Letter 89: 1. If, on behalf of error and inexcusable dissension, and falsehoods which have been in every way possible disproved, men are so presumptuous as to persevere in boldly assailing and threatening the Catholic Church, which seeks their salvation, how much more is it reasonable and right for those who maintain the truth of Christian peace and unity,...

To my most beloved and honorable lord, my distinguished son Festus — Augustine, greetings in the Lord. Against the disobedience of dissenters: the utility of imperial laws. 1. The laws that have been passed against the Donatists [imperial edicts aimed at suppressing the Donatist schism in North Africa] are for their own benefit, whatever they may think. A physician is not the patient's enemy because the patient screams when the wound is cauterized. You, my son, have it in your power to ensure that these laws are enforced in your district — not with cruelty, but with firmness. I am writing to explain why I believe such enforcement is both just and necessary, and to demonstrate to you how unreasonable and imprudent the Donatists' own conduct has been. 2. They complain of persecution. But what persecution have they suffered that compares with the outrages they have inflicted? Their Circumcellions [roving bands of Donatist extremists who carried out violent attacks on Catholic clergy and laity] have beaten, blinded, and murdered Catholic Christians. They have invaded churches, smashed altars, and poured the Eucharist on the ground for dogs to eat. Is the man who restrains a murderer a persecutor? 3. They say: religion cannot be compelled. I agree that no one should be forced to believe what they do not believe. But the law can restrain violence, and it can remove the social pressure that keeps people in error. Many who have returned to Catholic unity testify that they wanted to come back long ago but were afraid — afraid of the Circumcellions, afraid of their neighbors, afraid of their own families. The imperial laws gave them the freedom to follow their conscience. 4. I once believed, I confess, that we should rely only on persuasion — on the word of God and on argument. Experience taught me otherwise. Not because persuasion is wrong, but because persuasion alone cannot reach people who are prevented by terror from even listening. 5. Consider the parable of the great feast in Luke's Gospel: the master says to his servants, "Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in." The Church does not compel with the sword — that is the state's instrument, not ours — but we do not refuse the help the state offers, when that help is directed toward salvation rather than destruction. 6. I am not asking you to be harsh. I am asking you to be just. Enforce the law. Protect the innocent. And leave room for mercy, because many of those on the other side are not wicked — they are merely trapped. 7. As for the Donatists' own arguments: they point to the case of Caecilianus [the bishop of Carthage whose consecration in 311 AD sparked the schism, when the Donatist party claimed one of his consecrators was a traditor — someone who had surrendered sacred books during persecution] as though it were still an open question. It was settled generations ago. Councils examined the evidence. The accusers were found to be the ones with traditors [those who surrendered Scripture to persecutors during the Diocletianic persecution] in their own ranks. The case was reviewed, appealed, and reviewed again. At every stage the Catholic side was vindicated. They cling to a grievance that their own forebears manufactured. 8. In the region of Hippo specifically, I must report that the imperial letters have not yet had the corrective effect we hoped for. The Donatists continue to act with intolerable aggression. I urge you, my son, to give your attention to this matter. The peace of the Church, and the safety of many innocent people, depend on it.

Letter 89 (A.D. 406) To Festus, My Lord Well Beloved, My Son Honourable and Worthy of Esteem, Augustine Sends Greeting in the Lord. 1. If, on behalf of error and inexcusable dissension, and falsehoods which have been in every way possible disproved, men are so presumptuous as to persevere in boldly assailing and threatening the Catholic Church, which seeks their salvation, how much more is it reasonable and right for those who maintain the truth of Christian peace and unity, — truth which commends itself even to those who profess to deny it or attempt to resist it — to labour constantly and with energy, not only in the defense of those who are already Catholics, but also for the correction of those who are not yet within the Church! For if obstinacy aims at the possession and exercise of indomitable strength, how great should be the strength of constancy which devotes persevering and unwearied labours to a cause which it knows to be both pleasing to God, and beyond all question necessarily approved by the judgment of wise men! 2. Could there, moreover, be anything more lamentable as an instance of perversity, than for men not only to refuse to be humbled by the correction of their wickedness, but even to claim commendation for their conduct, as is done by the Donatists, when they boast that they are the victims of persecution; either through incredible blindness not knowing, or through inexcusable passion pretending not to know, that men are made martyrs not by the amount of their suffering, but by the cause in which they suffer? This I would say even were I opposing men who were only involved in the darkness of error, and suffering penalties on that account most truly merited, and who had not dared to assault any one with insane violence. But what shall I say against those whose fatal obstinacy is such that it is checked only by fear of losses, and is taught only by exile how universal (as had been foretold) is the diffusion of the Church, which they prefer to attack rather then to acknowledge? And if the things which they suffer under this most gentle discipline be compared with those things which they in reckless fury perpetrate, who does not see to which party the name of persecutors more truly belongs? Nay, even though wicked sons abstain from violence, they do, by their abandoned way of life, inflict upon their affectionate parents a much more serious wrong than their father and mother inflict upon them, when, with a sternness proportioned to the strength of their love, they endeavour without dissimulation to compel them to live uprightly. 3. There exist the strongest evidences in public documents, which you can read if you please, or rather, which I beseech and exhort you to read, by which it is proved that their predecessors, who originally separated themselves from the peace of the Church, did of their own accord dare to bring accusation against Cæcilianus before the Emperor by means of Anulinus, who was proconsul at that time. Had they gained the day in that trial, what else would Cæcilianus have suffered at the hands of the Emperor than that which, when they were defeated, he awarded to them? But truly, if they having accused him had prevailed, and Cæcilianus and his colleagues had been expelled from their sees, or, through persisting in their conspiracy, had exposed themselves to severer punishments (for the imperial censure could not pass unpunished the resistance of persons who had been defeated in the civil courts), they would then have published as worthy of all praise the Emperor's wise measures and anxious care for the good of the Church. But now, because they have themselves lost their case, being wholly unable to prove the charges which they advanced, if they suffer anything for their iniquity, they call it persecution; and not only set no bounds to their wicked violence, but also claim to be honoured as martyrs: as if the Catholic Christian emperors were following in their measures against their most obstinate wickedness any other precedent than the decision of Constantine, to whom they of their own accord appealed as the accusers of Cæcilianus, and whose authority they so esteemed above that of all the bishops beyond the sea, that to him rather than to them they referred this ecclesiastical dispute. To him, again, they protested against the first judgment given against them by the bishops whom he had appointed to examine the case in Rome, and to him also they appealed against the second judgment given by the bishops at Arles: yet when at last they were defeated by his own decision, they remained unchanged in their perversity. I think that even the devil himself would not have had the assurance to persist in such a cause, if he had been so often overthrown by the authority of the judge to whom he had of his own will chosen to appeal. 4. It may be said, however, that these are human tribunals, and that they might have been cajoled, misguided, or bribed. Why, then, is the Christian world libelled and branded with the crime laid to the charge of some who are said to have surrendered to persecutors the sacred books? For surely it was neither possible for the Christian world, nor incumbent upon it, to do otherwise than believe the judges whom the plaintiffs had chosen, rather than the plaintiffs against whom these judges pronounced judgments. These judges are responsible to God for their opinion, whether just or unjust; but what has the Church, diffused throughout the world, done that it should be deemed necessary for her to be rebaptized by the Donatists upon no other ground than because, in a case in which she was not able to decide as to the truth, she has thought herself called upon to believe those who were in a position to judge it rightly, rather than those who, though defeated in the civil courts, refused to yield? O weighty indictment against all the nations to which God promised that they should be blessed in the seed of Abraham, and has now made His promise good! When they with one voice demand, Why do you wish to rebaptize us? The answer given is, Because you do not know what men in Africa were guilty of surrendering the sacred books; and being thus ignorant, accepted the testimony of the judges who decided the case as more worthy of credit than that of those by whom the accusation was brought. No man deserves to be blamed for the crime of another; what, then, has the whole world to do with the sin which some one in Africa may have committed? No man deserves to be blamed for a crime about which he knows nothing; and how could the whole world possibly know the crime in this case, whether the judges or the party condemned were guilty? You who have understanding, judge what I say. Here is the justice of heretics: the party of Donatus condemns the whole world unheard, because the whole world does not condemn a crime unknown. But for the world, truly, it suffices to have the promises of God, and to see fulfilled in itself what prophets predicted so long ago, and to recognise the Church by means of the same Scriptures by which Christ her King is recognised. For as in them are foretold concerning Christ the things which we read in gospel history to have been fulfilled in Him, so also in them have been foretold concerning the Church the things which we now behold fulfilled in the world. 5. Possibly some thinking people might be disturbed by what they are accustomed to say regarding baptism, viz. that it is the true baptism of Christ only when it is administered by a righteous man, were it not that on this subject the Christian world holds what is most manifestly evangelical truth as taught in the words of John: He that sent me to baptize with water, the same said to me, Upon whom you shall see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizes with the Holy Ghost. John 1:33 Wherefore the Church calmly declines to place her hope in man, lest she fall under the curse pronounced in Scripture, Cursed be the man that trusts in man, Jeremiah 17:5 but places her hope in Christ, who so took upon Him the form of a servant as not to lose the form of God, of whom it is said, The same is He which baptizes. Therefore, whoever the man be, and whatever office he bear who administers the ordinance, it is not he who baptizes, — that is the work of Him upon whom the dove descended. So great is the absurdity in which the Donatists are involved in consequence of these foolish opinions, that they can find no escape from it. For when they admit the validity and reality of baptism when one of their sect baptizes who is a guilty man, but whose guilt is concealed, we ask them, Who baptizes in this case? And they can only answer, God; for they cannot affirm that a man guilty of sin (say of adultery) can sanctify any one. If, then, when baptism is administered by a man known to be righteous, he sanctifies the person baptized; but when it is administered by a wicked man, whose wickedness is hidden, it is not he, but God, who sanctifies. Those who are baptized ought to wish to be baptized rather by men who are secretly bad than by men manifestly good, for God sanctifies much more effectually than any righteous man can do. If it be palpably absurd that one about to be baptized ought to wish to be baptized by a hypocritical adulterer rather than by a man of known chastity, it follows plainly, that whoever be the minister that dispenses the rite, the baptism is valid, because He Himself baptizes upon whom the dove descended. 6. Notwithstanding the impression which truth so obvious should produce on the ears and hearts of men, such is the whirlpool of evil custom by which some have been engulfed, that rather than yield, they will resist both authority and argument of every kind. Their resistance is of two kinds — either with active rage or with passive immobility. What remedies, then, must the Church apply when seeking with a mother's anxiety the salvation of them all, and distracted by the frenzy of some and the lethargy of others? Is it right, is it possible, for her to despise or give up any means which may promote their recovery? She must necessarily be esteemed burdensome by both, just because she is the enemy of neither. For men in frenzy do not like to be bound, and men in lethargy do not like to be stirred up; nevertheless the diligence of charity perseveres in restraining the one and stimulating the other, out of love to both. Both are provoked, but both are loved; both, while they continue under their infirmity, resent the treatment as vexatious; both express their thankfulness for it when they are cured. 7. Moreover, whereas they think and boast that we receive them into the Church just as they were, it is not so. We receive them completely changed, because they do not begin to be Catholics until they have ceased to be heretics. For their sacraments, which we have in common with them, are not the objects of dislike to us, because they are not human, but Divine. That which must be taken from them is the error, which is their own, and which they have wickedly imbibed; not the sacraments, which they have received like ourselves, and which they bear and have — to their own condemnation, indeed, because they use them so unworthily; nevertheless, they truly have them. Wherefore, when their error is forsaken, and the perversity of schism corrected in them, they pass over from heresy into the peace of the Church, which they formerly did not possess, and without which all that they did possess was only doing them harm. If, however, in thus passing over they are not sincere, this is a matter not for us, but for God, to judge. And yet, some who were suspected of insincerity because they had passed over to us through fear, have been found in some subsequent temptations so faithful as to surpass others who had been originally Catholics. Therefore let it not be said that nothing is accomplished when strong measures are employed. For when the entrenchments of stubborn custom are stormed by fear of human authority, this is not all that is done, because at the same time faith is strengthened, and the understanding convinced, by authority and arguments which are Divine. 8. These things being so, be it known to your Grace that your men in the region of Hippo are still Donatists, and that your letter has had no influence upon them. The reason why it failed to move them I need not write; but send some one, either a servant or a friend of your own, whose fidelity you can entrust with the commission, and let him come not to them in the first place, but to us without their knowledge; and when he has carefully consulted with us as to what is best to be done, let him do it with the Lord's help. For in these measures we are acting not only for their welfare, but also on behalf of our own men who have become Catholics, to whom the vicinity of these Donatists is so dangerous, that it cannot be looked upon by us as a small matter. I could have written much more briefly; but I wished you to have a letter from me, by which you might not only be yourself informed of the reason of my solicitude, but also be provided with an answer to any one who might dissuade you from earnestly devoting your energies to the correction of the people who belong to you, and might speak against us for wishing you to do this. If in this I have done what was unnecessary, because you had yourself either learned or thought out these principles, or if I have been burdensome to you by inflicting so long a letter upon one so engrossed with public affairs, I beg you to forgive me. I only entreat you not to despise what I have brought before you and requested at your hands. May the mercy of God be your safeguard!

EPISTOLA 89 Scripta inter a. 405 et 411. A. festo docens legibus recte reprimi Donatistas eique demonstrans eorum agendi rationem iniquam atque imprudentem (n. 1-7) et indicans in regione Hipponensi nondum eos Festi litteris correctos, sed adhuc intolerabiliter grassari (n. 8). DOMINO DILECTISSIMO ET HONORABILI AC SUSCIPIENDO FILIO FESTO, AUGUSTINUS, IN DOMINO SALUTEM Contra dissidentium pertinaciam constanter adlaborandum. 1. Si pro errore homines et damnabili dissensione et convicta modis omnibus falsitate tanta praesumunt, ut eorum salutem requirenti catholicae Ecclesiae tam audacter insidiari minarique non cessent; quanto magis aequum est, et oportet eos qui pacis et unitatis christianae asserunt veritatem, omnibus etiam dissimulantibus et cohibentibus manifestam, satagere instanter atque impigre, non solum pro eorum munimine qui iam catholici sunt, verum etiam pro eorum correctione qui nondum sunt? Nam si pertinacia insuperabiles vires habere conatur, quantas decet habere constantiam, quae in eo bono quod perseveranter atque infatigabiliter agit, et Deo placere se novit, et procul dubio non potest hominibus prudentibus displicere? Falsae Donatistarum querelae in Catholicos. 2. Quid autem infelicius atque perversius, sicut Donatistae faciunt, qui se persecutionem perpeti gloriantur, quam de coercitione iniquitatis suae non solum nescire confundi, sed etiam velle laudari; ignorantes caecitate mirabili, vel animositate damnabili se scire dissimulantes, quod martyres veros non faciat poena, sed causa? Et hoc quidem adversus eos dicerem, quos sola caligo haeretici erroris involveret, pro quo sacrilegio poenas dignissimas luerent, nec tamen ulla quemquam violenta insania laedere auderent. Adversus autem istos quid dicam, quorum tam perniciosa perversitas, vel damnorum terrore coercetur, vel docetur exsilio quam ubique diffusa sit Ecclesia, sicut futura praedicta est 1, quam malunt oppugnare quam agnoscere? Et si ea quae per misericordissimam disciplinam patiuntur, comparentur eis factis quae furiosa temeritate committunt, quis non videat, qui magis persecutores vocandi sunt? Quamquam filii mali eo tantum quo perdite vivunt, etiamsi nullas violenter inferant manus, parentum pietatem gravius persequuntur, quam cum illos pater aut mater, quanto amplius diligunt, tanto amplius ad bonam vitam sine ulla dissimulatione compellunt. Donatistarum pertinacissima atque impudens iniquitas. 3. Exstant publicorum monumentorum firmissima documenta, quae potes legere si volueris, imo peto et hortor ut legas; quibus probatur quod maiores eorum qui primi se ab Ecclesiae pace diviserunt, ultro per Anulinum tunc proconsulem apud Constantinum imperatorem accusare ausi sunt Caecilianum. In quo utique iudicio si vicissent, quid erat Caecilianus ab Imperatore passurus, nisi quod in istos posteaquam victi sunt pronuntiavit? Sed videlicet si eis accusantibus atque superantibus Caecilianus eiusque collegae pellerentur sedibus, quas tenebant, vel etiam in sua conspiratione durantes gravius punirentur (neque enim poterat victos et resistentes regia censura contemnere); tunc isti provisionem suam et pro Ecclesia sollicitam curam praedicandam laudibus ventilarent. Nunc autem quia ipsi superati sunt, quia ea quae intendebant, probare minime potuerunt, si quid pro sua iniquitate patiuntur, persecutionem vocant; nec tantum furorem perditum minime reprimunt, verum etiam honorem martyrum quaerunt: quasi vero christiani catholici imperatores adversus eorum pertinacissimam iniquitatem aliud sequantur quam Constantini iudicium, apud quem ultro Caeciliani accusatores fuerunt, cuius auctoritatem omnibus transmarinis episcopis praetulerunt, ut non ad illos, sed ad illum Ecclesiae causam deferrent; ut ab eo datum in urbe Roma episcopale iudicium, in quo primum victi sunt, rursus apud illum accusarent; ut ab altero apud Arelatum dato episcopali iudicio ad illum appellarent: apud quem tamen novissime superati, in sua perversitate permanserunt. Puto quod ipse diabolus, si auctoritate iudicis quem ultro elegerat, toties vinceretur, non esset tam impudens ut in ea causa persisteret. A Donatistis accusari universalem Ecclesiam. 4. Sed haec humana iudicia deputentur, et circumveniri ac falli, vel etiam corrumpi potuisse dicantur. Cur ergo adhuc accusatur christianus orbis terrarum, et nescio quibus traditorum criminibus infamatur, qui utique nec potuit nec debuit nisi electis iudicibus potius quam victis litigatoribus credere? Habent apud Deum illi iudices causam suam sive bonam sive malam: quid fecit Ecclesia toto orbe diffusa, quae non ob aliud ab istis rebaptizanda censetur, nisi quia in ea causa, in qua quid veri esset iudicare non potuit, eis potius qui iudicare potuerunt, quam eis qui nec superati cesserunt, credendum putavit? O magnum crimen omnium gentium, quas in semine Abrahae benedicendas promisit Deus 2, et sicut promisit exhibuit! quae cum una voce dixerint, Quare nos vultis rebaptizare, respondetur eis, Quia nescitis qui fuerint in Africa sanctorum Codicum traditores, et in eo quod nesciebatis, iudicibus magis quam accusatoribus credere voluistis. Si crimen alienum non gravat quemquam, quid pertinet ad orbem terrarum quod in Africa quisque commisit? Si crimen incognitum non gravat quemquam, unde potuit orbis terrarum cognoscere vel crimen iudicum vel reorum? Iudicate qui cor habetis. Haec est haeretica iustitia, ut quia orbis terrarum non damnat crimen incognitum, pars Donati damnet orbem terrarum inauditum. Sed sane sufficit orbi terrarum tenere promissiones Dei, et in se videre compleri quod Prophetae tanto ante cecinerunt; in eisdem Scripturis agnoscere Ecclesiam, ubi et rex eius Christus agnoscitur. Ubi enim de Christo talia praedicta sunt, qualia completa in Evangelio legimus, illic praedicta sunt de Ecclesia, qualia compleri toto orbe iam cernimus. Quando baptisma valeat secundum Donatistas. 5. Nisi forte quemquam prudentium permovebit, quod de Baptismo solent dicere, tunc esse verum baptismum Christi, cum ab homine iusto datur, cum et hinc teneat orbis terrarum evidentissimam et evangelicam veritatem, ubi Ioannes ait: Qui me misit baptizare in aqua, ipse mihi dixit: Super quem videris Spiritum descendentem quasi columbam, et manentem super eum, ipse est qui baptizat in Spiritu sancto 3. Unde secura Ecclesia spem non ponit in homine, ne incidat in illam sententiam in qua scriptum est: Maledictus omnis qui spem suam ponit in homine 4; sed spem suam ponit in Christo, qui sic accepit formam servi, ut non amitteret formam Dei 5, de quo dictum est: Ipse est qui baptizat. Proinde homo quilibet minister baptismi eius, qualemcumque sarcinam portet, non iste, sed super quem columba descendit, ipse est qui baptizat. Illos autem vana sentientes, tanta absurditas sequitur, ut quo ab ea fugiant non inveniant. Cum enim fateantur ratum et verum esse Baptismum, quando baptizat apud eos aliquis criminosus, cuius crimina latent; dicimus eis, Quis tunc baptizat? nec habent quid respondeant nisi, Deus: neque enim possunt dicere quod homo adulter quemquam sanctificet. Quibus respondemus, Si ergo cum baptizat homo iustus manifestus, ipse sanctificat, cum autem baptizat homo iniquus occultus, tunc non ipse, sed Deus sanctificat; optare debent qui baptizantur, ab occultis malis hominibus potius baptizari, quam a manifestis bonis: multo enim eos melius Deus, quam quilibet homo iustus sanctificat. Quod si absurdum est, ut quisque baptizandus optet ab occulto adultero potius baptizari, quam a manifesto casto, restat utique ut quilibet ministrorum hominum accesserit, ideo ratus sit Baptismus, quia super quem descendit columba, ipse baptizat. Ecclesiae maternus amor in Donatistas. 6. Et tamen cum tam perspicua veritas aures et corda hominum feriat, tanta quosdam malae consuetudinis vorago submersit, ut omnibus auctoritatibus rationibusque resistere, quam consentire malint. Resistunt autem duobus modis; aut saeviendo, aut pigrescendo. Quid igitur hic faciat Ecclesiae medicina, salutem omnium materna caritate conquirens, tamquam inter phreneticos et lethargicos aestuans? numquid contemnere, numquid desistere vel debet vel potest? Utrisque sit necesse est molesta, quia neutris est inimica. Nam et phrenetici nolunt ligari, et lethargici nolunt excitari: sed perseverat diligentia charitatis, phreneticum castigare, lethargicum stimulare, ambos amare. Ambo offenduntur, sed ambo diliguntur; ambo molestati, quamdiu aegri sunt indignantur, sed ambo sanati gratulantur. Quomodo Ecclesia haereticos recipiat ad se conversos. 7. Denique non sicut putant, et sicut iactant, tales eos suscipimus quales fuerunt, sed omnino mutatos; quia esse catholici non incipiunt, nisi haeretici esse destiterint. Neque enim sacramenta eorum nobis inimica sunt quae cum illis nobis sunt communia; quia non humana sunt, sed divina. Proprius eorum error auferendus est, quem male imbiberunt, non sacramenta quae similiter acceperunt, quae ad poenam suam portant et habent, quanto indignius habent, sed tamen habent. Errore itaque derelicto, separationis pravitate correcta, ab haeresi ad Ecclesiae pacem transeunt quam non habebant, sine qua illis perniciosum fuerat quod habebant. Sed si cum transeunt, ficti sunt, non est hoc iam nostrum, sed Dei iudicium. Et tamen quidam cum ficti putarentur, quoniam iussionis ad nos terrore transierunt, tales posterius in nonnullis tentationibus inventi sunt, ut quibusdam veteribus catholicis praeferrentur. Non ergo nihil agitur, cum instanter agitur. Neque enim solis humanis terroribus murus durae consuetudinis expugnatur; sed etiam divinis auctoritatibus atque rationibus fides et intellegentia mentis instruitur. Cohortatio ad pacem Ecclesiae comparandam 8. Quae cum ita sint, noverit Benignitas tua homines vestros qui in regione Hipponensi sunt, adhuc esse donatistas, nec apud eos quidquam valuisse tuas litteras. Cur autem non valuerint, non opus est scribere; sed mitte aliquem tuorum, vel domesticorum, vel amicorum, cuius hoc fidei possis iniungere, qui non ad ea loca, sed ad nos primitus veniat illis omnino nescientibus, et nobiscum primitus consilio pertractato, quod agendum Domino adiuvante visum fuerit, agat. Neque enim tantum pro eis agimus cum hoc agimus, sed etiam pro nostris iam factis catholicis, quibus illorum vicinitas sic infesta est, ut contemni a nobis nullo modo possit. Et hoc quidem breviter scribere poteram; sed volui te habere aliquid litterarum nostrarum, quo rationem curae meae non solum ipse cognosceres, sed etiam cuicumque dissuadenti ne tuorum correctioni operam instanter impendas, nobisque detrahenti quod talia velimus, habeas quod respondeas. Quod si superfluo feci, quod iam ista vel didiceras, vel ipse cogitaveras, aut onerosus fui quod curis publicis tam occupato prolixam epistolam ingessi, peto des veniam, dum tamen quod suggessi et rogavi non spernas: sic te tueatur misericordia Dei.