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Reply to Faustus the Manichaean

17.

Nor can you say that you honor God with sacrifices in the shape of pure and simple prayers: for, in your low, dishonoring notions about the divine nature and substance, you make your god to be the victim in the sacrifices of Pagans; so far are you from pleasing the true God with your sacrifices. For you hold that God is confined not only in trees and plants, or in the human body, but also in the flesh of animals, which contaminates Him with its impurity. And how can your soul give praise to God, when you actually reproach Him by calling your soul a particle of His substance taken captive by the race of darkness; as if God could not maintain the conflict except by this corruption of His members, and this dishonorable captivity? Instead of honoring God in your prayers, you insult Him. For what sin did you commit, when you belonged to Him, that you should be thus punished by the god you cry to, not because you left Him sinfully of your own choice; for he himself gave you to His enemies, to obtain peace for His kingdom? You are not even given as hostages to be honorably guarded. Nor is it as when a shepherd lays a snare to catch a wild beast: for he does not put one of his own members in the snare, but some animal from his flock; and generally, so that the wild beast is caught before the animal is hurt. You, though you are the members of your god, are given to the enemy, whose ferocity you keep off from your god only by being contaminated with their impurity, infected with their corruptions, without any fault of your own. You cannot in your prayers use the words: "Free us, O Lord, for the glory of Thy name; and for Thy name's sake pardon our sins." ¹ Your prayer is: "Free us by Thy skill, for we suffer here oppression, and torture, and pollution, only that Thou mayest mourn unmolested in Thy kingdom." These are words of reproach, not of entreaty. Nor can you use the words taught us by the Master of truth: "Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors." ² For who are the debtors who have sinned against you? If it is the race of darkness, you do not forgive their debts, but make them be utterly cast out and shut up in eternal imprisonment. And how can God forgive your debts, when He rather sinned against you by sending you into such a state, than you against Him, whom you obeyed by going? If this was not a sin in Him, because He was compelled to do it, this excuse must apply you, now that you have been overthrown in the conflict, more than to Him before the conflict began. You suffer now from the mixture of evil, which was not the case with Him when nevertheless He was compelled to send you. So either He requires that you should forgive Him his debt; or, if He is not in debt to you, still less are you to Him. It appears that your sacrifices and your pure and simple prayers are false and vile blasphemies.

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Contra Faustum Manichaeum libri triginta tres

17.

Quas autem habere simplices et puras orationes tamquam divinos honores ac sacrificia poteritis, cum de ipsa natura atque substantia divina tanta indigna et turpia sentiatis, ut non solum vestris sacrificiis deus verus non propitietur, sed in sacrificiis paganorum deus vester immoletur? p. 557,2 Neque enim in lignis solum et in herbis aut in membris humanis, sed etiam in pecorum carnibus eum contaminantibus et polluentibus vinculis colligatum esse censetis. Ipsa vero anima vestra cui deo laudem dicat, cuius particulam se ipsam in tenebrarum gente captam teneri conclamans quid aliud quam vituperat deum, quem sibi alio pacto adversus hostes suos consulere non potuisse testatur, nisi partium suarum tanta corruptione et tam turpi captivitate? Unde vestrae etiam preces ad deum vestrum non possunt esse religiosae, sed invidiosae. Quid enim mali apud illum commiseratis, ut in poena ista nunc ad eum gematis, quem non propria voluntate peccando deseruistis, sed ab illo dati estis hostibus ipsius, ut pax regno eius compararetur, p. 557,14 nec saltem sicut obsides dari solent cum honore custodiendi, nec sicut pastor ad capiendam bestiam tendit insidias; pecus enim suum solet ponere in illa captoria tendicula, non membrum suum et plerumque ita, ut ante bestia capiatur quam pecus laedatur. Vos autem membra dei dati estis hostibus non valentes eorum a deo vestro compescere feritatem nisi ‹eorum› contaminati foeditate, non habentes peccatum proprium, sed hostili veneno tabefacti. Unde non potestis dicere in precibus vestris: Propter gloriam nominis tui, domine, libera nos; et propitius esto peccatis nostris propter nomen tuum, sed dicitis: libera nos arte tua, quia ut modo in regno tuo securus lugeas, nos hic premimur, dilaniamur, inquinamur. p. 557,27 Haec vox accusatoria est, non deprecatoria. Nec illud potestis dicere, quod magister veritatis docuit: Dimitte nobis debita nostra, sicut et nos dimittimus debitoribus nostris. Qui sunt enim debitores vestri, qui in vos peccaverunt? Si gens tenebrarum, numquid ei dimittis debita, quam usque in finem eradicatam aeterno carcere includitis? Quae autem debita vobis potest ille dimittere, quando ille potius in vos peccavit, cum ad ista vos misit, quam vos in illum, qui mittenti obtemperastis? Aut si propterea ille non peccavit, quia hoc necessitate fecit, maior et vestra necessitas, cum iam in pugna prostrati iaceatis, quam fuit illius, antequam pugnaretis. Iam enim vos patimini commixtum malum, nihil tale ille patiebatur, cum tamen necessitatem, ut vos mitteret, pateretur. Itaque aut ipse potius vobis debet, quod ei dimittatis, aut si nec ipse vobis, multo magis nec vos illi. Ubi sunt ergo sacrificia vestra, simplices ac purae orationes, cum sint fallaces et impurae blasphemiae? p. 558,15