inscrutable abyss of Divine predestination, and not to the differences of human wills or actions, as the Pelagians and Semipelagians did. See also cap. 11, where he refers it to the will of God, and secret predestination, that God does not grant assistance to some. Prosper plainly asserts that the means of saving grace, or the call to grace, are denied to some, (Resp. 4 ad Cap. Gall.) where he does not repel this objection as false, That all men are not called to grace, but acknowledges that this may be truly said of all those, to whom he hath not made known the mystery of the cross of Christ, and the redemption of his blood. And (Sentent. 4) as afore-mentioned, We cannot say that there is a call of grace where there are as yet no sacraments of the Church. In which passage is to be observed, that he opposes those who defend the opinion of grace procured for and offered to all for Christ's sake, and who imagine, I know not what calling and sufficiency of grace, in the midst of the darkness of Paganism. What Prosper has spoken of little children, we may say of adults, (Resp. ad obj. 4) Let them be proved to be called in any way, to whom the planter could not preach, nor the waterer assist. Fulgentius, (lib. 1, de verit. Prædest.) To men who are capable of reason, God either grants or denies means suitable to salvation, shewing his justice towards some, his mercy to others. His meaning is, That God sends or does not send preachers of the Gospel, according to his good pleasure; he sends when he is willing to shew his mercy; he does not send when he chooses to manifest his justice. I add also from Fulgentius, that the common guilt which all men have contracted in Adam, suffices to justify the denial of the grace of the Gospel to any man. His words are, This grace of God by which we are saved is not given for any preceding good desert, nor yet is it denied for any preceding evil desert. For the first man transmitted the deserts of his sin to all his posterity, &c. From which it appears, that according to the opinion of Fulgentius, original sin is a sufficiently just cause why the grace of Christ should be denied to any man. Which Aquinas himself acknowledges, (2a. 2æ. qu. 2a. art. 5o. resp. ad 1m.) where he says, the help of grace is mercifully given to some, to others

of justice it is not given, in punishment of preceding sin, at least of original sin. From all these things, we have what we proposed to confirm in the first place, viz. That there is no law decreed or appointed, by the merit of the death of Christ, for administering the means of the grace of the Gospel to the whole human race: but that God, notwithstanding any respect to the death of Christ, may of right deny, and actually has denied to some, even the call of grace.

Secondly, from the same Fathers we shall shew, that that grace, which we call by way of eminence the grace of Christ, that is, which makes a man to be a living member of Christ, and a partaker of salvation and eternal life, is not prepared and offered, much less given to all by the merit of the death of Christ, but is prepared and offered and given to some, and is not prepared for or given to others, and that according to the absolute good pleasure of God. Augustine (Contr. duas epist. Pelag. lib. 2, cap. 2) says, According to the purpose of God one is called, another is not called. To him who is called he gives gratuitously that which is good; of which good, calling is the chief: to him who is not called, he renders evil, because all are guilty, since by one man sin entered into the world. From which words it appears that calling according to purpose, which communicates faith and love, and places man in a state of salvation, is given to some, and is denied to others. Moreover it is also evident, that this grace is given to them to whom it is given, not on account of any special obedience of the will of the person who receives it, but of the special mercy of God, who calls and inclines the will to obedience. It appears further, that the common guilt which all have contracted in Adam, is enough to defend the justice of God in respect of those whom he passes by as to the gift of saving grace, which even Bellarmin does not dare to deny, as may be seen (lib. 20, de Grat. & lib. arb. cap. 4.) A second testimony of Augustine is contained (lib. 4, Contra duas epist. Pelag. 6,) He who makes men his sheep, makes free the wills of men to the obedience of piety. But why he makes some men his sheep, and does not make others, is

a question which pertains to that depth, which the Apostle desiring to look into, stopped and exclaimed, OH, THE DEPTH of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out. (Rom. xi. 33,) In these words, by making some and not others his sheep, he means nothing more than making some faithful and obedient, and not making others so. Both are attributed to God, and that according to the purpose of his secret will. Therefore there has not been established by the death of Christ such a decree, as some have formed, for preparing, offering, and giving to all men that grace by which they may be rendered believing and obedient, under the condition of free-will embracing it. A third testimony is taken from (De Præd. Sanctor. cap. 9,) Faith, both in its commencement and perfection, is the gift of God. And that this gift is granted to some and not to others, cannot be doubted at all by any who do not wilfully oppose the most plain words of Scriptures. But why it is not given to all, ought not to stagger the believer, who believes that from one all are under condemnation. He clearly teaches that the grace of faith is not given to all; and that there is no need of seeking any reason why this grace is not given, since that damnable. state in which we were all born is sufficient to shew the justice of God, even if he should not give the grace of salvation to any mortal man. A fourth testimony is derived from the book (De corrept. & Grat. cap. 5.) where the unbelieving and rebellious are reproved in this manner, I should be rightly blamed, if I had it not (that is, faith and obedience) of my own fault, that is, if I could give it to myself, or take it, and should not do so, or if God should give it and I should be unwilling to receive it. But when the very will is prepared by the Lord, why do you blame me, &c. Augustine answers in this manner, (cap. 6) The original depravity through which God is disobeyed, is of man, because by falling, through his own evil will, from that uprightness in which God at first made him, he became depraved. Therefore the damnable origin should be blamed, that from the grief of correction the will of regeneration may arise, if he who is corrected is a child of promise, that God may by his secret inspi

ration work within him both to will and to do. To this I add a passage very similar, from Epist. 105. Pelagius objects, What are we to do, who live wickedly, since we have not received grace from whence we should live well? Augustine replies merely, They cannot truly say they have done no evil, who of their own accord live wickedly. And a little after, They may impute this to themselves, who are of that mass, which God hath deservedly and justly condemned on account of the sin of one. It is to be observed, that in both these passages Augustine allows that there are some to whom God hath denied his grace; and also, that those to whom it is not given, cannot take it to themselves; and further, that original guilt and depravity is a sufficient reason why God should deny the grace of Christ to any one, according to his own will. Moreover, it is also to be observed, that Augustine does not imagine that the saving grace of Christ is any thing offered to the human will, which knocks in order that it may gain admittance, but something communicated, which heals and quickens the will to which it is given. The last testimony which we shall produce from Augustine is contained in Epist. 107, where he enumerates against the Pelagians twelve opinions relating to the catholic faith, the fourth of which is, We know that the grace of God is not given to all men. But lest any one should pretend, that by the death of Christ it was effected, that grace is prepared for and offered to all, although it may be possessed or not, according as men are willing or not to accept it; this opinion also is excluded in the fifth and sixth of which we shall speak more hereafter. From Augustine let us proceed to Prosper. He says (ad excerpta Genuens. resp. ad dub. 4,) When the word of truth is preached, some willingly believe it, others do not believe it; but it is because God opens the hearts of some, and does not open the hearts of others. Which is the same as if he had said, that the grace of faith is given to some, and denied to others. And (resp. ad dub. 8,) What else can we say of the Tyrians and Sidonians, than that it was not given to them to believe? But why it was denied to them, let them say if they can, &c. Prosper asserts two things: first, that the gift

Lastly, in his book de be an error of the Pela

of faith is denied to some men: secondly, that the cause
why it is denied, is inscrutable.
Ingratis, (cap. 6) he states it to
gians,

Quod sine delectu seu lex seu gratia Christi
Omnem hominem salvare velit; donúmque vocantis
Sic sit propositum ut nullus non possit ad illud
Libertate suâ proprióque vigore venire.

That without any choice, or law, or grace of Christ, he wills the salvation of every man; and the gift of calling is so proposed that there is no one but might come to it by his own freedom and strength.

Then he paints the opinion of the Semipelagians in these colours, cap. 10;

Gratia quâ Christi populus sumus hoc cohibetur

Limite vobiscum, et formam hanc adscribitis illi;
Ut cunctos vocet illa quidem invitetque, nec ullum
Præteriens, studeat communem adferre salutem

Omnibus, &c.

The grace by which we become the people of Christ is restrained by you in this limit, and you ascribe this form to it; that it calls and invites all, and not passing by any, endeavours to bring a common salvation to all, &c.

Dic, unde probes quòd gratia Christi,
Nullum omnino hominem de cunctis qui generantur.
Prætereat?

Tell me, from whence you can prove that the grace of Christ does not pass by any man at all of all who are born? Therefore, any one who contends that grace is given to all, is esteemed by Prosper to have the fibres of Pelagian virulence. Let us now hear Fulgentius. In his book (de verit. Prædest. Biblioth. Patr. tom. 6, p. 158,) he has these words, The holy Fathers who held the truth of Apostolical preaching most certainly knew, and left it in their books to be known, that the grace of Christ is not given to all men generally. A little after, We should not therefore think that the grace of God is given to all men. For all men have not faith, and some do not receive the love of God that they may be saved. In whom, nevertheless, it is the fault of the human will, that they do not believe or love God, which, as long as grace, the