We also condemn all heresies and heretics who teach that the Son and Holy Spirit are God in name only, and also that there is something created and subservient, or subordinate to another in the Trinity, and that their is something unequal in it, a greater or a less, something corporeal or corporeally conceived, something different with respect to character or will, something mixed or solitary, as if the Son and Holy Spirit were the affections and properties of one God the Father, as the Monarchians, Novatians, Praxeas, Patripassians, Sabellius, Paul of Samosata, Aetius, Macedonius, Anthropomorphites, Arius, and such like, have thought. |
| CAP. IV. DE IDOLIS VEL IMAGINIBUS DEI, CHRISTI ET DIVORUM. | CHAPTER IV Of Idols or Images of God, Christ and The Saints |
| 1. Quoniam vero Deus Spiritus est invisibilis et immensa essentia, non potest sane ulla arte aut imagine exprimi, unde non veremur, cum Scriptura simulacra Dei mera nuncupare mendacia. | Since God as Spirit is in essence invisible and immense, he cannot really be expressed by any art or image. For this reason we have no fear pronouncing with Scripture that images of God are mere lies. Therefore we reject not only the idols of the Gentiles, but also the images of Christians. |
| 2. Rejicimus itaque non modo gentium idola, sed et Christianorum simulacra. Tametsi enim Christus humanam assumserit naturam, non ideo tamen assumsit, ut typum præferret statuariis atque pictoribus. Negavit se venisse ad solvendum legem et prophetas (Matt. v. 17); at lege et prophetis prohibitæ sunt imagines (Deut. vi. 23; Isa. xl. 18). Negavit, corporalem suam ecclesiæ profuturam præsentiam; Spiritu suo se nobis perpetuo adfuturum promisit (Job. xvi. 7; 2 Cor. v. 5). | Although Christ assumed human nature, yet he did not on that account assume it in order to provide a model for carvers and painters. He denied that he had come "to abolish the law and the prophets" (Matt. 5:17). But images are forbidden by the law and the prophets" (Deut. 4:15; Isa. 44:9). He denied that his bodily presence would be profitable for the Church, and promised that he would be near us by his Spirit forever (John 16:7). Who, therefore, would believe that a shadow or likeness of his body would contribute any benefit to the pious? (II Cor. 5:5). Since he abides in us by his Spirit, we are therefore the temple of God (I Cor. 3:16). But "what agreement has the temple of God with idols?" (II Cor. 6:16). |
| 3. Quis ergo crederet, umbram vel simulacrum corporis aliquam conferre piis utilitatem? Cumque maneat in nobis per Spiritum suum, sumus utique templa Dei (1 Cor. iii. 16). Quid autem convenit templo Dei cum simulacris? (2 Cor. vi. 16). Et quando beati spiritus ac divi coelites, dum hic viverent, omnem cultum sui averterunt et statuas oppugnarunt (Act. xiv. 15; Apoc. xiv. 7; xxii. 8, 9), cui verisimile videatur, divis coelitibus et angelis suas placere imagines, ad quas genua flectunt homines, detegunt capita, aliisque prosequuntur honoribus? | And since the blessed spirits and saints in heaven, while they lived here on earth, rejected all worship of themselves (Acts 3:12 f.; 14:11 ff.; Rev. 14:7; 22:9) and condemned images, shall anyone find it likely that the heavenly saints and angels are pleased with their own images before which men kneel. uncover their heads, and bestow other honors? |
| 4. Ut vero instituantur homines in religione, admoneanturque rerum divinarum et salutis suæ, prædicare jussit evangelium Dominus (Marc. xvi. 15), non pingere et pictura laicos erudire: sacramenta quoque instituit, nullibi statuas constituit. | But in fact in order to instruct men in religion and to remind them of divine things and of their salvation, the Lord commanded the preaching of the Gospel (Mark 16:15) - not to paint and to teach the laity by means of pictures. Moreover, he instituted sacraments, but nowhere did he set up images. |
| 5. Sed et passim, quoquo vertamus oculos, occurrunt res creatæ a Deo vivæ et veræ in oculos nostros, quæ, si observentur, ut par est, longe evidentius movent adspectantem, quam omnes omnium hominum imagines vel picturæ vanæ, immobiles, marcidæ atque mortuæ. De quibus vere dixit Propheta: Oculos habent et non vident, etc. (Psa. cxv. 5, 6, 7). | Furthermore, wherever we turn our eyes, we see the living and true creatures of God which, if they be observed, as is proper, make a much more vivid impression on the beholders than all images or vain, motionless, feeble and dead pictures made by men, of which the prophet truly said: "They have eyes, but do not see" (Ps. 115:5). |
| 6. Idcirco adprobamus Lactantii, veteris scriptoris, sententiam, dicentis: 'Non est dubium, quin religio nulla sit, ubicunque simulacrum est.' Recte item fecisse adserimus beatum episcopum Epiphanium, qui in foribus ecclesiæ inveniens velum, habens depictam imaginem quasi Christi vel sancti cujuspiam, scidit atque sustulit: quod contra auctoritatem Scripturarum vidisset, in Ecclesia Christi hominis pendere imaginem. Ideoque præcipiebat, ne deinceps in Ecclesia Christi ejusmodi vela, quæ contra religionem nostram veniunt, adpenderentur, sed tolleretur potius illa scrupulositas, quæ indigna sit Ecclesia Christi et populis fidelibus. Præterea adprobamus hanc S. Augustini de vera religione sententiam: 'Non sit nobis religio humanorum operum cultus. Meliores enim sunt ipsi artifices, qui talia fabricantur, quos tamen colere non debemus (Epist. 55). | Therefore we approved the judgment of Lactantius, and ancient writer, who says: "Undoubtedly no religion exists where there is an image." We also assert that the blessed bishop Epiphanius did right when, finding on the doors of a church a veil on which was painted a picture supposedly of Christ or some saint, he ripped it down and took it away, because to see a picture of a man hanging in the Church of Christ was contrary to the authority of Scripture. Wherefore he charged that from henceforth no such veils, which were contrary to our religion, should be hung in the Church of Christ, and that rather such questionable things, unworthy of the Church of Christ and the faithful people, should be removed. Moreover, we approve of this opinion of St. Augustine concerning true religion: "Let not the worship of the works of men be a religion for us. For the artists themselves who make such things are better; yet we ought not to worship them" (De Vera Religione, cap. 55). |
| CAP. V. DE ADORATIONE, CULTU ET INVOCATIONE DEI PER UNICUM MEDIATOREM JESUM CHRISTUM. | CHAPTER V Of The Adoration, Worship and Invocation of God Through The Only Mediator Jesus Christ |
| 1. Deum verum docemus solum adorare et colere. Hunc honorem communicamus nemini, juxta mandatum Domini: Dominum Deum tuum adorabis, et ilium solum coles, vel, et huic uni servies (Matt. iv. 10). Certe omnes Prophetæ gravissime invecti sunt contra populum Israelis, quandocunque deos alienos, non unum solum Deum verum adorarunt et coluerunt. | We teach that the true God alone is to be adored and worshipped. This honor we impart to none other, according to the commandment of the Lord, "You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve" (Math. 4:10). Indeed, all the prophets severely inveighed against the people of Israel whenever they adored and worshipped strange gods, and not the only true God. |
| 2. Adorandum autem colendumque docemus Deum, sienti ipse nos colere docuit, in spiritu videlicet et veritate (Joh. iv. 29), non cum ulla superstitione, sed cum sinceritate, secundum verbum ejus, ne aliquando ad nos etiam dicat: Quis requisivit hæc ex manibus vestris? (Isa. lxvi. 3; Jer. vi. 20.) Nam et Paulus: Deus non colitur, ait, humanis manibus, tanquam, qui ipse aliquo indigeat (Act. xvii. 25). | But we teach that God is to be adored and worshipped as he himself has taught us to worship, namely, "in spirit and in truth" (John 4:23 f.), not with any superstition, but with sincerity, according to his Word; lest at anytime he should say to us: "Who has required these things from your hands?" (Isa. 1:12; Jer. 6:20). For Paul also says: "God is not served by human hands, as though he needed anything," etc. (Acts 17:25). |
| 3. Eundem solum invocamus in omnibus discriminibus et casibus vitæ nostræ, idque per interventum unici mediatoris et intercessoris nostri Jesu Christi. Diserte enim præceptum est nobis: Invoca me in die tribulationis, et eruam te, et glorificabis me (Psa. 1. 15). Sed et liberalissime nobis promissum est a Domino dicente: Quidquid petieritis a Patre meo, dabit vobis (Joh. xvi. 23); item: Venite ad me, quotquot laboratis et onerati estis, et ego reficiam vos (Matt. xi. 28). Et cum scriptum sit: Quomodo invocabunt eum, in quem non crediderunt? (Rom. x. 14.) Nos vero cum in solum Deum credamus, solum certe invocamus, et quidem per Christum. Unus enim Deus, ait Apostolus, et unus mediator Dei et hominum Jesus Christus (1 Tim. ii. 5), item, Si quis peccaverit, advocatum habemus apud Patrem Jesum Christum justum (1 Joh. ii. 1). | In all crises and trials of our life we call upon him alone, and that by the mediation of our only mediator and intercessor, Jesus Christ. For we have been explicitly commanded: "Call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me" (Ps. 1:15). Moreover, we have a most generous promise from the Lord Who said: "If you ask anything of the Father, he will give it to you" (John 16:23), and: "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest: (Matt 11:28). And since it is written: "How are men to call upon him in whom they have not believed?" (Rom. 10:14), and since we do believe in God alone, we assuredly call upon him alone, and we do so through Christ. For as the apostle says, "There is one God and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus? (I Tim. 2:5), and, "If any one does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous," etc. (I John 2:1). |
| 4. Proinde sanctos coelites sive divos nec adoramus, neque colimus nec invocamus, neque illos coram Patre pro intercessoribus aut media toribus nostris agnoscimus. Sufficit enim nobis Deus et Mediator Christus, neque honorem soli Deo et Filio ejus debitum aliis communicamus; quod ille diserte dixerit: Gloriam meam alteri non dabo (Isa. xlii. 8), et quod Petrus dixit: Non aliud hominibus nomen datum est, in quo oporteat salvos fieri, nisi nomen Christi (Act. iv. 12). In quo sane, qui per fidem adquiescunt, non quærunt extra Christum quidquam. | For this reason we do not adore, worship, or pray to the saints in heaven, or to other gods, and we do not acknowledge them as our intercessors or mediators before the Father in heaven. For God and Christ the Mediator are sufficient for us; neither do we give to others the honor that is due to God alone and to his Son, because he has expressly said: "My glory I give to no other: (Isa. 42:8), and because Peter has said: "There is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved," except the name of Christ (Acts 4:12). In him, those who give their assent by faith do not seek anything outside Christ. |
| 5. Interim divos nec contemnimus, nec vulgariter de eis sentimus. Agnoscimus enim, eos esse viva Christi membra, amicos Dei, qui carnem et mundum gloriose vicerunt. Diligimus ergo illos ut fratres, et honoramus etiam, non tamen cultu aliquo, sed honorabili de iis existimatione, denique laudibus justis. Imitamur item eos. Nam imitatores fidei virtutumque ipsorum, consortes item æternæ salutis esse, illis æternum apud Deum cohabitare et cum eis in Christo exsultare, desideriis votisque ardentissimis exoptamus. Atque hac in parte adprobamus illam S. Augustini de vera religione sententiam: 'Non sit nobis religio cultus hominum mortuorum. Quia si pie vixerint, non sic habentur, ut tales quærant honores, sed ilium a nobis coli volunt, quo illuminante, lætantur, meriti sui nos esse conservos. Honorandi ergo sunt propter imitationem, non adorandi propter religionem,' etc. | At the same time we do not despise the saints or think basely of them. For we acknowledge them to be living members of Christ and friends of God who have gloriously overcome the flesh and the world. Hence we love them as brothers, and also honor them; yet not with any kind of worship but by an honorable opinion of them and just praises of them. We also imitate them. For with ardent longings and supplications we earnestly desire to be imitators of their faith and virtues, to share eternal salvation with them, to dwell eternally with them in the presence of God, and to rejoice with them in Christ. And in this respect we approve of the opinion of St. Augustine in De Vera Religione: "Let not our religion be the cult of men who have died. For if they have lived holy lives, they are not to be thought of as seeking such honors; on the contrary, they want us to worship him by whose illumination they rejoice that we are fellow-servants of his merits. They are therefore to be honored by the way of imitation, but not to be adored in a religious manner," etc. |
| 6. Multo vero minus credimus, reliquias divorum adorandas esse aut colendas. Veteres isti sancti satis honorasse videbantur mortuos suos, si honeste mandassent terræ reliquias, postquam astra petiisset spiritus: ac omnium nobilissimas reliquias majorum æstimabant esse virtutes, doctrinam et fidem: quas ut commendabant cum laude mortuorum, ita eas exprimere adnitebantur, dum vivebant in terris. | Much less do we believe that the relics of the saints are to be adored and reverenced. Those ancient saints seemed to have sufficiently honored their dead when they decently committed their remains to the earth after the spirit had ascended on high. And they thought that the most noble relics of their ancestors were their virtues, their doctrine, and their faith. Moreover, as they commend these "relics" when praising the dead, so they strive to copy them during their life on earth. |
| 7. Illi ipsi veteres non jurarunt, nisi per nomen solius Dei Jehovah, sicuti lege divina est præceptum: qua sicut vetitum est jurare per nomina alienorum deorum (Exod. xxiii. 13; Deut. x. 20), sic nos juramenta per divos requisita non præstamus. Rejicimus ergo in his omnibus doctrinam divis coelitibus plus nimium tribuentem. | These ancient men did not swear except by the name of the only God, Yahweh, as prescribed by the divine law. Therefore, as it is forbidden to swear by the names of strange gods (Ex. 23:;13; Deut. 10:20), so we do not perform oaths to the saints that are demanded of us. We therefore reject in all these matters a doctrine that ascribes much too much to the saints in heaven. |
| CAP. VI. DE PROVIDENTIA DEI. | CHAPTER VI Of the Providence of God |
| 1. Dei hujus sapientis, æterni et omnipotentis providentia credimus cuncta in coelo et in terra et in creaturis omnibus conservari et gubernari. David enim testificatur et ait: Excelsus super omnes gentes Dominus, et super coelos gloria ejus. Quis sicut Dominus Deus noster, qui in altis habitat, et se demittit, ut inspiciat, quæ sunt in coelo et in terra? (Psa. cxiii. 5, 6). Idem rursus: Omnes vias meas prævidisti, quia non est verbum in lingua mea, quod non universum noveris, Domine (Psa. cxxxix. 3, 4). Testificatur et Paulus, et ait: Per ipsum vivimus, movemur et sumus (Act. xvii. 28). Et: Ex illo et per ilium et in ilium omnia (Rom. xi. 36). | We believe that all things in heaven and on earth, and in all creatures, are preserved and governed by the providence of this wise, eternal and almighty God. For David testifies and says: "The Lord is high above all nations, and his glory above the heavens! Who is like the Lord our God, who is seated on high, who looks far down upon the heavens and the earth?" (Ps. 113:4 ff.). Again: "Thou searchest out...all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, lo, O Lord, Thou knowest it altogether" (Ps. 139:3 f.). Paul also testifies and declares: "In him we live and move and have our being" (Acts 17:28), and "from him and through him and to him are all things" (Rom. 11:36). |
| 2. Verissime ergo et secundum Scripturam pronunciavit Augustinus (in libro De agone Christi, cap. viii.): 'Dominus dixit, nonne duo passeres asse veniunt, et unus eorum non cadit in terram sine voluntate Patris vestri? (Matt. x. 29). Ita vero loquens ostendere voluit, quidquid vilissimum homines putant, omnipotentia Domini gubernari. Sic enim et volatilia coeli ab eo pasci, et lilia agri ab eo vestiri, veritas loquitur, quæ capillos etiam nostros numeratos esse dicit, etc. (Matt, vi. 26–29).' | Therefore Augustine most truly and according to Scripture declared in his book De Agone Christi, cap. 8, "The Lord said, 'Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground without your Father's will' " (Matt. 10:29). By speaking thus he wanted to show that what men regard as of least value is governed by God's omnipotence. For he who is the truth says that the birds of the air are fed by him and lilies of the field are clothed by him; he also says that the hairs of our head are numbered (Matt. 6:26 ff.). |
| 3. Damnamus ergo Epicureos, providentiam Dei abnegantes, omnesque illos, qui blaspheme dicunt, Deum versari circa cardines coeli, et nos atque nostra nec videre nec curare. Damnavit hos etiam David, propheta regius, qui dixit: Quousque Domine! quousque impii exsultabunt? Dicunt: Dominus non videt, neque intelligit Deus Jacob. Intelligite stupidi in populo et stulti! quando demum sapietis? Is, qui aurem condidit, an non audiret? et qui oculum finxit, quomodo non videret? (Psa. xciv. 7–9). | We therefore condemn the Epicureans who deny the providence of God, and all those who blasphemously say that God is busy with the heavens and neither sees nor cares about us and our affairs. David, the royal prophet, also condemned this when he said: "O Lord, how long shall the wicked exult? They say, "The Lord does not see; the God of Jacob does not perceive." Understand, O dullest of the people! Fools, when will you be wise? He who planted the ear, does he not hear? He who formed the eye, does he not see?" (Ps. 94:3, 7-9). |
| 4. Interim vero media, per quæ operatur divina providentia, non aspernamur, ut inutilia, sed his hactenus nos accomodandos esse docemus, quatenus in verbo Dei nobis commendantur. Unde illorum voces temerarias improbamus, qui dicunt: si providentia Dei omnia geruntur, innutiles certe sunt conatus nostri et studia nostra: satis fuerit, si omnia divinæ permittamus providentiæ gubernanda, nec erit, quod porro simus solliciti de re ulla, aut quidquam faciamus. Tametsi enim Paulus agnosceret, se in Dei providentia navigare, qui ipse dixerat, oportet te et Romæ testificari (Act. xxiii. 11): qui insuper promiserat dixeratque: Jactura nulla erit ullius animæ, nec cadet pilus de capite vestro (Act. xxvii. 22, 34); nihilominus meditantibus fugam nautis, dicit idem ille Paulus centurioni et militibus: Nisi hi in navi manserint, vos servari non poteritis (ver. 31). Deus enim, qui cuilibet rei suum destinavit finem, is et principium et media, per quæ ad finem usque pervenitur, ordinavit. Ethnici fortunæ res attribuunt cæcæ, vel incerto casui. S. Jacobus non vult, ut dicamus, hodie et cras in illam urbem proficiscemur et negotiabimur, sed addit: Pro eo, quod dicere debueritis, si Dominus voluerit et vixerimus, hoc vel illud faciemus (Jac. iv. 13, 15); et Augustinus: 'Omnia quæ vanis videntur in rerum natura temere fieri, non faciunt, nisi verbum ejus' (Enarrat. in Psa. cxlviii.). Ita videbatur forte fortuna fieri, quod Saul quærens Patris asinas, incidit in prophetam Samuelem, sed antea dixerat Dominus ad prophetam: Cras mittam ad te virum de tribu Benjamin (1 Sam. ix. 16). | Nevertheless, we do not spurn as useless the means by which divine providence works, but we teach that we are to adapt ourselves to them in so far as they are recommended to us in the Word of God. Wherefore we disapprove of the rash statements of those who say that if all things are managed by the providence of God, then our efforts and endeavors are in vain. It will be sufficient if we leave everything to the governance of divine providence, and we will not have to worry about anything or do anything. For although Paul understood that he sailed under the providence of God who had said to him: "You must bear witness also at Rome" (Acts 23:11), and in addition had given him the promise, "There will be no loss of life among you...and not a hair is to perish from the head of any of you" (Acts 27:22,34), yet when the sailors were nevertheless thinking about abandoning ship the same Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers: "Unless these men stay in the ship, you cannot be saved" (Acts 27:31). For God, who has appointed to everything its end, has ordained the beginning and the means by which it reaches its goal. The heathen ascribe things to blind fortune and uncertain chance. But St. James does not want us to say: "Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and trade," but adds: "Instead you ought to say, `If the Lord wills, we shall live and we shall do this or that' " (James 4:13, 15). And Augustine says: "Everything which to vain men seems to happen in nature by accident, occurs only by his Word, because it happens only at his command" (Enarrationes in Psalmos 148). Thus it seemed to happen by mere chance when Saul, while seeking his father's asses, unexpectedly fell in with the prophet Samuel. But previously the Lord had said to the prophet: "Tomorrow I will send to you a man from the land of Benjamin" (I Sam 9:15). |
| CAP. VII. DE CREATIONE RERUM OMNIUM, DE ANGELIS, DIABOLO, ET HOMINE. | CHAPTER VII Of The Creation of All Things: Of Angels, the Devil, and Man |
| 1. Deus hic bonus et omnipotens creavit omnia, cum visibilia, tum invisibilia, per Verbum suum coæternum, eademque quoque conservat per Spiritum suum coæternum, testificante Davide atque dicente: Verbo Dei coeli facti sunt, et in Spiritu oris ejus omnis virtus eorum (Psa. xxxiii. 6). Omnia autem, quæ condidit Deus, erant, ut Scriptura ait, valde bona (Gen. i. 31), et ad utilitatem usumque hominis condita. | This good and almighty God created all things, both visible and invisible, by his co-eternal Word, and preserves them by his co-eternal Spirit, as David testified when he said: "By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and all their host by the breath of his mouth" (Ps. 33:6). And, as Scripture says, everything that God had made was very good, and was made for the profit and use of man. |
| 2. Cuncta vero illa dicimus ab uno profecta esse principio. Damnamus ergo Manichæos et Marcionitas, qui impie fingebant duas substantias atque natural boni et mali, duo item principia, et duos sibi adversos Deos, bonum et malum. | Now we assert that all those things proceed from one beginning. Therefore, we condemn the Manichaeans and Marcionites who impiously imagined two substances and natures, one good and the other evil; also two beginnings and two gods contrary to each other, a good and an evil one. |
| 3. Inter omnes creaturas præstant angeli atque homines. De angelis pronunciat Scriptura divina: Qui creat angelos suos spiritus, et ministros suos flammam ignis (Psa. civ. 4); item: Nonne omnes sunt administratorii spiritus, qui in ministerium emittuntur, propter eos, qui hæredes sunt salutis? (Heb. i. 14). Dominus vero Jesus ipse testificatur de diabolo: Ille, inquit, homicida erat ab initio, et in veritate non stetit, quia non est veritas in eo; cum loquitur mendacium, ex propriis loquitur, quia mendax est, atque ejus rei pater (Joh. viii. 44). | Among all creatures, angels and men are most excellent. Concerning angels, Holy Scripture declares: "who makest the winds thy messengers, fire and flame thy ministers" (Ps 104:4). Also it says: "Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to serve, for the sake of those who are to obtain salvation?" (Heb. 1:14). Concerning the Devil, the Lord Jesus Himself testifies: "He was a murderer from the beginning, and has nothing to do with the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks according to his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies" (John 8:44). |
| 4. Docemus ergo, angelos alios quidem perstitisse in obedientia, ac ad fidele Dei et hominum ministerium esse deputatos: alios vero sua sponte lapsos, et in exitium esse præcipitatos, factosque esse omnis boni fideliumque hostes, etc. | Consequently we teach that some angels persisted in obedience and were appointed for faithful service to God and men, but others fell of their own free will and were cast into destruction, becoming enemies of all good and of the faithful, etc. |
| 5. Jam vero de homine dicit Scriptura, quod ab initio conditus sit bonus, ad imaginem et similitudinem Dei; quod Deus collocaverit eum in paradisum, subjeceritque ei omnia (Gen. i. 27, 28; ii. 8; v. 1). Id, quod David magnifice celebrat in Psa. viii. Addidit ei insuper conjugem ac benedixit eis (ii. 22 sqq.). | Now concerning, Scripture says that in the beginning he was made good according to the image and likeness of God; that God placed him in paradise and made all thing subject to him (Gen. chp 2). This is what David magnificently sets forth in Psalm 8. Moreover, God gave him a wife and blessed them. |
| 6. Dicimus autem, constare hominem duabus ac diversis quidem substantiis, in una persona, anima immortali, utpote quæ separata a corpore, nec dormit, nec interit, et corpore mortali, quod tamen in ultimo judicio a mortuis resuscitabitur, ut totus homo inde, vel in vita, vel in morte, æternum maneat. | We also affirm that man consists of two different substances in one person: an immortal soul which, when separate from the body, neither sleeps nor dies, and a mortal body which will nevertheless be raised up from the dead at the last judgement, in order that then the whole man, either in life or in death, abide forever. |
| 7. Damnamus omnes, qui irrident aut subtilibus disputationibus in dubium vocant immortalitatem animarum, aut animam dicunt dormire, aut partem esse Dei. Breviter, damnamus omnes omnium opiniones, quotquot diversa sentiunt de creatione, de angelis, et dæmonibus, et homine, ab iis, quæ nobis tradita sunt per Scripturas Sanctas, in Apostolica Christi Ecclesia. | We condemn all who ridicule or by subtle arguments cast doubt upon the immortality of the soul, or who say that the soul sleeps or is a part of God. In short, we condemn all opinions of all men, however many, that depart from what has been delivered unto us by the Holy Scriptures in the Apostolic Church of Christ concerning creation, angels, and demons, and man. |
| CAP. VIII. DE LAPSU HOMINIS, ET PECCATO, ET CAUSA PECCATI. | CHAPTER VIII Of Man's Fall, Sin and the Cause of Sin |
| 1. Fuit homo ab initio a Deo conditus ad imaginem Dei, in justitia et sanctitate veritatis, bonus et rectus. Sed instinctu serpentis, et sua culpa a bonitate et rectitudine deficiens, peccato, morti, variisque calamitatibus factus est obnoxius. Et qualis factus est a lapsu, tales sunt omnes, qui ex ipso prognati sunt, peccato, inquam, morti, variisque obnoxii calamitatibus. | In the beginning, man was made according to the image of God, in righteousness and true holiness, good and upright. But when at the instigation of the serpent and by his own fault he abandoned goodness and righteousness, he became subject to sin, death and various calamities. And what he became by the fall, that is, subject to sin, death and various calamities, so are all those who have descended from him. |
| 2. Peccatum autem intelligimus esse nativam illam hominis corruptionem, ex primis illis nostris parentibus, in nos omnes derivatam vel propagatam, qua concupiscentiis pravis inmersi, et a bono aversi, ad omne vero malum propensi, pleni omni nequitia, diffidentia, contemtu et odio Dei, nihil boni ex nobis ipsis facere, imo ne cogitare quidem possumus. | By sin we understand that innate corruption of man which has been derived or propagated in us all from our first parents, by which we, immersed in perverse desires and averse to all good, are inclined to all evil. Full of all wickedness, distrust, contempt and hatred of God, we are unable to do or even to think anything good of ourselves. |
| 3. Quinimo accedentibus jam etiam annis, cogitationibus, dictis et factis pravis contra legem Dei admissis, corruptos fructus, mala arbore dignos, proferimus (Matt. xii. 33): quo nomine, merito nostro, iræ Dei obnoxii, poenis subjicimur justis; adeoque a Deo abjecti essemus omnes, nisi reduxisset nos Christus liberator. | Moreover, even as we grow older, so by wicked thoughts, words and deeds committed against God's law, we bring forth corrupt fruit worthy of an evil tree (Matt. 12:33 ff.). For this reason by our own deserts, being subject to the wrath of God, we are liable to just punishment, so that all of us would have been cast away by God if Christ, the Deliverer, had not brought us back. |
| 4. Per mortem itaque intelligimus non tantum corpoream mortem, quæ omnibus nobis semel, propter peccata, est obeunda, sed etiam supplicia sempiterna, peccatis et corruptioni nostræ debita. Nam Apostolus: Eramus mortui, inquit, delictis ac peccatis, et eramus naturâ filii iræ, sicut et ceteri. Sed Deus, qui dives est misericordia, cum essemus mortui per delicta, convivificavit nos una cum Christo (Eph. ii. 1, 3, 4, 5). Item: Sicut per unum hominem peccatum in mundum in troiit, ac per peccatum mors, et ita in omnes homines mors transiit, in quo omnes peccarunt (Rom. v. 12). | By death we understand not only bodily death, which all of us must once suffer on account of sins, but also eternal punishment due to our sins and corruption. For the apostle says: "We were dead through trespasses and sins...and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, who is rich in mercy...even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ" (Eph. 2:1 ff.) Also: "As sin came into the world through one man and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all men sinned" (Rom. 5:12). |
| 5. Agnoscimus ergo, in omnibus hominibus esse originale peccatum; agnoscimus, omnia alia peccata, quæ ex hoc oriuntur, et dici, et vere esse peccata, quaiicunque nomine nuncupentur, sive mortalia, sive venialia, sive illud quoque, quod vocatur peccatum in Spiritum Sanctum, quod nunquam remittitur (Marc. iii. 29; 1 Joh. v. 16). | We therefore acknowledge that there is original sin in all men. We acknowledge that all other sins which arise from it are called and truly are sins, no matter by what name they may be called, whether mortal, venial or that which is said to be the sin against the Holy Spirit which is never forgiven (Mark 3:29; I John 5:16). |
| 6. Fatemur etiam, peccata non esse æqualia, licet ex eodem corruptionis et incredulitatis fonte exoriantur, sed alia aliis esse graviora. Sicut Dominus dixit: Sodomæ tolerabilius futurum, quam urbi rejicienti verbum evanqelii (Matt. x. 14, 15; xi. 24; 1 Joh. v. 16, 17). | We also confess that sins are not equal; although they arise from the same fountain of corruption and unbelief, some are more serious than others. As the Lord said, it will be more tolerable for Sodom than for the city that rejects the word of the Gospel (Matt. 10:14 f.; 11:20 ff.). |
| 7. Damnamus ergo omnes, qui his contraria docuerunt, imprimis vero Pelagium et omnes Pelagianos, una cum Jovinianistis, peccata cum Stoicis paria facientibus. Sentimus per omnia in hac causa cum S. Augustino, qui sua ex Scripturis Sanctis protulit atque defendit. | We therefore condemn all who have taught contrary to this, especially Pelagius and all Pelagians, together with the Jovinians who, with the Stoics, regard all sins as equal. In this whole matter we agree with St. Augustine who derived and defended his view from Holy Scriptures. |
| 8. Damnamus præterea Florinum et Blastum, contra quos et Irenæus scripsit, et omnes, qui Deum faciunt auctorem peccati. Cum diserte scriptum sit: Tu non es Deus, qui velit iniquitatem. Odisti omnes, qui operantur iniquitatem, perdes omnes, qui loquuntur mendacium (Psa. v. 5–7). Et iterum: Cum loquitur diabolus mendacium, ex propriis loquitur, quia mendax est, et pater ejus rei (Joh. viii. 44). Sed et in nobis ipsis satis est vitii corruptionisque, ut nihil necesse sit, Deum infundere nobis novam aut auctiorem pravitatem. | Moreover, we condemn Florinus and Blastus, against whom Irenaeus wrote, and all who make God the author of sin. It is expressly written: "Thou art not a God who delights in wickedness. Thou hatest all evildoers. Thou destroyest those who speak lies" (Ps. 5:4 ff.). And again: "When the devil lies, he speaks according to his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies" (John 8:44). Moreover, there is enough sinfulness and corruption in us that it is not necessary for God to infuse into us a new or still greater perversity. |
| 9. Proinde quando dicitur in Scripturis Deus indurare, excoecare, et tradere in reprobum sensum, intelligendum id est, quod justo judicio Deus id faciat, tanquam judex et ultor justus. Denique quotiescunque Deus aliquid maii in Scriptura facere dicitur atque videtur, non ideo dicitur, quod homo malum non faciat, sed quod Deus fieri sinat et non prohibeat, justo suo judicio, qui prohibere potuisset, si voluisset; vel, quod malo hominum bene utatur, ut peccatis fratrum Josephi: vel quod ipse peccata gubernet, ne latius, quam par est, erumpant atque grassentur, S. Augustinus, in Enchiridio suo, 'Miro modo, inquit, et ineffabili non fit præter voluntatem ejus, quod etiam fit contra voluntatem ejus. Quia non fieret, si fieri non sineret. nec utique nolens sinit, sed volens. Nec sineret bonus fieri male, nisi omnipotens etiam de malo facere posset bene.' Hæc ille. | When, therefore, it is said in Scripture that God hardens, blinds and delivers up to a reprobate mind, it is to be understood that God does it by a just judgment as a just Judge and Avenger. Finally, as often as God in Scripture is said or seems to do something evil, it is not thereby said that man does not do evil, but that God permits it and does not prevent it, according to his just judgment, who could prevent it if he wished, or because he turns man's evil into good, as he did in the case of the sin of Joseph's brethren, or because he governs sins lest they break out and rage more than is appropriate. St. Augustine writes in his Enchiridion: "What happens contrary to his will occurs, in a wonderful and ineffable way, not apart from his will. For it would not happen if he did not allow it. And yet he does not allow it unwillingly but willingly. But he who is good would not permit evil to be done, unless, being omnipotent, he could bring good out of evil." Thus wrote Augustine. |
| 10. Reliquas quæstiones, an Deus voluerit labi Adamum, aut impulerit ad lapsum, aut quare lapsum non impediverit, et similes quæstiones deputamus inter curiosas (nisi forte cum hæreticorum aut alioqui importunorum hominum improbitas cogit ista etiam ex verbo Dei explicare, sicut fecerunt non raro pii ecclesiæ doctores), scientes Dominum prohibuisse, ne homo ederet de fructu prohibito, et transgressionem punivisse; sed et mala non esse, quæ fiunt, respectu providentiæ Dei, voluntatis ac potestatis Dei, sed respectu Satanæ et voluntatis nostræ, voluntati Dei repugnantis. | Other questions, such as whether God willed Adam to fall, or incited him to fall, or why he did not prevent the fall, and similar questions, we reckon among curious questions (unless perchance the wickedness of heretics or of other churlish men compels us also to explain them out of the Word of God, as the godly teachers of the Church have frequently done), knowing that the Lord forbade man to eat of the forbidden fruit and punished his transgression. We also know that what things are done are not evil with respect to the providence, will, and the power of God, but in respect of Satan and our will opposing the will of God. |
| CAP. IX. DE LIBERO ARBITRIO ADEOQUE VIRIBUS HOMINIS. | CHAPTER IX Of Free Will, and Thus of Human Powers |
| 1. Docemus in hac causa, quæ semper in Ecclesia multas peperit conflictationes, conditionem vel statum hominis triplicem esse considerandum. Principio qualis fuerit homo ante lapsum, rectus nimirum et liber, qui et in bono manere et ad malum potuerit declinare; declinaverit autem ad malum, implicaveritque peccato et morti, et se, et omne genus mortalium, sicuti dictum est antea. | In this matter, which has always produced many conflicts in the Church, we teach that a threefold condition or state of man is to be considered. There is the state in which man was in the beginning before the fall, namely, upright and free, so that he could both continue in goodness and decline to evil. However, he declined to evil, and has involved himself and the whole human race in sin and death, as has been said already. |
| 2. Deinde considerandum est, qualis fuerit homo post lapsum. Non sublatus est quidem homini intellectus, non erepta ei voluntas, et prorsus in lapidem vel truncum est commutatus; ceterum illa ita sunt immutata et inminuta in homine, ut non possint amplius, quod potuerunt ante lapsum. Intellectus enim obscuratus est, voluntas vero ex libera facta est voluntas serva. Nam servit peccato, non nolens, sed volens. | Then we are to consider what man was after the fall. To be sure, his reason was not taken from him, nor was he deprived of will, and he was not entirely changed into a stone or a tree. But they were so altered and weakened that they no longer can do what they could before the fall. For the understanding is darkened, and the will which was free has become an enslaved will. Now it serves sin, not unwillingly but willingly. |
| 3. Etenim voluntas non noluntas dicitur. Ergo quoad malum sive peccatum, homo non coactus vel a Deo vel a diabolo, sed sua sponte, malum facit; et hac parte liberrimi est arbitrii. Quod vero non raro cernimus, pessima hominis facinora et consilia impediri a Deo, ne finem suum consequantur, non tollit homini libertatem in malo, sed Deus potentia sua prævenit, quod homo alias libere instituit, sicut fratres Josephi Josephum libere instituunt tollere; sed non possunt, quod Dei consilio aliud visum esset. | And indeed, it is called a will, not an unwill (ing). Therefore, in regard to evil or sin, man is not forced by God or by the devil but does evil by his own free will, and in this respect he has a most free will. But when we frequently see that the worst crimes and designs of men are prevented by God from reaching their purpose, this does not take away man's freedom in doing evil, but God by his own power prevents what man freely planned otherwise. Thus Joseph's brothers freely determined to get rid of him, but they were unable to do it because something else seemed good to the counsel of God. |
| 4. Quantum vero ad bonum et ad virtutes, intellectus hominis non recte judicat de divinis ex semetipso. Requirit enim Scriptura Evangelica et Apostolica regenerationem abs quolibet nostrûm, qui salvari velimus. Unde nativitas prior ex Adamo ad salutem nihil nobis confert. Paulus, animalis homo, ait, non percipit ea, quæ sunt Spiritus Dei, etc. (1 Cor. ii. 14). Idem: Negat alicubi nos idoneos esse, ex nobis ipsis cogitare aliquid boni (2 Cor. iii. 5). | In regard to goodness and virtue man's reason does not judge rightly of itself concerning divine things. For the evangelical and apostolic Scripture requires regeneration of whoever among us wishes to be saved. Hence our first birth from Adam contributes nothing to out salvation. Paul says: "The unspiritual man does not receive the gifts of the Spirit of God," etc. (I Cor. 2:14). And in another place he denies that we of ourselves are capable of thinking anything good (II Cor. 3:5) |
| 5. Constat vero, mentem vel intellectum ducem esse voluntatis, cum autem cæcus sit dux, claret, quonsque et voluntas pertingat. Proinde nullum est ad bonum homini arbitrium liberum, nondum renato, vires nullæ ad perficiendum bonum. Dominus in Evangelio dicit: Amen, amen dico vobis, quod omnis, qui facit peccatum, servus est peccati (Joh. viii. 34). Et Paulus Apostolus: Affectus carnis, inquit, inimicitia est adversus Deum, nam legi Dei non subditur, imo ne potest quidem (Rom. viii. 1). | Now it is known that the mind or intellect is the guide of the will, and when the guide is blind, it is obvious how far the will reaches. Wherefore, man not yet regenerate has no free will for good, no strength to perform what is good. The Lord says in the Gospel: "Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin" (John 8:34). And the apostle Paul says: "The mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God's law, indeed it cannot" (Rom. 8:7). Yet in regard to earthly things, fallen man is not entirely lacking in understanding. |
| 6. Porro terrenarum rerum intelligentia in lapso homine non est nulla. Reliquit enim Deus ex misericordia ingenium, multum tamen distans ab eo, quod inerat ante lapsum. Jubet Deus excolere ingenium, et addit dona simul et profectum. Et manifestum est, quam nihil proficiamus in artibus omnibus sine benedictione Dei. Scriptura certe omnes artes ad Deum refert. Nam et ethnici retulerunt artium origines ad inventores Deos. | For God in his mercy has permitted the powers of the intellect to remain, though differing greatly from what was in man before the fall. God commands us to cultivate our natural talents, and meanwhile adds both gifts and success. And it is obvious that we make no progress in all the arts without God's blessing. In any case, Scripture refers all the arts to God; and, indeed, the heathen trace the origin of the arts to the gods who invented them. |
| 7. Postremo videndum, an regenerati sint liberi arbitrii, et quatenus. In regeneratione intellectus illuminatur, per Spiritum Sanctum, ut et mysteria et voluntatem Dei intelligat. Et voluntas ipsa non tantum mutatur per Spiritum, set etiam instruitur facultatibus, ut sponte velit et possit bonum (Rom. viii. 5, 6). Nisi hoc dederimus, negabimus Christianam libertatem, et inducemus legalem servitutem. Sed et Propheta facit Deum loquentem: Dabo legem meam in mentes illorum, et in cordibus eorum inscribam eas (Jer. xxxi. 33). Dominus quoque dicit in Evangelio: Si Filius vos liberaverit, vere liberi estis (Joh. viii. 36; Ezek. xxxvi. 26). Paulus quoque ad Philippenses (i. 24): Vobis, donatum est, inquit, pro Christo, non solum, ut in eum credatis, sed etiam ut pro illo patiamini. Et iterum: Persuasum habeo, quod is, qui coepit in vobis bonum opus, perficiet usque ad diem Domini Jesu (Phil. i. 6); item: Deus est, qui agit in vobis, et ut velitis, et ut efficiatis (Phil. ii. 13). | Finally, we must see whether the regenerate have free wills, and to what extent. In regeneration the understanding is illumined by the Holy Spirit in order that it many understand both the mysteries and the will of God. And the will itself is not only changed by the Spirit, but it is also equipped with faculties so that it wills and is able to do the good of its own accord (Rom. 8:1ff.). Unless we grant this, we will deny Christian liberty and introduce a legal bondage. But the prophet has God saying: "I will put my law within them, and I will write it upon their hearts" (Jer. 31:33; Ezek. 36:26f.). The Lord also says in the Gospel: "If the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed" (John 8:36). Paul also writes to the Philippians: "It has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake" (Phil. 1:29). Again: "I am sure that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ" (v. 6). Also: "God is at work in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure" (ch. 2:13). |
| 8. Ubi interim duo observanda esse docemus: Primum, regeneratos in boni electione et operatione, non tantum agere passive, sed active. Aguntur enim a Deo, ut agant ipsi, quod agunt. Recte enim Augustinus adducit illud, quod Deus dicitur noster adjutor. Nequit autem adjuvari, nisi is, qui aliquid agit. Manichæi spoliabant hominem omni actione, et veluti saxum et truncum faciebant. | However, in this connection we teach that there are two things to be observed: First, that the regenerate, in choosing and doing good, work not only passively but actively. For they are moved by God that they may do themselves what they do. For Augustine rightly adduces the saying that "God is said to be our helper. But no one can be helped unless he does something." The Manichaeans robbed man of all activity and made him like a stone or a block of wood. |
| 9. Secundum, in regeneratis remanere infirmitatem. Cum enim inhabitet in nobis peccatum, et caro in renatis obluctetur spiritui, in finem usque vitæ nostræ, non expedite omnino perficiunt regenerati, quod instituerant. Confirmantur hæc ab Apostolo ad Rom. vii. et Gal. v. | Secondly, in the regenerate a weakness remains. For since sin dwells in us, and in the regenerate the flesh struggles against the Spirit till the end of our lives, they do not easily accomplish in all things what they had planned. These things are confirmed by the apostle in Rom., ch. 7, and Gal., ch. 5. |
| 10. Proinde infirmum est nostrum illud liberum arbitrium, propter reliquias remanentis in nobis, ad finem usque vitæ nostræ, veteris Adami, agnatæque corruptionis humanæ. Interim cum carnis vires et reliquiæ veteris hominis non ita sint efficaces, ut extinguant penitus Spiritus operationem; idcirco fideles liberi dicuntur, ita tamen, ut agnoscant infirmitatem, et nihil glorientur de libero arbitrio. Semper enim animis fidelium obversari debet, quod toties inculcat beatus Augustinus ex Apostolo: Quid habes, quod non accepisti, et si accepisti, quid gloriaris, quasi non acceperis? (1 Cor. iv. 7). His accedit, quod non statim evenit, quod institueramus. Eventus enim rerum positi sunt in manu Dei. Unde Paulus orat Dominum, ut prosperet iter suum (Rom. i. 10). Unde vel hac causa infirmum est liberum arbitrium. | Therefore that free will is weak in us on account of the remnants of the old Adam and of innate human corruption remaining in us until the end of our lives. Meanwhile, since the powers of the flesh and the remnants of the old man are not so efficacious that they wholly extinguish the work of the Spirit, for that reason the faithful are said to be free, yet so that they acknowledge their infirmity and do not glory at all in their free will. For believers ought always to keep in mind what St. Augustine so many times inculcated according to the apostle: "What have you that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if it were not a gift?" To this he adds that what we have planned does not immediately come to pass. For the issue of things lies in the hand of God. This is the reason Paul prayed to the Lord to prosper his journey (Rom. 1:10). And this also is the reason the free will is weak. |
| 11. Ceterum nemo negat, in externis, et regenitos et non regenitos habere liberum arbitrium; habet enim homo hanc constitutionem cum animantibus aliis (quibus non est inferior) communem, ut alia velit, alia nolit. Ita loqui potest, aut tacere, domo egredi, vel domi manere, etc. Quamvis semper et hic potentia Dei observanda sit: quæ effecit, ut Balaam eo non posset pertingere, quo volebat (Num. xxiv.), neque Zacharias, rediens ex templo, loqui posset, prout volebat (Luc. i. 22). | Moreover, no one denies that in external things both the regenerate and the unregenerate enjoy free will. For man has in common with other living creatures (to which he is not inferior) this nature to will some things and not to will others. Thus he is able to speak or to keep silent, to go out of his house or to remain at home, etc. However, even here God's power is always to be observed, for it was the cause that Balaam could not go as far as he wanted (Num., ch. 24), and Zacharias upon returning from the temple could not speak as he wanted (Luke, ch.1). |
| 12. Damnamus hac in causa Manichæos, qui negant, homini bono ex libero arbitrio fuisse initium mali. Damnamus etiam Pelagianos, qui dicunt, hominem malum sufficienter habere liberum arbitrium, ad faciendum præceptum bonum. Redarguuntur utrique a Scriptura Sancta, quæ illis dicit: Fecit Deus hominem rectum (Eccles. vii. 29), his vero dicit: Si Filius vos liberaverit, vere liberi estis (Joh., viii. 36). | In this matter we condemn the Manichaeans who deny that the beginning of evil was for man [created] good, from his free will. We also condemn the Pelagians who assert that an evil man has sufficient free will to do the good that is commanded. Both are refuted by Holy Scripture which says to the former, "God made man upright" and to the latter, "If the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed" (John 8:36). |
| CAP. X. DE PRÆDESTINATIONE DEI ET ELECTIONE SANCTORUM. | CHAPTER X Of the Predestination of God and the Election of the Saints |
| 1. Deus ab æterno prædestinavit vel elegit libere et mera sua gratia, nullo hominum respectu, sanctos, quos vult salvos facere in Christo, juxta illud Apostoli: Deus elegit nos in ipso, antequam jacerentur fundamenta mundi (Eph. i. 4), et iterum: Qui salvos fecit nos, et vocavit vocatione sancta, non secundum opera nostra, sed secundum suum propositum et gratiam, quæ data quidem est nobis, per Jesum Christum, ante tempora æterna, sed palam facta est nunc per apparitionem Servatoris nostri Jesu Christi (2 Tim. i. 9, 10). | From eternity God has freely, and of his mere grace, without any respect to men, predestinated or elected the saints whom he wills to save in Christ, according to the saying of the apostle, "God chose us in him before the foundation of the world" (Eph. 1:4). And again: "Who saved us and called an with a holy calling, not in virtue of our works but in virtue of his own purpose and the grace which he gave us in Christ Jesus ages ago, and now has manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus" (II Tim. 1:9 f.). |
| 2. Ergo non sine medio, licet non propter ullum meritum nostrum, sed in Christo et propter Christum, nos elegit Deus, ut qui jam sunt in Christo insiti per fidem, illi ipsi etiam sint electi, reprobi vero, qui sunt extra Christum, secundum illud Apostoli: Vos ipsos tentate, num sitis in fide. An non cognoscitis vosmet ipsos, quod Jesus Christus in vobis est? nisi sicubi reprobi estis (2 Cor. xiii. 5). | Therefore, although not on account of any merit of ours, God has elected us, not directly, but in Christ, and on account of Christ, in order that those who are now engrafted into Christ by faith might also be elected. But those who were outside Christ were rejected, according to the word of the apostle, "Examine yourselves, to see whether you are holding to your faith. Test yourselves. Do you not realize that Jesus Christ is in you? -- unless indeed you fail to meet the test!" (II Cor. 13:5). |
| 3. Denique electi sunt sancti in Christo per Deum ad finem certum, quem et ipsum exponit Apostolus et ait: Elegit nos in ipso, ut essemus sancti et irreprehensibiles coram illo per caritatem; qui prædestinavit nos, ut adoptaret in filios per Jesum Christum, in sese, ut laudetur gloria gratiæ suæ (Eph. i. 4, 5, 6). | Finally, the saints are chosen in Christ by God for a definite purpose, which the apostle himself explains when he says, "He chose us in him for adoption that we should be holy and blameless before him in love. He destined us for adoption to be his sons through Jesus Christ that they should be to the praise of the glory of his grace" (Eph. 1:4 ff.). |
| 4. Et quamvis Deus norit, qui sint sui, et alicubi mentio fiat paucitatis electorum, bene sperandum est tamen de omnibus, neque temere reprobis quisquam est adnumerandus. Paulus certe ad Philippenses: Gratias ago, inquit, pro omnibus vobis (loquitur autem de tota Ecclesia Philippensi), quod veneritis in communionem evangelii, persuasum habens, quod is, qui coepit opus bonum in vobis, perfidet, sicut justum est, ut hoc sentiam de vobis omnibus (Phil. i. 3–7). | And although God knows who are his, and here and there mention is made of the small number of elect, yet we must hope well of all, and not rashly judge any man to be a reprobate. For Paul says to the Philippians, "I thank my God for you all" (now he speaks of the whole Church in Phillippi), "because of your fellowship in the Gospel, being persuaded that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. It is also right that I have this opinion of you all" (Phil. 1:3 ff.). |
| 5. Et cum (Luc. xiii.) rogaretur Dominus: an pauci sint, qui salventur? non respondet Dominus ac dicit, paucos aut plures fore servandos, aut perdendos, sed hortatur potius, ut quisque contendat ingredi per portam arctam. Quasi dixerit, vestrum non est, de his curiosius inquirere, sed magis adniti, ut per rectam viam coelum ingrediamini. | And when the Lord was asked whether there were few that should be saved, he does not answer and tell them that few or many should be saved or damned, but rather he exhorts every man to "strive to enter by the narrow door" (Luke 13:24): as if he should say, It is not for you curiously to inquire about these matters, but rather to endeavor that you may enter into heaven by the straight way. |
| 6. Proinde non probamus impias quorundam voces, qui dicunt: pauci sunt electi, et cum mihi non constet, an sim in illo paucorum numero, genium meum non fraudabo. Alii dicunt: si prædestinatus vel electus sum a Deo, nihil impediet me a salute certo jam definita, quicquid tandem designavero. Si vero sum de reproborum numero, nulla me vel fides vel poenitentia juvabit, cum definitio Dei mutari non possit. Itaque inutiles sunt doctrinæ et admonitiones omnes. Nam contra hos pugnat illud Apostoli: Oportet servum Domini propensum esse ad docendum, erudientem eos, qui obsistunt, si quando det Deus illis poenitentiam, ad agnoscendum veritatem, ut resipiscant a laqueo diaboli, capti ab eo ad ejus voluntatem (2 Tim. ii. 24–26). | Therefore we do not approve of the impious speeches of some who say, "Few are chosen, and since I do not know whether I am among the number of the few, I will enjoy myself." Others say, "If I am predestinated and elected by God, nothing can hinder me from salvation, which is already certainly appointed for me, no matter what I do. But if I am in the number of the reprobate, no faith or repentance will help me, since the decree of God cannot be changed. Therefore all doctrines and admonitions are useless." Now the saying of the apostle contradicts these men: "The Lord's servant must be ready to teach, instructing those who oppose him, so that if God should grant that they repent to know the truth, they may recover from the snare of the devil, after being held captive by him to do his will" (II Tim. 2:23 ff.). |
| 7. Sed et Augustinus de bono perseverantiæ cap. xiv. et conseq. ostendit, utrumque esse prædicandum et liberæ electionis prædestinationisque gratiam, et admonitiones et doctrinas salutares. Improbamus itaque illos, qui extra Christum quærunt: an sint electi? Et quid ante omnem æternitatem de ipsis statuerit Deus? | Augustine also shows that both the grace of free election and the predestination, and also salutary admonitions and doctrines, are to be preached (Lib. de Dono Perseverantiae, cap. 14 ff.).We therefore find fault with those who outside of Christ ask whether they are elected. And what has God decreed concerning them before all eternity? |
| 8. Audienda est enim prædicatio Evangelii, eique credendum est: et pro indubitato habendum, si credis ac sis in Christo, electum te esse. Pater enim prædestinationis suæ æternam sententiam, sicut modo ex Apostolo (2 Tim. i.) exposui, in Christo nobis aperuit. Docendum ergo et considerandum ante omnia, quantus amor Patris erga nos in Christo nobis sit revelatus; audiendum, quid nobis quotidie in Evangelio ipse Dominus prædicet, quomodo vocet et dicat: Venite ad me omnes, qui laborati et onerati estis, ego vos reficiam (Matt. xi. 28). Sic Deus dilexit mundum, ut unigenitum dederit pro mundo, ut omnis, qui credit in eum non pereat, sed habeat vitam æternam (Joh. iii. 16). Item: Non est voluntas Patris, ut quisquam de his pusillis pereat (Matt. xviii. 14). | For the preaching of the Gospel is to be heard, and it is to be believed; and it is to be held as beyond doubt that if you believe and are in Christ, you are elected. For the Father has revealed unto us in Christ the eternal purpose of his predestination, as I have just now shown from the apostle in II Tim. 1:9-10. This is therefore above all to be taught and considered, what great love of the Father toward us is revealed to us in Christ. We must hear what the Lord himself daily preaches to us in the Gospel, how he calls and says: "Come to me all who labor and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest" (Matt. 11:28). "God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life" (John 3:16). Also, "It is not the will of my Father that one of these little ones should perish" (Matt. 18:14). |
| 9. Christus itaque sit speculum, in quo prædestinationem nostram contemplemur. Satis perspicuum et firmum habebimus testimonium, nos in libro vitæ inscriptos esse, si communicaverimus cum Christo, et is in vera fide noster sit, nos ejus simus. Consoletur nos in tentatione prædestinationis, qua vix alia est periculosior, quod promissiones Dei sunt universales fidelibus, quod ipse ait: Petite et accipietis. Omnis qui petit, accipit (Luc. xi. 9, 10). | Let Christ, therefore be the looking glass, in whom we may contemplate our predestination. We shall have a sufficiently clear and sure testimony that we are inscribed in the Book of Life if we have fellowship with Christ, and he is ours and we are his in true faith. In the temptation in regard to predestination, than which there is scarcely any other more dangerous, we are confronted by the fact that God's promises apply to all the faithful, for he says: "Ask, and everyone who seeks, shall receive" (Luke 11:9 f.) |
| 10. Quod denique cum universa Dei Ecclesia oramus: 'Pater noster, qui es in coelis;' et quod baptismo sumus insiti corpori Christi, et pascimur in Ecclesia ejus carne et sanguine frequenter ad vitam æternam. His confirmati cum timore et tremore, juxta Pauli præceptum, nostram salutem operari jubemur (Phil. ii. 12). | This finally we pray, with the whole Church of God, "Our Father who art in heaven" (Matt. 6:9), both because by baptism we are ingrafted into the body of Christ, and we are often fed in his Church with his flesh and blood unto life eternal. Thereby, being strengthened, we are commanded to work out our salvation with fear trembling, according to the precept of Paul. |
| CAP. XI. DE JESU CHRISTO, VERO DEO ET HOMINE, UNICO MUNDI SALVATORE. | CHAPTER XI Of Jesus Christ, True God and Man, the Only Savior of the World |
| 1. Credimus præterea et docemus, Filium Dei Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum ab æterno prædestinatum vel præordinatum esse a Patre salvatorem mundi: credimusque hunc esse genitum, non tantum, cum ex virgine Maria carnem adsumsit, nec tantum ante jacta fundamenta mundi, sed ante omnem æternitatem, et quidem a Patre, ineffabiliter. Nam Esaias dixit: Generationem ejus quis enarrabit? (liii. 8); et Micheas: Et egressus ejus a diebus æternitatis (v. 2). Nam et Joannes in Evangelio dixit: In principio erat verbum, et verbum erat apud Deum, et Deus erat verbum (i. 1). | We further believe and teach that the Son of God, our Lord Jesus Christ, was predestinated or foreordained from eternity by the Father to be the Savior of the world. And we believe that he was born, not only when he assumed flesh of the Virgin Mary, and not only before the foundation of the world was laid, but by the Father before all eternity in an inexpressible manner. For Isaiah said: "Who can tell his generation?" (Ch. 53:8). And Micah says: "His origin is from of old, from ancient days" (Micah 5:2). And John said in the Gospel: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God," etc. (Ch. 1:1). |
| 2. Proinde Filius est Patri juxta divinitatem coæqualis et consubitantialis, Deus verus, non nuncupatione, aut adoptione, aut ulla dignatione, sed substantia atque natura (Phil. ii. 6), sicut Joannes Apostolus iterum dixit: Hic est verus Deus, et vita æterna (1 Joh. v. 20); et Paul us quoque: Filium, ait, constituit hæredem omnium, per quem et secula fecit: idem est splendor gloriæ et character substantiæ ejus, portans omnia verbo potentiæ suæ (Heb. i. 2, 3). Nam in Evangelio ipse quoque Dominus dixit: Pater glorifica tu me apud temet ipsum gloria, quam habui, priusquam hic mundus esset, apud te (Joh. xvii. 5). Nam et alibi in Evangelio scribitur: Judæi quærebant occidere Jesum, quod Patrem suum dixisset Deum, æqualem se ipsum faciens Deo (Joh. v. 18). | Therefore, with respect to his divinity the Son is coequal and consubstantial with the Father; true God (Phil. 2:11), not only in name or by adoption or by any merit, but in substance and nature, as the apostle John has often said: "This is the true God and eternal life" (I John 5:20). Paul also says: "He appointed the Son the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He reflects the glory of God and bears the very stamp of his nature, upholding all things by his word of power" (Heb. 1:2 f.). For in the Gospel the Lord himself said: "Father, glorify Thou me in Thy own presence with the glory which I had with Thee before the world was made" (John 17:5). And in another place in the Gospel it is written: "The Jews sought all the more to kill him because he...called God his Father, making himself equal with God" (John 5:18). |
| 3. Abominamur ergo Arii et omnium Arianorum impiam contra Filium Dei doctrinam, imprimis vero Michælis Serveti, Hispani et Servetanorum omnium blasphemias, quas contra Dei Filium Satan per illos, veluti ex inferis hausit et in orbem audacissime et impiissime dispergit. | We therefore abhor the impious doctrine of Arius and the Arians against the Son of God, and especially the blasphemies of the Spaniard, Michael Servetus, and all his followers, which Satan through them has, as it were, dragged up out of hell and has most audaciously and impiously spread abroad in the world. |
| 4. Eundem quoque æterni Dei æternum Filium credimus et docemus hominis factum esse filium, ex semine Abrahæ atque Davidis, non ex viri coitu, quod Ebion dixit, sed conceptum purissime ex Spiritu Sancto, et natum ex Maria semper virgine: sicut diligenter nobis historia explicat evangelica (Matt. i. ). Et Paulus ait: Nullibi angelos adsumit, sed semen Abrahæ (Heb. ii. 16). Joannes item Apostolus, qui non credit, Jesum Christum in carne venisse, ex Deo non est (1 Joh. iv. 3). Caro ergo Christi nec phantastica fuit, nec coelitus adlata, sicuti Valentinus et Marcion somniabant. | We also believe and teach that the eternal Son of the eternal God was made the Son of man, from the seed of Abraham and David, not from the coitus of a man, as the Ebionites said, but was most chastely conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the ever virgin Mary, as the evangelical history carefully explains to us (Matt., ch. 1). And Paul says: "he took not on him the nature of angels, but of the seed of Abraham." Also the apostle John says that woever does not believe that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh, is not of God. Therefore, the flesh of Christ was neither imaginary not brought from heaven, as Valentinus and Marcion wrongly imagined. |
| 5. Præterea anima fuit Domino nostro Jesu Christo non absque sensu et ratione, ut Apollinaris sentiebat, neque caro absque anima, ut Eunomius docebat, sed anima cum ratione sua, et caro cum sensibus suis, per quos sensus veros dolores tempore passionis suæ sustinuit; sicuti et ipse testatus est, et dixit: Tristis est anima mea usque ad mortem (Matt. xxvi. 36–38), et nunc anima mea turbata est (Joh. xii. 27). | Moreover, our Lord Jesus Christ did not have a soul bereft of sense and reason, as Apollinaris thought, nor flesh without a soul, as Eunomius taught, but a soul with its reason, and flesh with its senses, by which in the time of his passion he sustained real bodily pain, as himself testified when he said: "My soul is very sorrowful, even to death" (Matt. 26:38). And, "Now is my soul troubled" (John 12:27). |
| 6. Agnoscimus ergo in uno atque eodem Domino nostro Jesu Christo duas naturas vel substantias, divinam et humanam (Heb. iv. 14); et has ita dicimus conjunctas et unitas esse, ut absorptæ, aut confusæ, aut inmixtæ non sint, sed salvis potius et permanentibus naturarum proprietatibus, in una persona, unitæ vel conjunctæ; ita ut unum Christum Dominum, non duos veneremur: unum inquam verum Deum, et hominem, juxta divinam naturam Patri, juxta humanam vero nobis hominibus consubstantialem, et per omnia similem, peccato excepto (Heb. iv. 15). | We therefore acknowledge two natures or substances, the divine and the human, in one and the same Jesus Christ our Lord (Heb., ch. 2). And we say that these are bound and united with one another in such a way that they are not absorbed, or confused, or mixed, but are united or joined together in one person the properties of the natures being unimpaired and permanent. Thus we worship not two but one Christ the Lord. We repeat: one true God and man. With respect to his divine nature he is consubstantial with the Father, and with respect to the human nature he is consubstantial with us men, and like us in all things, sin excepted (Heb. 4:15). |
| 7. Etenim, ut Nestorianum dogma ex uno Christo duos faciens, et unionem personæ dissolvens, abominamur: ita Eutychetis et Monothelitarum vel Monophysicorum vesaniam, expungentem naturæ humanæ proprietatem execramur penitus. | And indeed we detest the dogma of the Nestorians who make two of one Christ and dissolve the unity of the Person. Likewise we thoroughly execrate the madness of Eutyches and of the Monothelites or Monophysites who destroy the property of the human nature. |
| 8. Ergo minime docemus, naturam in Christo divinam passam esse, aut Christum secundum humanam naturam adhuc esse in hoc mundo, adeoque esse ubique. Neque enim vel sentimus, vel docemus, veritatem corporis Christi a clarificatione desiisse, aut deificatam, adeoque sic deificatam esse, ut suas proprietates, quoad corpus et animam deposuerit, ac prorsus in naturam divinam abierit, unaque duntaxat substantia esse coeperit. | Therefore, we do not in any way teach that the divine nature in Christ has suffered or that Christ according to his human nature is still in this world and thus is everywhere. For neither do we think or teach that the body of Christ ceased to be a true body after his glorification, or was deified, and deified in such a way that it laid aside its properties as regards body and soul, and changed entirely into a divine nature and began to be merely one substance. |
| 9. Et proinde Schwenkfeldii similiumque leptologorum inargutas argutias, intricatas, obscurasque, et parum sibi constantes hac de re dissertationes, haudquaquam probamus aut recipimus, neque Schwenkfeldiani sumus. | Hence we by no means approve of or accept the strained, confused and obscure subtleties of Schwenkfeldt and of similar sophists with their self-contradictory arguments; neither are we Schwenkfeldians. |
| 10. Præterea credimus, Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum, vere passum et mortuum esse pro nobis, sicut Petrus ait, carne (1 Pet. iv. 8). Abominamur Jacobitarum et omnium Turcarum, passionem Domini exsecrantium, impiissimam vesaniam. Interim non negamus et Dominum gloriæ juxta verba Pauli, crucifixum esse pro nobis (2 Cor. ii. 8). Nam communicationem idiomatum, ex Scripturis petitam, et ab universa vetustate in explicandis componendisque Scripturarum locis in speciem pugnantibus, usurpatam, religiose et reverenter recipimus et usurpamus. | We believe, moreover, that our Lord Jesus Christ truly suffered and died for us in the flesh, as Peter says (I Peter 4:1). We abhor the most impious madness of the Jacobites and all the Turks who execrate the suffering of the Lord. At the same time we do not deny that the Lord of glory was crucified for us, according to Paul's words (I Cor. 2:8). We piously and reverently accept and use the impartation of properties which is derived from Scripture and which has been used by all antiquity in explaining and reconciling apparently contradictory passages. |
| 11. Credimus et docemus, eundem Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum vera sua carne, in qua crucifixus et mortuus fuerat, a mortuis resurrexisse, et non aliam pro sepulta excitasse, aut spiritum pro carne suscepisse, sed veritatem corporis retinuisse. Ergo dum discipuli ejus arbitrarentur, se Domini spiritum videre, exhibet eis manus atque pedes, stigmatibus utique clavorum et vulnerum notatas, et addit: Adspicite manus meas et pedes meos: quia ego ipse sum. Contrectate me et videte: quia spiritus carnem et ossa non habet, sicut videtis me habere (Luc. xxiv. 39). | We believe and teach that the same Jesus Christ our Lord, in his true flesh in which he was crucified and died, rose again from the dead, and that not another flesh was raised other than the one buried, or that a spirit was taken up instead of the flesh, but that he retained his true body. Therefore, while his disciples thought they saw the spirit of the Lord, he showed them his hands and feet which were marked by the prints of the nails and wounds, and added: "See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself; handle me, and see, for a spirit has not flesh and bones as you see that I have" (Luke 24:39). |
| 12. In eadem illa carne sua credimus adscendisse Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum, supra omnes coelos adspectabiles, in ipsum cælum supremum, sedem videlicet Dei et beatorum, ad dextram Dei Patris, quæ, etsi et gloriæ majestatisque consortium æquale significet, accipitur tamen et pro loco certo, de quo in Evangelio loquens Dominus dicit, se abiturum et suis paraturum locum (Joh. xiv. 2). Sed et Apostolus Petrus: Oportet Christum, inquit, cælum accipere, usque ad tempus restitutionis omnium (Act. iii. 21). | We believe that our Lord Jesus Christ, in his same flesh, ascended above all visible heavens into the highest heaven, that is, the dwelling-place of God and the blessed ones, at the right hand of God the Father. Although it signifies an equal participation in glory and majesty, it is also taken to be a certain place about which the Lord, speaking in the Gospel, says: "I go to prepare a place for you" (John 14:2). The apostle Peter also says: "Heaven must receive Christ until the time of restoring all things" (Acts 3:21). |
| 13. Ex cælis autem idem ille redibit in judicium, tum, quando summa erit in mundo consceleratio, et antichristus, corrupta religione vera, superstitione impietateque omnia opplevit, et sanguine atque flamma ecclesiam crudeliter vastavit. Redibit autem Christus, adserturus suos, et aboliturus adventu suo antichristum, judicaturusque vivos et mortuos. Resurgent enim mortui, et qui illa die (quæ omnibus incognita est creaturis) superstites futuri sunt, mutabuntur in momento oculi, fidelesque omnes una obviam Christo rapientur in aëra, ut inde cum ipso ingrediantur in sedes beatas sine fine victuri (Act. xvii. 31; 1 Thess. iv. 15–17; Marc. xiii. 32; 1 Cor. xv. 51; Matt. xxv. 41). Increduli vero vel impii descendent cum dæmonibus ad tartara, in sempiternum arsuri, atque ex tormentis numquam liberandi. | And from heaven the same Christ will return in judgment, when wickedness will then be at its greatest in the world and when the Antichrist, having corrupted true religion, will fill up all things with superstition and impiety and will cruelly lay waste the Church with bloodshed and flames (Dan., ch. 11). But Christ will come again to claim his own, and by his coming to destroy the Antichrist, and to judge the living and the dead (Acts 17:31). For the dead will rise again (I Thess. 4:14 ff.), and those who on that day (which is unknown to all creatures [Mark 13:32]) will be alive will be changed "in the twinkling of an eye," and all the faithful will be caught up to meet Christ in the air, so that then they may enter with him into the blessed dwelling-places to live forever (I Cor. 15:51 f.). But the unbelievers and ungodly will descend with the devils into hell to burn forever and never to be redeemed from torments (Matt. 25:46). |
| 14. Damnamus ergo omnes negantes veram carnis resurrectionem (2 Tim. ii. 18), aut qui cum Joanne Hierosolymitano, contra quem scripsit Hieronymus, non recte sentiunt de clarificatis corporibus. Damnamus eos, qui senserunt, et dæmones et impios omnes aliquando servandos, et poenarum finem futurum. Simpliciter enim pronunciavit Dominus: Ignis eorum numquam exstinguitur, et vermis eorum non moritur (Marc. ix. 44). Damnamus præterea Judaica somnia, quod ante judicii diem aureum in terris sit futurum seculum, et pii regns mundi occupaturi, oppressis suis hostibus impiis. Nam Evangelica veritas (Matt. xxiv. et xxv.; Luc. item xviii.) et Apostolica doctrina (2 Thess ii., et in 2 Tim. iii. et iv. capite) longe aliud perhibere inveniuntur. | We therefore condemn all who deny a real resurrection of the flesh (II Tim. 2:18), or who with John of Jerusalem, against whom Jerome wrote, do not have a correct view of the glorification of bodies. We also condemn those who thought that the devil and all the ungodly would at some time be saved, and that there would be an end to punishments. For the Lord has plainly declared: "Their fire is not quenched, and their worm does not die" (Mark 9:44). We further condemn Jewish dreams that there will be a golden age on earth before the Day of Judgment, and that the pious, having subdued all their godless enemies, will possess all the kingdoms of the earth. For evangelical truth in Matt., chs. 24 and 25, and Luke, ch. 18, and apostolic teaching in II Thess., ch. 2, and II Tim., chs. 3 and 4, present something quite different. |
| 15. Porro passione vel morte sua omnibusque adeo, quæ a suo in carne adventu nostra causa fecit et pertulit, reconciliavit omnibus fidelibus Dominus noster Patrem coelestem, expiavit peccatum, exarmavit mortem, condemnationemque et inferos confregit, ac resurrectione sua ex mortuis vitam immortalitatemque reduxit ac restituit (Rom. iv. 25; x. 4; 1 Cor. xv. 17; Joh. vi. 45; xi. 25, 26). Ipse enim est justitia nostra, vita et resurrectio, denique plenitudo et absolutio fidelium omnium, salusque et sufficientia abundantissima. Apostolus enim, sic placuit Patri, inquit, omnem in ipso habitare plenitudinem, et in ipso estis completi (Col. i. 19 et ii. 10). | Further by his passion and death and everything which he did and endured for our sake by his coming in the flesh, our Lord reconciled all the faithful to the heavenly Father, made expiation for sins, disarmed death, overcame damnation and hell, and by his resurrection from the dead brought again and restored life and immortality. For he is our righteousness, life and resurrection, in a word, the fulness and perfection of all the faithful, salvation and all sufficiency. For the apostle says: "In him all the fulness of God was pleased to dwell," and, "You have come to fulness of life in him" (Col., chs. 1 and 2). |
| 16. Docemus enim ac credimus, hunc Jesum Christum, Dominum nostrum, unicum et æternum generis humani adeoque totius mundi esse Servatorem, in quo per fidem servati sint, quotquot ante legem, sub lege, et sub Evangelio salvati sunt, et quotquot adhuc in finem usque seculi salvabuntur. Nam ipse Dominus in Evangelio dicit: Qui non intrat per ostium in stabulum ovium, sed adscendit aliunde, ille fur est et latro. Ego sum ostium ovium (Joh. x. 1, 2). Item alibi in eodem Evangelio (viii. 56): Abraham vidit diem meum, et gavisus est. Sed et P |