Chapter XXIV.
78. Here, therefore, those who promise a wisdom and a knowledge of the
truth which they do not possess, are especially to be guarded against;
as, for instance, heretics, who frequently commend themselves on account
of their fewness. And hence, when He had said that there are few who find
the strait gate and the narrow way, lest they [the heretics] should falsely
substitute themselves under the pretext of their fewness, He immediately
added, "Beware of false prophets,220 which
come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves."
But such parties do not deceive the single eye, which knows how to distinguish
a tree by its fruits. For He says: "Ye shall know them by their fruits."
Then He adds the similitudes: "Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs
of thistles? Even so, every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a
corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth
evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree
that bringeth not forth good fruit221 is hewn down,
and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them."
79. And in [the interpretation of] this passage we must be very much
on our guard against the error of those who judge from these same two trees
that there are two original natures, the one of which belongs to God, but
the other neither belongs to God nor springs from Him. And this error has
both been already discussed in other books [of ours]222
very copiously, and if that is still too little, will be discussed again;
but at present we have merely to show that the two trees before us do not
help them. In the first place, because it is so clear that He is speaking
of men, that whoever reads what goes before and what follows will wonder
at their blindness. Secondly, they fix their attention on what is said,
"A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree
bring forth good fruit," and therefore think that neither can it happen
that an evil soul should be changed into something better, nor a good one
into something worse; as if it were said, A good tree cannot become evil,
nor an evil tree good. But it is said, "A good tree cannot bring forth
evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit." For the
tree is certainly the soul itself, i.e. the man himself, but the fruits
are the works of the man; an evil man, therefore, cannot perform good works,
nor a good man evil works. If an evil man, therefore, wishes to perform
good works, let him first become good. So the Lord Himself says in another
passage more plainly: "Either make the tree good, or make the tree bad."
But if He were figuratively representing the two natures of such parties
by these two trees, He would not say, "Make:" for who of the sons of men
can make a nature? Then also in that passage, when He had made mention
of these two trees, He added, "Ye hypocrites, how can ye, being evil, speak
good things?"223 As long, therefore, as any
one is evil, he cannot bring forth good fruits; for if he were to bring
forth good fruits, he would no longer be evil. So it might most truly have
been said, snow cannot be warm; for when it begins to be warm, we no longer
call it snow, but water. It may therefore come about, that what was snow
is no longer so; but it cannot happen that snow should be warm. So it may
come about, that he who was evil is no longer evil; it cannot, however,
happen that an evil man should do good. And although he is sometimes useful,
this is not the man's own doing; but it is done through him, in virtue
of the arrangements of divine providence: as, for instance, it is said
of the Pharisees, "What they bid you, do; but what they do, do not consent
to do." This very circumstance, that they spoke things that were good,
and that the things which they spoke were usefully listened to and done,
was not a matter belonging to them: for, says He, "they sit in Moses' seat."224
It was, therefore, when engaged through divine providence in preaching
the law of God, that they were able to be useful to their hearers, although
they were not so to themselves. Respecting such it is said in another place
by the prophet, "They have sown wheat, but shall reap thorns;"225
because they teach what is good, and do what is evil. Those, therefore,
who listened to them, and did what was said by them, did not gather grapes
of thorns, but through the thorns gathered grapes of the vine: just as,
were any one to thrust his hand through a hedge, or were at least to gather
a grape from a vine which was entangled in a hedge, that would not be the
fruit of the thorns, but of the vine.
80. The question, indeed, is most rightly put, What are the fruits He
would wish us to attend to, whereby we might know the tree? For many reckon
among the fruits certain things which belong to the sheep's clothing, and
in this way are deceived by wolves: as, for instance, either fastings,
or prayers, or almsgivings; but unless all of these things could be done
even by hypocrites, He would not say above, "Take heed that ye do not your
righteousness before men, to be seen of them." And after prefixing this
sentence, He goes on to speak of those very three things, almsgiving, prayer,
fasting. For many give largely to the poor, not from compassion, but from
vanity; and many pray, or rather seem to pray, while not keeping God in
view, but desiring to please men; and many fast, and make a wonderful show
of abstinence before those to whom such things appear difficult, and by
whom they are reckoned worthy of honour: and catch them with artifices
of this sort, while they hold up to, view one thing for the purpose of
deceiving, and put forth another for the purpose of preying upon or killing
those who cannot see the wolves under that sheep's clothing, These, therefore,
are not the fruits by which He admonishes us that the tree is known. For
such things, when they are done with a good intention in sincerity, are
the appropriate clothing of sheep; but when they are done in wicked deception,
they cover nothing else but wolves. But the sheep ought not on this account
to hate their own clothing, because the wolves often conceal themselves
therein.
81. What the fruits are by the finding of which we may know an evil
tree, the apostle tells us: "Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which
are these; adulteries, fornications, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry,
witchcraft, hatreds, variances, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,
envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which
I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which
do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God." And what the fruits
are by which we may know a good tree, the very same apostle goes on to
tell us: "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering,
gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance."226
It must be known, indeed, that "joy" stands here in a strict
and proper sense; for bad men are, strictly speaking, not said to rejoice,
but to make extravagant demonstrations of joy: just as we have said above,
that "will" which the wicked do not possess, stands in a strict sense where
it is said, "All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you,
do ye even so to them." In accordance with that strict sense of the word,
in virtue of which joy is spoken of only in the good, the prophet also
speaks, saying: "Rejoicing is not for the wicked, saith the Lord."227
So also "faith" stands, not certainly as meaning any kind of it, but true
faith: and the other things which find a place here have certain resemblances
of their own in bad men and deceivers; so that they entirely mislead, unless
one has the pure and single eye by which he may know such things. It is
accordingly the best arrangement, that the cleansing of the eye is first
discussed, and then mention is made of what things were to be guarded against.
Chapter XXV.
82. But seeing that, however pure an eye one may have, i.e. with however
single and sincere a heart one may live, he yet cannot look into the heart
of another: whatever things could not have become apparent in deeds or
words, are disclosed by trials. Now trial is twofold; either in the hope
of obtaining some temporal advantage, or in the terror of losing it. And
especially must we be on our guard, lest, when striving after wisdom, which
can be found in Christ alone, in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom
and knowledge;228 -we must be on our guard,
I say, lest, under the very name of Christ, we be deceived by heretics,
or by any parties whatever defective in intelligence, and lovers of this
world. For on this account He adds a warning, saying, "Not every one that
saith unto Me, Lord, Lord,229 shall enter into
the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of My Father which is
in heaven, he shall enter into the kingdom of heaven:" lest we should think
that the mere fact of one saying to our Lord, "Lord, Lord," belongs to
those fruits; and from that he should seem to us to be a good tree. But
those are the fruits, to do the will of the Father who is in heaven, in
the doing of which He has condescended to exhibit Himself as an example.
83. But the question may fairly be started, how with this sentence the
statement of the apostle is to be reconciled, where he says, "No man speaking
by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed; and no man can say that Jesus
is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost:"230 for
neither can we say that any who have the Holy Spirit will not enter into
the kingdom of heaven, if they persevere onwards to the end; nor can we
affirm that those who say, "Lord, Lord," and yet do not enter into the
kingdom of heaven, have the Holy Spirit. How then does no one say "that
Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost," unless it is because the apostle
has used the word "say" here in a strict and proper sense, so that it implies
the will and understanding of him who says? But the Lord has used the word
which He employs in a general sense: "Not every one that saith unto Me,
Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven." For he also who neither
wishes nor understands what he says, seems to say it; but he properly says
it, who gives expression to his will and mind by the sound of his voice:
just as, a little before, what is called "joy" among the fruits of the
Spirit is called so in a strict and proper sense, not in the way in which
the same apostle elsewhere uses the expression, "Rejoiceth not in iniquity:"231
as if any one could rejoice in iniquity: for that transport of a mind making
confused and boisterous demonstrations of joy is not joy; for this latter
is possessed by the good alone. Hence those also seem to say it, who neither
perceive with the understanding nor engage with the deliberate consent
of the will in this which they utter, but utter it with the voice merely;
and after this manner the Lord says, "Not every one that saith unto Me,
Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven." But truly and properly
those parties say it whose utterance in speech really represents their
will and intention; and it is in accordance with this signification that
the apostle has said, "No one can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the
Holy Ghost."
84. And besides, it belongs especially to the matter in hand, that, in
striving after the contemplation of the truth, we should not only not be
deceived by the name of Christ, by means of those who have the name and have
not the deeds; but also not by certain deeds and miracles, for when the Lord
performed of the same kind for the sake of unbelievers, He has warned us not
to be deceived by such things, thinking that an invisible wisdom is present
where we see a visible miracle.
220 Cavete a pseudoprophetis; Vulgate, attendite a falsis
prophetis.
221 Excellency of fruitage is sanctity of life (Bonitas
fructuum est sanctitas vitae (Bengel).
222 More particularly his works against the Manichaeans,
Contra Faustum Manichaeum, etc. Augustin also made much use of this passage
against the Pelagians, to show that the will must be aided to produce good
thoughts and deeds; that the unregenerate man is incapable of restoring
himself.
223 Matt. xii. 33, 34.
224 Matt. xxiii. 3,2.
225 Jer. xii. 13.
226 Gal. v. 19-23.
227 Isa. lvii. 21, according to the Septuagint.
228 Col. ii. 3.
229 Many called Him Lord, but He never called any one
Lord (ipsum multi, etiam amplissimi viri,-ipse neminem ne Pilatum quidem,
dominum vocavit.-Bengel).
230 1 Cor. xii. 3.
231 1 Cor. xiii. 6.
