A new history of ecclesiastical writers containing an account of the authors of the several books of the Old and New Testament, of the lives and writings of the primitive fathers, an abridgement and catalogue of their works ... also a compendious history of the councils, with chronological tables of the whole / written in French by Lewis Ellies du Pin.

The SIXTH TOME.

THE Sixth Tome of St. Augustin's Works contains his Dogmatical Books, upon several * 1.1 Points both of Morality, and Discipline: He begins with some small Treatises, containing Answers to several Questions upon various Subjects.

The First, Is a Collection of Answers to 83 Questions, which he resolved, after his return into Africa, about the Year 388. and which he Collected after he was a Bishop. These are the Re∣solutions contained in those 83 Questions, with most of the Principles from whence they are taken:

I. The Soul is not of its self, nor by its self; since it is not essentially the Truth.

II. God did not make Man like himself. He is not good by Nature, but by Will; therefore he must be free.

III. If a Wise Man's Advice never makes another man worse than he was before, Is it credi∣ble, That God should make Men more wicked?

IV. What then may be the Cause of Man's Wickedness? We must seek for it, either in him∣self, or in others, or in nothing: Consider it well, and you will find, That the Will of Man is the Cause of his Depravation.

V. Animals have no Knowledge, and therefore cannot be Happy.

VI. All Corporeal and Spiritual Beings, have a Perfection which makes their Essence: Evil hath none; therefore it is no Being.

VII. Sometimes we confound the Soul with the Spirit, and sometimes we distinguish them: when the Actions of Man that are common to him with Beasts, are attributed to his Soul, the Spirit cannot be meant by that term; for Beasts have no Reason: and Reason is a necessary Adjunct of a Spirit.

VIII. The Soul hath no other Motion besides its Will and its Actions; It makes the Body change its place, but changes not her self.

IX. Our Senses only acquaint us with those Things that are in a perpetual change; There∣fore they cannot give us the Knowledge of Eternal and Immoveable Truth.

X. Whatsoever hath any Perfection cometh from God: Bodies have; Therefore God is the Author of them.

XI. Jesus Christ was Man; but he is Born of a Virgin: Who can doubt then of his being come to save both Sexes?

XII. God may be present, indeed; yet a defiled Soul cannot see him: This Notion is not St. Augustin's, but an Heathen's called Fonteius; who was afterwards Baptized, and died a * 1.2 Christian; as St. Augustin assures us in his Retractations.

XIII. Man can tame and dress a Beast; but do we find that Beasts can do the same to Man?

XIV. If Christ's Body had been but a Phantome, Christ had deceived us; but he is not capa∣ble of so doing.

XV. The Spirit of Man comprehends it self; and knows no infinite Perfection in it self: wherefore it is finite.

XVI. The Time past, is no more; The Future is not yet: Every thing is present with God.

XVII. There should be three Causes of a Creature; That which gives it a Being; That which gives it such a sort of Being; and that which gives it a Love to its Being: Therefore the Cause of it is a Trinity. This Argument is not the most convincing.

XVIII. In Eternity, there is neither time past nor to come, all is present.

XIX. God is no where, and comprehends all things, without being the place of any thing; for he could not be in a place, nor be a place, without being Corporeal.

XX. Since God is the Author of Being, he cannot be the Author of what tends to nothing. Evil tends to nothing; therefore God is not the Author of Evil.

XXI. The only reason why we need any thing, is a defect in our selves; God therefore needs nothing.

XXII. Man is wise, because he partaketh of wisdom; but God is wise through Wisdom it self. It is the same in all other Perfections.

XXIII. If any thing should happen in the World by chance, then there would be no longer Prudence; but there is a necessity of Prudence: for all Beings are perfect, but can no further be so, than as they participate of the Goodness and Perfection of God. God and Man are the Authors of all that is done in the VVorld. Good and Evil depend upon our own VVills.

XXIV. It was the part of VVisdom to show that the most shameful Death is not to be feared: And that's one of the Reasons for which Christ endured such a one.

XXV. There are Sins of Weakness, Ignorance and Malice; Weakness is contrary to the Strength of God, Ignorance to his VVisdom, and Malice to his Goodness: Thus whosoever knows what God's Strength and VVisdom are, may know which are Venial Sins: And who∣soever knows God's Goodness, knoweth also what, those Sins are which deserve to be punished both in this VVorld and in the next. This well understood, ought to be a Rule whereby to judge what sort of Sinners should be obliged to do Publick Penance, though they confess their Sins. Yet this Rule is very general and very equivocal.

XXVI. God makes use of the VVi••ked both to punish and to help. Afflictions are an Exer∣cise to the Righteous, and a Punishment to the VVicked. Rest and Peace corrupt the VVicked, and sanctifie the Righteous. God makes use of Men to accomplish the designs of his Provi∣dence, though they know it not. VVe act our selves when we follow God's Commandments; but in all other things God guides us by the Springs of his Providence; and we have no share in the Events.

XXVII. VVe should not ask why God would create the VVorld, that were to seek after a Cause of that which is the Cause of all things.

XXVIII. VVhen it is said, Seek those things that are above; the meaning is, those things that are great and sublime by their excellency.

XXIX. Man may make use of all things, but he ought only to enjoy God; and the use which he makes of all things, ought to have a Relation to God. Whosoever uses the Creatures otherwise, abuses them.

XXX. This Question is not St. Augustin's; it is a definition of Vertue out of Tully.

XXXI. Whosoever conceiveth a thing, conceives it as it is; and he who conceives it not as it is, doth not conceive it at all: There are no different degrees of Conception.

XXXII. We are afraid of losing what we love: and we are afraid that we shall not ob∣tain what we desire: If we desire to be without fear, How can we fear that we shall not be freed from fear?

XXXIII. Men should not desire precisely to be free from fear, because rash and stupid Men are without fear: we should have a reason why we are not afraid.

XXXIV. VVe ought to love what we possess, No man can know and love Happiness, with∣out being happy: Happiness therefore is an eternal love and knowledge of a good thing which cannot be taken away from us.

XXXV. To preserve and increase Charity, we must oppose and lessen Lust. This is to be begun by impressing a Dread of God's Judgments, to destroy the habit of Sin: After that, we ought to discover both the Beauty and Excellency of Vertue, to manifest the difference betwixt the Old and the New Man; to propose Christ's Life as an Example; to make use of his Exhor∣tations, Instructions, and Promises; to consider the vast number of those that followed and imitated him; to set forth the Vertues both of Saints and of Martyrs, as Patterns; and at last, to oppose Pride and Ambition, and to inspire the fear and the love of God.

I omit the following Questions, because they are obscure, and contain nothing remarkable.

The XLVth. Is against Judicial Astrology.

The XLVth. Is concerning Plato's Idea's.

The XLVIIIth. Is expressed in these terms. We believe Three sorts of Things. The First, Are such Things as are believed, and not conceived, as History. The Second, Are both believed and conceived at the same time; as the reasonings of Men. The Third, Are Things believed but not conceived at that time, though they are conceived afterwards; Such are Divine Instructions, which are conceived by none but those that have Pure Hearts.

In the LI. Question, He explains in what sence it is said, That Man was created after God's Image and Similitude: And in the LII. he prove•• That what is said in Genesis, That it repented God to have made Man, is not to be understood literally.

In the LIII. He justifies the Command which God gave the Jews to borrow of the Egyptians rich Vessels to carry them away; ••y saying, That God made use of them to Punish the Egyp∣tians: But that from thence it cannot be inferred, That Men may deceive, because the People of Israel was not capable of Evangelical Perfection.

The Resolutions of the following Questions, are Mystical and Moral Explications of several Passages both of the Old and of the New Testament.

The LXXX. Is against the Error of the Apollinarists.

The two Books of Questions directed to Simplicianus Bishop of Milan, who succeeded St. Am∣brose in the Year 397. are the first which St. Augustin writ, after he was made a Bishop. In the first, he discourseth upon two Passages of the Epistle to the Romans, upon what is said, Ch. 7. of the man, who being under the Law, doth not what the Law requireth: And upon what is written in the 9th. Chapter, of Jacob's being call'd, and Esau's being rejected. He proves in this First Book with great strength, the Necessity of Grace to every Good Work, even for the beginning of Faith, and a Free Call. He saith himself, both in his Book of Predestination, and in that of the Gift of Perseverance, That he began then to see clearly into those Matters which he had not taken right in his former Books. Yet he understands the first Passage in the Romans, of a man under the Law, who is yet without Grace; whereas he believed afterwards, that it was ra∣ther to be understood of that man, who being Spiritual in his Superior part, finds himself carnal, by the desires and motions of the Inferior.

The Second Book contains the Resolution of Five Questions, about particular Passages in the Old Testament. The First is, of what Spirit that which is said in the First Book of Kings, That the Spirit of God entred into Saul, is to be understood. Whether it was the Holy Ghost, or the Evil Spirit, wherewith he was possessed afterwards? After several Reflections and Digressions, St. Augustin concludes, That it must be understood of the Spirit of God; and that Saul was filled at first with the Spirit of God for a time, and afterwards was possessed with an evil Spirit. Yea, he thinks, That Saul had a Spirit of Prophecy at the time when he persecuted David, and he proves, That this Gift of the Holy Ghost may be found in Wicked Men.

The Second Question is upon those words attributed to God in the First Book of Kings, Ch. 15. It repenteth me that I have set up Saul. How God's Repenting can agree with his Prescience? St. Augustin answers, That the Repentance ascribed to God, is not accompanied with regret, as that of Men is; it is only an Alteration of Will. This Question puts him upon discoursing of God's Knowledge.

The Third Question is about the Story of the Witch of Endor. St. Augustin does not decide whether it was the Soul of Samuel, or a Phantome that appeared to Saul; he thinks the latter to be more probable.

Both the other Questions are about two Passages in the Books of Kings, which have not much difficulty.

The last is concerning the Spirit of Error, whereby God permitted King Ahab to be deceived.

Dulcitius, a Tribune in Africa, having proposed Eight Questions to St. Augustin, about some Matters which he had already treated of, he Collected in this Book, which he sent in Answer to his Questions, what he had said in his other Works.

The First Question was, Whether the Baptized that die in Sin, shall at any time be delivered from Damnation? St. Augustin answereth, No; and expounds a Passage of St. Paul, 1 Cor. Ch. 3. v. 11. where he speaks of the Fire which is to Purifie the Faithful, by consuming the Evil which they shall have built upon the sound Foundation of Faith. He understandeth by Fire, that Affliction in this Life which Purifies the Faithful from light Sins. He adds, That we may believe, that some such thing is done also in the other Life, towards those who die be∣fore they are cleansed from those light Sins: But he affirms, That none can believe without Im∣piety, that this can be apply'd to such as die with the guilt of those Sins that exclude Men from the Kingdom of God. This Answer is taken out of his Book of Faith.

The Second Question of Works, hath great relation to the former. It was demanded, Whe∣ther the Oblations and Prayers that are made for the Dead avail them any thing? St. Augustin Answers what he had said already in his Book concerning the Care that ought to be taken of the Dead, That the Oblations and Prayers are profitable to those who deserved in their Life-time, that Prayers should avail them. He addeth what he had said in his Enchiridion to Laurentius,

That in all that time, between Death and the last Resurrection, the Souls shall be detained in secret and hidden places, where they shall either enjoy Rest, or suffer Pain, according as they have deserved, when they were in the World: That Souls in that Condition, are refreshed by the Piety of the Living: when the Sacrifice of the Mediator is offered for them, or Alms

are given in the Church in their behalf. But, saith he, That availeth only them, who in their Life-time deserved by their Actions, that these things should be available to them, when they are out of the World...... Thus when the Sacrifices of the Altar are offered, or Alms given for all the Dead that were baptized, they become Thanksgivings for them that were extremely Good; They are Intercessions for those that were not great Sinners: And if these things do not ease those that were very wicked, yet they Administer Comfort to the Living.

The Third Question is, Whether all Men shall Die before the Day of Judgment? St. Augustin answereth, no; according to what he had said before in the 193d. Letter to Mercator; He con∣fesses, That this is a difficult Question.

The other Five Questions are upon some hard Passages of Scripture; He repeats those Expli∣cations which he had given in his other Books. This Book was Composed after the Enchiridion that was written in 421. and before the Book of Retractations written in 427. Which shews, That it must necessarily belong to the Years between; yet the Date of Easter of the Year wherein this Book was written, which is at the beginning, should regularly fall in the Year 430, or 419. wherefore there must have been a Mistake in the Cypher.

The small Treatise concerning the belief of those things which are not conceived, is placed again in this Volume, among the Treatises that are really St. Augustin's; though the Louvain Doctors after Erasmus, had put it among the Spurious Books. St. Augustin does not mention it in his Retractations; but he doth in the 231st. Letter to Count Darius; and it is written in his Stile, and is very worthy of him. He shews there, That many things are believed, though they are not seen. He particularly urges the Example of Friendship, and good Wishes which are believed without being seen. Whence he concludes, That if that Faith is taken away, which makes us believe things that we see not, Society would be utterly overthrown. He confesseth, That to believe a thing, we ought to have some Marks that such thing is: But he affirms, That we believe not in Jesus Christ, without sufficient Proofs of his Authority; That the Church alone is a constant and visible Proof of the Truth of his Doctrine; since we see that accomplished which Christ and the Prophets▪ Foretold. That none can doubt of the Truth of the Prophetical Books, since the Jews, who were the Christians great Enemies, preserved them; who also are unquestiona∣ble Witnesses of their Antiquity. He concludes this Discourse with a short Exhortation to the New Christians, to keep the Faith of the Church inviolable. What is said in the 10th. Chapter concerning the demolishing of the Temples, shews, That this Treatise was Written, and Compo∣sed after Honorius his Law, that was dated in 399.

It has been observed already, That St. Augustin being yet but a Priest, expounded the Creed in a Council of African Bishops assembled at Hippo. This Discourse which he afterwards put in Writing, as he declares in his Retractations, contains an exact Exposition of the Articles of the Creed. We have it here entituled, Of Faith and the Creed.

In the Book of Faith and Good Works, St. Augustin refutes several Errors which he had read in some Books that had been sent to him. There it was affirmed, 1. That all were to be admitted to Baptism who desired to be baptized, without any Examination. 2. That it was sufficient to instruct them in the Articles of Faith, though they were not taught the Rules of Manners till after they had received the Sacrament. 3. That what Crime soever a baptized Christian might commit, and in what Condition soever he might die, yet he should be infallibly saved, after he had passed through the Fire. St. Augustin declares against the first Proposition, That though the Wicked are to be tolerated in the Church, yet Correction was not to be neg∣lected, nor the Discipline of the Church suffered to relax. He confesses however, That Sinners ought to be reproved with Meekness and Charity. Against the Second Proposition, he teacheth, That Sinners who persevered in their Wickedness, were by no means to be admitted to Bap∣tism: Showing, That the Holy Scripture requireth Repentance before Baptism; That St. John gave Precepts concerning Manners to those which he baptized; and that this is the Temper of the Church, which appointed the Times and Ceremonies observed by the Catechumens, for no other end, but▪ to be sure, that they are well-disposed to receive the Sacrament of Baptism. Lastly of all, St. Augustin proves against the Third Error; That whosoever dieth in the State of Mortal Sin, without Repentance, is eternally Damned: And he Answers the place of St. Paul, that was alledged to prove the contrary. This Treatise was Composed in 413. after the Book of the Spirit and the Letter. Garnerius supposeth, That St. Jerom is the Person whom St. Augustin disputes with in this Book. But he cannot suspect that Father as guilty of either the first or the second Error: And it is altogether unlikely that it should be St. Jerom whom St. Augustin refuteth concerning the third.

The Enchiridion, or Treatise of Faith, Hope, and Charity, was written at the Request of Laurentius, a great Lord of Rome, and Brother to Dulcitius; who had desired St. Augustin, to send him a small Book, containing a•• Abridgment of the Christian Religion. To satisfie him, St. Augustin dedicated to him this Book; wherein he reduceth all Religion to the Vertues of Faith, Hope, and Charity, because a Man knoweth all that is comprised in Religion, when he knows what is to be Believed, what is to be Hoped for, and what is to be Loved. He explains what is to be Believed, by keeping to the Method of the Creed, refuting the Errours, and He∣resies that are contrary to the Doctrine of the Church, without naming their Authors. He layeth down also most excellent Maxims, such as these: That Faith does not stop at a curious Inquiry after Natural Things; That Errours of Right are more dangerous than Errours of

Fact; That a•••• 〈…〉〈…〉 some Things, which it signifies little w••••••her they are 〈◊〉〈◊〉 or 〈◊〉〈◊〉 H•• 〈◊〉〈◊〉 〈◊〉〈◊〉 upon Original Sin; upon the Fall of M•••••• and Angels; upon the 〈◊〉〈◊〉 of a 〈◊〉〈◊〉 of Baptism, and Grace; upon the Distinction of Ve••ial and 〈◊〉〈◊〉 S••••s; upon the Eternity, and the Inequ••lity of the Pains of the Da••••ed, upon the Ex•…•… of the VVill of God to save Men; upon F••••e-Will; and upon the State of Souls till the Day of Judgment. Having thus explained what concerns Faith, he comes to Hope; and he ••••••th, That Christians ••••••ght to Hope in God alone; and that whatso∣ever we Hope for, is co••prehended in the Lord's Prayer, upon which he makes some Reflecti∣ons. Lastly, he treateth of Charity; without which he pretends, That no Man can be Rig•…•…eous. To which he 〈◊〉〈◊〉 all the 〈◊〉〈◊〉 of God, and Advices of the Go∣spel. This Book was written after St. Jerom's Death, who dyed in 420. as is plain by the 87th Chapter, where St. Augustin speaks of him as one dead.

The Book, inti••••led, The C••••b•••• of a Christian, has much the same Design with the forego∣ing▪ St. Augustin co••posed i•• 〈◊〉〈◊〉 after he was a Bishop, in a plain Stile, that it might be the more proper to instill the Doctrine, and Pr••••••pts of Christian Religion into those Christi∣ans who were not Skilfull in the Latin Tongue. He exhorts them, at first, to fight against the Devil: Then he shews, Th•••• Men get the Victory over him, when they overcome their Passions, and bring their Bodies under Subjection; which is only done by submitting to God, to whom every Creature ought to be subject, either Willingly, or out of Necessity. He adds, That in this Combat, Man is armed with Faith, and with the Assistances which Christ me••••••ed for us by his Death. At last, he runs through the Articles of the Creed, and refutes the contrary Her••s••••s.

The Book of Instruction for these that have no Knowledge of our Religion, was written at the Request of a Deacon of Carthage, who desired of St. Augustin, Rules, and a Method to Ca∣••e••••i••e his People acceptably, and usefully. The Father comforts him at the beginning, upon his being, very often, not pleased with his own Discourses, since it sometimes happens, that a Discourse which displeases the Speaker, is very acceptable to the Hearers. He adviseth him to teach them cheerfully, and not to be tired with it; and then furnishes him with Rules how to instruct them right in their Religion. He saith, in the first place, That perfect Instruction should begin at the Creation of, the World, and end with the present Age of the Church: B•••• for this, there is no need of learning by heart, or reciting all the Books of the Bible; one needs only chuse the best, the most admirable, and most diverting Passages. He layeth down, in the second place, his usual Rule, That every thing ought to be referred to Charity▪ That Care must be taken, that the A••ditor may believe what is spoken; Hope what he Believes, and Love what he Hopes for. And he would have him inspired with a wholsome Fear of God's Judgments, and kept from all prospects of temporal Interest, and Advantage that he might have by being a Christian. He observes, That the same Method is not to be followed with the Learned, as with the Ignorant; and he lays down very prudent Rules how they are to be dealt withal. He shews what Things commonly ti•••• the Heare••••; and he gives excellent Remedies how they may be avoided; and at last, makes Two instructive Speeches, one pretty long, the other shorter, but composed with a great deal of Art, to serve for an Example, or Pattern of such Instructions, as ought to be given. This Treatise shews, That to instruct Men well in Religion, is an harder Task than most Men imagine; and that the Method, formerly used, was nobler, and larger, than that which is now observed. This Book is of the Year 400, or thereabouts.

Though St. Augustin does not mention his Treatise of Continency in the Review of his Works, yet he owns it in the 262d. Epistle; and Possidius reckons it among his VVorks. This Book is a Discourse upon these VVords of the 140th. Psalm. Set a Watch, O Lord, before my Mouth, and keep the Doors of my Lips. O let not my Heart be enclined to any evil Thing; let me not be occupied in ungodly Works, with the Men that work Wickedness. He shews, That true Continency consists in suppressing ones Passions; and he recommends the Necessity of Grace to overcome them. He speaks against the Proud who excuse their Sins, and particularly against the Manichees, who charged their Sins upon an evil Nature that was in them. This Sermon is thought to be of the Year 395. or thereabouts.

Both the following Treatises are written against the Errour of Jovinian. This Enemy of Virginity had drawn aside several Roman▪ Virgins from their Design of continuing so, and perswaded them to marry; saying to them, Are you better than Susanna, or Anna, or so many other Holy Women? Though Jovinian's Opinion was rejected at Rome, yet this Heretick's Disci∣ples gave out, That none could refute him without condemning Marriage. To undeceive those that were of this Opinion, St. Augustin writ a Book, intituled, Of the Advantage of Matrimony, before he undertook to speak of the Excellency of Virginity. Wherein he saith first, That the Union betwixt the Husband and the Wife, is the most Ancient, and the most Natural. After that, he examineth a Question, rather Curious, than Useful, namely, How Men could have had Children, had they persisted in the State of Innocence. He observes a Four-fold Ad∣vantage in Marriage: The Society of both Sexes, the Procreation of Children, the good Use of Lust, which is regulated by a Prospect of having Children, and the Fidelity which Hus∣band and Wife preserve towards each other. He saith, That every Union between a Woman and a Man, is not Marriage. He doth not think, That this Name is to be given to that Union,

whose aim was only to satisfie their brutish Passion, if they endeavoured to prevent their ha∣ving Children. He declares, That Man guilty of Adultery, who should abuse a Virgin, when he has a Design of Marrying another: As for the Young Woman, he judgeth her guilty of Sin, but not of Adultery, if she is true to that Man, and Designs not to marry when he leaveth her: Nay, he preferrs her before several married VVomen, who abuse Matrimony by their Intem∣perance. He doth not excuse from venial Sin, either the Man, or the VVoman, who have ano∣ther Prospect in Marriage, than the begetting of Children. In a word, he distinguishes Three Things in Marriage: The Fidelity which married Persons owe one to the other, which is of natural Right; the Procreation of Children, which ought to be the end of Marriage; and the Sacrament, ••r mysterious Signification, which makes it indissoluble: For which Reason he determines, That though humane Laws permit a Man to marry again, when he is divorced from a former Wife, yet it is not Lawful for Christians, to whom St. Paul forbids it. He con∣cludes, That Marriage is of it self a good Thing, but one of those good Things which we should not look after, but in order to a greater Good, or to avoid a great Evil. That before Christ, the most Continent might marry to multiply that People from whom the Messiah, was to be born; but now, as many as are able to contain, do well not to marry. That for this Reason, Men were permitted formerly to have several Wives, and never Women to have several Husbands, but now no Man is to have more than one Wife. That the Gospel-Pu∣rity is so great in this Point, That a Deacon was not to be ordained, who had ever had more than one Wife. He approves their Opinion, who understand this Maxim in its whole Extent, and without Restriction, as St. Jerom doth by excepting those who contracted a former Mar∣riage before Baptism: For, saith he, Baptism doth indeed remit Sins; but here the Question is not concerning a Sin. And as a young Woman that hath been defiled when she was a Catechu∣men, cannot be consecrated as a Virgin after Baptism, even so it hath been thought reasonable, that the Man who hath had more than one Wife, whether before, or after Baptism, should be looked upon as wanting one necessary Qualification for Orders.

In answer to Jovinian's Objection, he distinguishes the Habit from the Action of Vertue: This being Premised, he saith, That the old Patriarchs had an Habit of Continency, but did not practise it, because it was not convenient to do it in their time; and so, when the Question is put to a Man that is not married, Are you more perfect than Abraham? he ought to answer, No; but Virginity is more perfect than conjugal Chastity: Now Abraham was endu'd with both these Vertues; for he had the Habit of Continency, and exercised conjugal Chastity. He adds, That Persons are to be distinguished from Vertues: One Person may have one Vertue in a higher Degree than another, and yet be less Holy, because he hath not other Vertues in the same Degree. Thus a disobedient Virgin is less to be esteemed than a married Woman, with the Vertue of Obedience. Last of all, he exhorts Virgins not to be lifted up, because of the Excellency of their Condition, but to be constant in Humility.

The Book Of Holy Virginity, came out presently after that Of the Advantage of Matrimony. St. Augustin shews there, That Virginity is one of the most excellent Gifts of God, and that Humility is necessary to preserve it. He exalteth the Excellency of Virgins consecrated to God, by the Example of the Virginity of the Mother of God, who, according to him, had made a Vow of Continency before the Angel appeared to her. He refutes those that condemn Matri∣mony, and those that compare it with Celibacy. He does not think that Virginity is of Com∣mand, but of Advice: It should not be chosen as a thing necessary to Salvation, but as a state of greater Perfection. And this he proves by several Passages of Scripture, and explains a Passage of St. Paul, from which some concluded, that he recommended Virginity merely upon account of the Advantage of this present Life. He asserts also, That Virgins shall have a particular Reward in Heaven. At last, he exhorts them to Humility; proposing several convincing Reasons, and powerful Motives, to inspire them with it. Then he recommends to them, above all things, the Love of their Divine Spouse, and speaks of him in a very moving man∣ner:

Behold (saith he to them) the Beauty of your Spouse! Think that he is Equal with his Father, and yet he was willing to submit himself to his Mother: He is a King in Heaven, and a Slave upon Earth: He is the Creator of all things, and yet he ranked himself among the Creatures. Consider both the Greatness and the Beauty of that which the Proud look upon with Contempt: Behold with the Eyes of Faith the Wounds which he received upon the Cross, the Blood of the dying God, who is the Price of our Redemption, and the Cause of our Salvation... He seeketh only the inward Beauty of your Soul: He gave you the power to become his Daughters: He desires not the Handsomness of the Body, but Purity of Man∣ners. None can deceive him, nor make him be jealous of you; and you may love him with∣out fear of ever displeasing him upon account of false Suspicions.

Both this and the fore-going Books were written in the Year 401.

They did well to joyn unto this the Book that treats Of the Advantages of Widowhood, which Erasmus and others had inconsiderately rejected, as a Work that was none of St. Au∣gustin's. St. Augustin, indeed, takes no notice of it in his Retractations; but that's not to be wonder'd at, because it is only a Letter to Juliana, which Possidius put into his Catalogue. * 1.3 Philo and Bede quote it as St. Augustin's; and in the 15th. Chapter some other Pieces of St. Au∣gustin's

are quoted. This Book is an Instruction for Widows. He asserts there, That Widow-hood is to be preferr'd before Marriage: Yet he doth not condemn Second Marriages, nor Third and Fourth; but only says, That it is a great Crime to Marry after the Vow of Virginity; though he judges those Marriages to be good and valid, and blames those who look upon them as adulterous. The Practice of the Church at that time was, To put them under Penance who Married after vowing Virginity; but their Marriages were not yet declared void, as is plain by the Sixteenth Canon of the Council of Chalcedon, and by several other Testimonies of the Ancients. The rest of this Letter is full of Instructions to Juliana, and her Daughter De∣metrias, who had already made Profession of Virginity, as it is observed in the 19th. Chapter: And so this small Treatise is of the Year 414. He bids them beware of the Pelagian Errors.

In both the Books Of Marriages which cannot be excused from Adultery, St. Augustin handleth this nice and Difficult Question, Whether it be lawful either for the Man or the Woman to Marry after Divorce on the Account of Fornication? Pollentius, to whom these Books are directed, believed, That the Exception of the Case of Adultery, which we find in St. Mat∣thew's Gospel, was no less to be understood of a Permission to Marry again, than of a Separation of Bodies: so that a Husband might not only leave his adulterous Wife, but also take another when he was divorced from the first. St. Augustin affirms on the contrary, That a Woman thus divorced, ought never to Marry again, no more than the Husband who caused her to be divorced. This whole Dispute depends upon the Sence of that Passage in St. Matthew, which excepteth the cause of Fornication; and upon that of St. Paul, 1 Cor. 7. which saith, That the Bond of Matrimony is indissoluble but by the Husband's Death; and that if the Wife is mar∣ried to another while he liveth, she committeth Adultery. St. Augustin enlarges much upon the Sence of these two Passages. He endeavours to make the first to agree with his Opinion, which he groundeth especially upon the second. He answereth Pollentius's Arguments, and uses several Reasonings, upon the Matter. He confesses in his Retractations, That he had not yet cleared that Point, but that there are some considerable Difficulties besides, though he had given Light enough to resolve them.

He further explaineth in the 1st. Book, another Passage in the same Epistle of St. Paul, concerning the Dissolution of Marriage between Infidels. Pollentius held, That St. Paul abso∣lutely forbids Believing Husbands to put away their Unbelieving Wives: Whereas St. Augustin affirms, That it is only an Advice that he gives them, Not to use the liberty they have to Se∣parate. He concludes this Book with another Question concerning the Catechumens, who fall into such Diseases as take away their Speech and Knowledge, VVhether they should be Baptized or no? He saith, That they ought to be Baptized; though he doth not condemn those that dare not hazard the Sacrament: And he goes so far, as to declare, That in such Cases those very Catechumens may be Baptized, who are known to be in a habit of Sin, and who ought not to be admitted to Baptism at another time. He adds, That Penitents are to be dealt withal after the same manner, and they should not be suffered to Die before they are Reconciled. In the 2d. Book, he treateth more at large than in the First, Of the Indissolubility of Ma••riages, and examines several Questions upon that Subject. He concludes with an Exhor∣tation to Husbands that have left their VVives, to live in Continency; alledging the Example of Church-men, who abstain so religiously, though they often were forced to take that Pro∣fession upon them against their VVills. The rank which St. Augustin sets these two Books in, in his Retractations, shews that he composed them in the Year 419.

The two next Books are concerning Lying. There St. Augustin handleth this Question, which was very famous in his time, Whether a Lye may be used upon some Occasions? He confesseth in the 1st. Book, entituled, Of Lying, and written in 395. That this is a perplexing Question, often disturbing Consciences; and that there seem to be some Occasions, when in Civility; and some∣times, out of Charity, officious Lyes may be lawful. He says that he will forthwith examine the Question, that he may find out some Light in so obscure a Matter; and that at last he will declare for the Truth; being persuaded, That though he were mistaken in so doing, yet his Mistake would prove less dangerous; because Error can never do less mischief, than when Men are deceived by a great Love of the Truth, and by opposing Falshood with too much Zeal.

After this Preface, he defines what Lying is. He confesses, That Ironies are not Lyes; That every Untruth which a Man may speak, is not a Lye, if Men believe that what they say is True: and, That to Lye, is to speak what we do not think, with a design to deceive. VVhereupon he examines this subtle Question, VVhether a Man speaking what he knoweth to be false, because he is sure that he to whom he speaks will not believe it, tells a Lye? And on the other side, VVhether a Man that speaketh a Truth, with a design to deceive him whom he speaks to, because he knows that he will not believe him, is free from Lying? St. Augustin saith, That neither of these can be taxed with Lying; because the one design'd to persuade the Truth, by telling an Untruth; and the other spake the Truth, to persuade a Falsity: but nei∣ther can be excused from Imprudence and Rashness. Then he comes to the Question which he proposed to himself, VVhether a Man might Lye upon some Occasions? Those that held the Affirmative, alledged several Examples of Lyes, which seem to be both approved and commen∣ded in the Old Testament, and added a Reason from Common Sence. Should any one (said they) flee to your House for shelter, and it is in your power to save him from Death, by telling a Lye,

would you see him unjustly murthered, rather than tell a Lye? If a sick Man asketh you a Question about something that he must not know; yea, supposing that he will be the worse if you give him no Answer; would you then utter a Truth that might occasion Death? or will you keep silence, when you may ease him by telling a charitable Lye? St. Augustin Op∣poses to these Reasons those Passages of Holy Scripture which forbid Lying without restriction, and then answereth the Examples out of the Old Testament; That the Righteous who seem to have Lyed, did not intend that what they said should be understood in the usual sence, but that by a Prophetical Spirit they meant to discover those things that were signified by those Figures; as for other Persons which are not in the number of the Righteous, the Holy Scripture never approves their Actions, but by comparing it with a greater Evil. He affirms, That there is no Example of Lying in the New Testament, and endeavours to answer the Inferences which they pretend to draw from the Instances of the Dispute betwixt St. Peter and St. Bar∣nabas, and betwixt St. Peter and St. Paul, as well as from the Circumcising of Timothy. Lastly, That he might put an End to all the Reasons alledged from Necessity or Advantage, he main∣tains, That we must never do Evil, what Advantage soever we may get by it: That so the whole Question is, Whether Lying be Evil or no? And not, Whether it is sometimes Profi∣table? VVhence he concludes, That no Lye is to be told, either to preserve our Chastity or our Life, or for the Good of others, or for any other reason whatsoever; no, not for the Eter∣nal Salvation of our Neighbour, because that Sin cannot be imputed to a Man, which he can∣not prevent but by committing himself another Sin. To explain what he had said more at large, he reckons up Eight sorts of Lyes; and having laid this down for a Rule, That we must depend altogether upon Gospel-Precepts, he enlargeth upon those that make against Lying.

The Second Book against Lying, is written upon the same Principles, but long after the First; for St. Augustin wrote it in 420, at the Request of Consentius, who asked him, Whether it was not lawful to make use of Lyes, to discover the Priscillianists, who concealed their Error by Lying, and horrid Execrations? St. Augustin condemns not only the Practice of the Priscillia∣nists, but also the Zeal of the Catholicks, who made use of Lyes to discover the Men of that Sect. He positively condemns the Catholicks Action, who feigned themselves Priscillianists, more than that of the Priscillianists, who feigned themselves Catholicks. From hence he takes an opportunity to enter upon the general Question concerning Lying; and he affirms, That it is never allow'd upon any Pretence whatsoever; because whatsoever is Sin in its own Nature, can never be rectified by any good Intention. He shews, by the Examples of David, and Lot, that we are not always to imitate the Actions of Righteous Men. He excuseth Abraham, and Isaac from Lying. As for Jacob's Action, he saith, it was no Lye, but a Mystery: That there is no Example of any Lye in the New Testament, because Tropes, Parables, and Figures, cannot be called Lyes, no more than what is said of Jesus Christ; that in his Dis∣course with the Pilgrims, who went to Emmaus, he made as though he would have gone further; that we are no more to imitate Thamar's Lye, than Juda's Fornication; that God rewarded not the Lye of the Egyptian Midwives, but their Compassion towards the Israelites Children. The same must be said of Rahab's Action. In one word; These Examples of Lyes taken out of the Old Testament, are no Lyes, or if they be, they cannot be excused. Lastly, Whatsoever Pretence they may have, Men are never permitted to betray the Truth for any Advantage, how great soever it may be, because they are never allowed to sin. And indeed, as St. Augustin observes once again, It is a very dangerous thing to allow Lying upon some occa∣sions, because this Maxim may be stretched too far, and upon the same Principles, Perjury, and Blasphemy may in time be allowed.

St. Augustin confesses, in his Retractations, that both these Treatises are very intricate; and that he had a Design himself to suppress them.

The Book Of the Business of Monks, is an excellent Satyr against some Monks, who thought themselves exempted from working with their Hands, because Christ hath said, That we should take no care for the Morrow, and so contented themselves with Praying, Reading, and Sing∣ing. St. Augustin opposes to them both the Example, and the Authority of St. Paul, who plainly says, That whosoever will not Work, ought not to Eat. He refutes the false Distincti∣ons which they made to shift it of. He proves, That the true Sence of that Passage of the Gospel which they quoted, did not exempt Men from Working, but only banished the Ingra∣titude of worldly Men; that to labour with ones Hands is not inconsistent with Prayer; that it is so far from being unworthy of the Monastical State, that it is part of it: For, saith he, if a Rich Man makes himself a Monk, what can there be more perfect, than having quitted great Estates, to be obliged to Labour to get Necessaries. And if this new Convert be Poor, and of mean Condition, would not that be a criminal Nicety, to desire to live more at Ease in a Monastery, than he did before in the World? Afterwards he draws the Picture of those idle Monks, whom he calls Hypocrites in Monastical Habits, with whom the Devil hath over-spread the World. They travel (saith he) from Province to Province, without any Mission; they have no fix'd Habitation, and abide in no place; they continually alter their Station: Some carry Relicks about, (if they be Relicks,) and make an Advantage of them: Others take much upon them, by reason of their Habit and Profession: Some say they are going to see their Kindred, who, as they have heard, dwell in such a Countrey: But they all beg, and take it ill if you give them not, either

to supply the Wants of such a Poverty as enricheth them, or to Recompence a seeming and counterfeit Honesty. EXIGUNT AUT SUMPTUS LUCROSAE EGESTATIS AUT SIMULATAE PRETIUM SANCTITATIS. Lastly, St. Augustin compares his own Condition with that of the Monks; affirming, That he would chuse the Life of a Regular Monastery, to work at certain hours with his Hands, and to have others for Prayer and pious Reading, rather than to be subject to the Fatigues of Office, and to be continually entangled with the secular Busi∣nesses of other Men. Towards the latter end, he laughs at the fancy of those Monks who would never cut their Hair. Nothing is more pleasant than the Answer which they made to that Passage of the Apostle, where he forbids Men to let their Hair grow. This (said they) is spoken for Ordinary Men, but not for those that have made themselves Eunuchs for the King∣dom of Heaven. St. Augustin makes Sport with that ridiculous Notion of the Monks; shewing them, That they are Men as well as others. This Book is in the Retractations, among those that were written about the Year 400.

The next Book is concerning the Predictions of Daemons; wherein St. Augustin explains how they may Imagine and Foretell things, and how they often Mistake: shewing at the same time, That Religion permits us not to Consult with them. He supposes that Daemons have very subtile Bodies. This small Treatise was composed in an Easter-Week, of some of the Years be∣twixt 406, and 411.

The Book of the Care which they ought to have of the Dead, was written to answer that Que∣stion which St. Paulinus, Bishop of Nola, had proposed to St. Augustin in the Year 421. name∣ly, Whether a dead Man was any thing the better for being buried in the Church of some holy Martyr. To this Question is added another, To what purpose are the Church's Prayers for the Dead, seeing that according to the Apostle's Maxim, All Men shall be judged according to what they have done in this Life? St. Augustin answereth, That the Book of Maccabees establishes the Custom of Praying for the Dead; and, That though nothing of it were found in the Old Testa∣ment, yet the Custom of the Church is sufficient to authorize that Practice, which is done in the Administration of the Eucharist. He is persuaded, That the Honour of Burial doth neither Good nor Hurt to the Soul of the dead Person; but yet that this Duty is to be pay'd to the Dead, as a Testimony of the Respect which is due to the Memory of pious Persons: That to be buried in a Martyrs Church, doth nothing of it self; but it serves to put the Faithful in mind of Praying for the Dead, because the Devotion for the Martyr encreaseth the Fervency of Prayer. But that commonly the Care of decent Burial proceeds from the Respect which Men have for the Body: That Martyrs had Reason to lay aside that Care: That the Scripture commends those that are careful to bury the Dead, because it is a Token o•• their Tenderness and Affection towards their Brethren. St. Augustin speaks afterwards concerning Apparitions of the Dead, by Dreams or otherwise; and having mention'd several Examples, he examineth how they come to pass. He thinks it more rational, to attribute them to the working of Angels, who form those Idea's in the Imagination, than to the Souls of the Dead. He does not believe that they are pre∣sent, or that they take any notice at that time of the things that are done, but that they are acquainted with them afterwards, either by Angels, or by the Souls of those that are dead; or last of all, by the Inspiration of God. And by this last means, he believes that the Martyrs come to know the Necessities of the Faithful, and to hear their Prayers. He does not question but Martyrs help the Living; but he knows not whether they do it by themselves, or whether God doth it by Angels, at their Request. He confesseth, That we cannot know by which of these means, or whether by both, the Martyrs work Miracles.

He concludes, That of all that is done for the Dead, nothing availeth them where they are but the Offering of the Eucharist, Prayers and Almsdeeds: That these things are not useful to all, but only to such as deserved in their life-time, to reap Benefit by them after their death: That however, these things are performed for all Christians that were Baptized, because we cannot distinguish who shall be the better for it or not: That it is better that they should be superfluous to some, than that they should be wanting to others: That these Duties are with Reason more exactly performed for our Friends and Kindred, that we may receive the same Assistance from our other Relations: That the Decency of Burial availeth nothing to the Salvation of the Dead, but it is a Duty of Humanity which is not to be neglected.

The Discourse of Patience, is one of those that St. Augustin mentions in the 231st. Letter. He treateth there of that Vertue rather Dogmatically than Pathetically. He takes notice at first, That God's Patience is of another nature from that of Men, because he cannot suffer. Then he distinguishes True Patience, which is a Vertue, from the Counterfeit, which is a Vice. Ambitious Men, Covetous, Luxurious Men, and Robbers, endure patiently extremity of Pain and Misery; yet want the Vertue of Patience, because they suffer upon an ill account. None but such as Suffer for a good Cause, can be said to be truly Patient. But if wicked Men endure all things for the Goods of this World, What ought not the Righteous to suffer for Eternal Life? Then he proposes the Examples both of Job and of the Martyrs; to the which he opposes the Im∣patience of the Donatists, who killed themselves, that they might be accounted Martyrs; shew∣ing, That Self-Murther is a greater Sin than Murthering of another;

For (saith he) a Parricide is more guilty than a Man-slayer, because he kills a Person that is nearer to him than other Men: By the same reason, he must be thought the greater Sinner who kills himself, be∣cause none are so near to us as our selves.

Lastly, He maintains, That True Patience is not

from our own strength, but from God's help; because true Patience is grounded upon Charity, which is the Gift of God. This puts St. Augustin upon discoursing of Grace, and proving that it is not given to our Merits; but that it prevents them, and goeth before Faith it self, which is the beginning of all good Works. This short Discourse was written about the Year 418.

Of the Four following Sermons upon the Creed, there is none but the first which comes near St. Augustin's Stile, as it is observed in the Preface. It contains a clear and succinct Explication of the Articles of the Creed. He saith, upon the Article of the Church, That there is but one only true Catholick Church, which opposes all Heresies, and can never be overcome. Upon the Ar∣ticle of the Forgiveness of Sins, he distinguisheth two sorts of Sins, Light and Great Sins; Bap∣tism remitteth both. After Baptism, Light Sins, from which no man can be absolutely free, are remitted by the Lord's Prayer: But great Sins, as Adultery, and other Enormous Crimes, cannot be remitted but by an humbling Penance. In this Creed we find the Article of Ever∣lasting Life, which gives Grounds of Suspicion, that this Discourse is none of St. Augustin's; because this Article is not in the Book of Faith, and the Creed, which is certainly his.

The Benedictines have Reason to Print the Three other Sermons upon the same Subject, in a small Character, and to observe as they do, that they are written in a very different Stile from St. Augustin's; yet they believe them to be ancient, and written by some Disciple of St. Augu∣stin, during the Vandals Persecution against the Catholicks, which is mentioned in the Second Sermon.

They likewise put into the same rank Three other Sermons, which they believe to belong to the same Author; The Sermon of the Fourth Day of the Week, Or, Of the Dressing of the Lord's Vineyard; A Discourse concerning the Flood, and the Sermon of the Time of the Barbarian's Perse∣cution; which they have also Printed in a small Character.

They have left the Sermon of the New Song under St. Augustin's Name; but they say in the Preface, That they doubted whether it was his. They might have passed the same Censure of the Sermon of Discipline, and that of the Usefulness of Fasting; which I cannot find to be any more than the others of S. Augustin's Stile: Nay, I scarce believe, That the Sermon of the taking of the City of Rome, which is the last in this Volume, is truly St. Augustin's; yet every man is left to judge as he pleases, that shall read it.

The Treatises which you find in the Supplement, are certainly none of St. Augustin's: The Benedictines have made an exact Critick of them in their Prefaces, and have Collected all that could be said or guess'd at concerning their Authors.

The first is a Collection of One and twenty Questions, gather'd without any Order by a very Ig∣norant Author. Most of them are about Philosophical Matters, and composed of Extracts out of several of St. Augustin's Books.

The Sixty five following Questions and Answers, which are found in some Manuscripts under Orosius's and St. Augustin's Names, are in a better order than the former, and concerning more Theological Matters; but they are Extracts out of several Passages: The first Twelve are taken out of a Treatise falsly attributed to St. Augustin, Concerning the Trinity and Unity of God. Most of them that follow, are Extracts out of St. Eucherius. Some are out of St. Augustin's Treatise upon Genesis. They end with a Citation of a Passage of St. Augustin against those who desire to be Bishops, that they might Command, taken out of the 19th. Chapter of the 19th. Book of the City of God; which is quoted as of a Father ancienter than himself: One of the Fathers, saith he, hath said very elegantly, against those that desire to Command: Let those, saith he, who would Com∣mand rather than Serve others, know, that they are not Bishops.

The Book of Faith to Peter, belongs to St. Fulgentius, to whom it is ascribed in a Manuscript of Corby, above One thousand Years old, as well as in another later. It is cited under his Name by Ratramnus, in his Treatise of the Body and Blood of Christ. Both Isidore, and Honorius of Autun, do likewise mention a Treatise of St. Fulgentius, containing the Rule of Faith; which is not different from this.

The Book of the Spirit and Soul, which is a Collection of Passages from several Authors, is attributed to Hugo de S. Victore by Trithemius, and by Vincentius Bellovacensis, and Printed among this Author's Works. Yet the great number of Extracts taken out of the very Works of Hugo de S. Victore makes it questionable, whether it be his. St. Thomas ascribes it to a Cistercian Monk. The Benedictines believe that it was written by Alcherus, a Friend of Isaac's, Abbot of Stella, to whom this Man directed a Letter of the Soul. In the Bibliotheca Cisterciana, it is attributed to Isaac, and it is observed that he publish'd it under Alcherus's Name; but it is not likely that Ab∣bot Isaac would insert a part of his own Letter into this Treatise.

The Treatise of Friendship is an Epitome, or rather an Extract out of the Treatise of Aelredus Rievallensis, which is found among that Author's Works.

The Book of the Substance of Love, is made up of two small Treatises among the Works of Hugo de S. Victore. That of the Love of God, is a Collection of Passages of this same Author's, out of St. Bernard, and St. Anselm Vincentius Bellovacensis cites it under Peter Comestor's Name.

The Soliloquies that are here, are not those of St. Augustin, which are in the first Volume of his Works: These are made up out of Passages of the Soliloquies and Confessions of St. Au∣gustin, and the Books of Hugo de S. Victore. There is the first Chapter of the Fourth Lateran Council held in the Year 1198.

It is proved in the Preface to the Book of Meditations, that they cannot be St. Augustin's. Many of them are attributed to St. Anselm; but the Benedictines have prov'd, That they are rather written by John Abbot of Fescamp, who lived in the time of the Emperor Henry III. to whose Widow he directs a Letter, published by Father Mabillon in the first Volume of his Analecta, from another Manuscript of the Abby of St. Arnoul of Metz, where this Treatise of Meditations is mentioned, part whereof is found in the same Manuscript.

The following Treatise of the Contrition of the Heart, is taken out of the Meditations attri∣buted to St. Anselm.

The Manual is Composed likewise of Extracts out of St. Anselm's Works, and St. Bernard's, Hugo's de S. Victore, and Alcuinus; there are also some Passages of St. Augustin, St. Cyprian, St. Gregory, and of Isidore of Seville. Part of this Book is in the next Book, entituled the Looking-Glass: Another part of it is the Extract of a Prayer which is in the Manuscript of Corby, which containeth the Works of Abbot John.

The Looking-Glass makes a part of the Confession of Faith, which Chiffletius published under Alcuinus's Name, yet it is Composed of Passages out of Alcuinus's own Works.

The next Book is entituled, The Looking-Glass of a Sinner. The Author citeth a Sentence of Odo Cluniacensis, in Commendation of St. Martin. He useth the term of Prebend, and he hath taken some places out of the Prayer of Hugo de S. Victore, out of the Book of the Spirit and Soul already mentioned, and out of the Book of Conscience, ascribed to St. Bernard. The Book of the threefold Habitation is of the same nature; and there are the same Notions. It is very likely that all these Treatises of Piety belong to the same Author.

The Book intituled, The Ladder of Paradise, attributed to St. Bernard, and intituled in his VVorks, the Ladder of the Cloister; or, a Treatise how to Pray; is written by Guigo [or Guido] Carthusianus, as appears by the Letter that serves for a Preface, taken out of the Manuscript of the Carthusian House in Colen.

Honorius of Autun, in his Book of Luminaries, mentions a Book which he had written, inti∣tuled, Of the Knowledge of Life; or, Of the true Life. This here bears the same Title, and has the Stile and Genius of this Author; as is proved in the Preface.

The Book of a Christian Life, was formerly restored by Holstenius, to one Fastidius, a Britain, who is the true Author of it; as we learn not only by the ancient Manuscript belonging to the Monastery of Mount-Cassin, by which Holstenius Printed it at Rome, in 1633. but also by the Authority of Gennadius, who ascribes it to him, and who observes that this Author was a Britain.

In this Book there are several Footsteps of Pelagius's Errors; he lived much about the same time.

The Book of Wholsome Instructions, is here restored upon the Credit of an ancient Manu∣script, in the Library of M. Colbert, to Paulinus Patriarch of Aquileia; who lived about the latter end of the * 1.4 Ninth Century.

The Author of the Book, Of the Twelve Abuses of the Age, is not known; it is as wrongfully attributed to St. Augustin as to St. Cyprian: only it is observed in the Preface, That this Book is quoted by Jonas Bishop of Orleans, who was ancienter than Hincmar, who writ a Book bearing the same Title, different from that mentioned by Flodoardus: Pamelius found a Manuscript, having in the Margin the Name of Evrard, instead of St. Augustin; but this Evrard is not known.

They did not Print the two Treatises of the Seven deadly Sins, and of the Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit, which F. Vignier published under St. Augustin's Name, in the First Part of his Sup∣plement, because they are amongst the VVorks of Hugo de S. Victore.

The Treatise of the Conflict betwixt Vertues and Vices was first ascribed to St. Augustin, then to St. Leo, then to St. Ambrose, and at last to Isidore of Seville: but here it is restored to its true Author Ambrosius Autpertus, a Benedictine Monk [of the Monastery of St. Vincent] upon the Vultarnus near Benevente. This Treatise is mention••d in his Life, which is in the Acts of the Benedictines, Age III. at the Year 778. The Stile of this Treatise is very like that of this Au∣thor's Commentary upon the Revelations.

Of the same Nature is the Book of Sobriety and Charity, and the Author of it is unknown. There Drunkenness is particularly reproved. This Book is well enough written, and seemeth to me to be ancient.

The Benedictines prove in their Preface to the Book of true and false Repentance, That this Book has not St. Augustin's Stile, though it hath been cited under his Name by Gratian, by the Master of the Sentences, Petrus Blesensis, and several others.

The Treatise of Antichrist, is likewise among the VVorks' of Alcuinus and Rabanus. Rupertus cites it without naming the Author. The Manuscripts attribute it to Alcuinus, and it agrees well enough with his other Writings. It contains several Circumstances relating to Anti-Christ, and the End of the World, which he describeth with as much Confidence as if he had learned it by Revelation.

After this Treatise comes a Prayer, or rather an Imprecation out of several Verses of the Psalms. It is intituled in a Manuscript of the King's Library, The Psalter of Pope John, made at Vienna. John the XXIId. is thought to be the Man meant by that Title.

The following Treatise upon the Magnificat, is a Fragment of the Treatise of Hugo de S. Victore, upon this Hymn.

That of the Virgin's Assumption, is a Sermon of some Author of the Twelfth Century, or thereabouts; which teacheth that the Blessed Virgin is in Heaven, both Soul and Body.

Both the Discourses concerning Visiting the Sick, contain useful Rules to teach Priests how they should behave themselves towards Sick Persons; but they are very late. Both the Discourses of the Comfort for the Dead, are of the same Nature, and it may be of the same Author.

The Treatise of Christian Behaviour is a Collection of Notions taken out of St. Eloi or Eli∣gius Bishop of Noyon, and Caesarius. The Discourse upon the Creed, is likewise a Collection of Remarks drawn out of Rufinus, Caesarius, St. Gregory, Ivo Carnutensis, and others. The Sermon upon Easter-Eve, about the Paschal-Lamb, and that upon the * 1.5 41st. Sermon, are among the Books falsly attributed to St. Jerom.

The three Sermons to the Novices, concerning Unction, Baptism, and washing of the Feet, are not like St. Augustin's Writings, though they are attributed to him in very ancient Ma∣nuscripts.

The Treatise of the Creation of the first Man, is inserted entire into the Book of the Spirit and the Soul. It is among St. Ambrose's VVorks, entituled a Treatise of the Dignity of the first Man; and among Alcuinus's it is intituled, Thoughts of the Blessed Albinus a Levite, upon these words of Genesis, Let us make Man after our own Image.

The Sermon of the Vanity of this present Age, is inserted into the Treatise of Christian Behaviour, The Author of the Sermon upon the contempt of the World is not known. That about the Advan∣tage of Discipline belongs to Valerianus Cemeliensis: It is not known who was the Author of the Sermons of Obedience, Humility, Prayer, Alms, and that of the Generality of Alms-deeds. The small Discourse of the Twelve Prayers spoken of in the 21st. Chapter of the Revelations, belongs perhaps to Amatus a Monk, of Mount-Cassin, or rather an Extract of Bede's Commentary upon that Passage in the Revelations.

Finally, The Sermons to the Brethren that live in the Wilderness, are the Work of some Modern Monk, who was so imprudent as to publish them under St. Augustin's Name, though it be as clear as the day, that they are not of this Father. Baronius observes, That they were Compos'd by an Impostor, and that they are full of Fables, Falsities, and Lyes. Bellarmin saith, That the Stile of them is Childish, Course, and Barbarous. There are several Passages out of St. Augustin, Caesarius and St. Gregory. It is probable, that the Author was a Flemming.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Tome VI.
• * 1.2

  St. Au∣gustin. Tome VI.
• * 1.3

  [Who this Philo is, I don't know; it seems to be a Fault of the Press: Philo Carpathius, mention'd in the last Volume, dy'd several Years be∣fore St. Augustin wrote this Letter to Juliana.]
• * 1.4

  [This seems to be a mi∣stake of the Press: this Pauli∣nus, or as it is in the French Paulus, was Con∣tempora∣ry with Charles the Great, as∣sisted at the Coun∣cil of Francfort, and dy'd, according to Dr. Cave, in the Year 804.]
• * 1.5

  [What this Book upon the 41st. Ser∣mon shou'd be, I can∣not tell; it is false Printed in all proba∣bility, but not having this Bene∣dictine E∣dition of St. Augu∣stin by me, I could not alter it.]