Anti-Pelagian Writings, Volume One

What was Augustine’s answer to Pelagius?

In the early fifth century, a controversy erupted that would shape Christian theology for centuries.

In this volume, you will discover:

• Augustine’s defense of infant baptism

• A powerful explanation of why God’s law cannot produce righteousness without the transforming work of the Holy Spirit

• Augustine’s critique of the claim that human nature alone is sufficient for moral perfection

• A firsthand account of the church proceedings involving Pelagius and the controversy surrounding his teaching

• One of Augustine’s most influential discussions of the relationship between grace, sin, and human freedom

When Pelagius began teaching that human beings possess the natural ability to live righteously without the special grace of God, his ideas quickly sparked debate across the Christian world. Augustine of Hippo emerged as the most important theological voice responding to these claims, arguing that the Pelagian view underestimated the depth of human sin and misunderstood the necessity of divine grace.

The treatises collected in this volume represent the early stage of Augustine’s response to Pelagian teaching. In them, he develops arguments that would become foundational for Western Christian theology: that humanity shares in the fallen condition of Adam, that the law cannot produce righteousness apart from the Spirit, and that salvation depends entirely on the grace of God given through Jesus Christ.

Included in this volume are:

• A Treatise on the Merits and Forgiveness of Sins, and on the Baptism of Infants

• A Treatise on the Spirit and the Letter

• A Treatise on Nature and Grace

• A Treatise concerning Man's Perfection in Righteousness

• A Work on the Proceedings of Pelagius

• A Treatise on the Grace of Christ, and on Original Sin

These works offer a window into one of the most important theological debates of late antiquity, presenting Augustine not only as a theologian but also as a pastor carefully defending what he believed to be the church’s historic teaching on sin and grace.

This edition is based on the classic nineteenth-century English translation published in the Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers series (First Series, Volume 5). The language has been carefully updated to improve clarity and readability for modern readers while preserving the substance and structure of the historic translation.

This revision was prepared through an AI-assisted process, combining digital tools with traditional editorial work.