Letter to Rome (Fragments)
Julian of Eclanum (c. 386–c. 455) was bishop of Eclanum in southern Italy until 418, when he was deposed and exiled for refusing to condemn Pelagius. The most learned Pelagian controversialist, he pursued Augustine across a decade of pamphlet war.
None of Julian's works survives directly; what remains is preserved in the long quotations of Augustine, who answered him book by book. Reconstructed from those hostile pages, Julian emerges as a formidable defender of free will, marriage, and the goodness of creation.
This volume gathers the surviving arguments: the six books To Florus with the earlier fragments and letter material, each with its source locator.
© 2026 SaneApps. This translation is free to share and adapt, even commercially, as long as you credit SaneApps. Draft translation, prepared with AI assistance and not yet independently reviewed. Verify against the original before citing.
Those Manichaeans with whom we no longer share communion—that is, all those with whom we disagree—say that…§§1.2.4–1.15.29
1.2.4Those Manichaeans with whom we no longer share communion—that is, all those with whom we disagree—say that free will was lost through the sin of the first man, Adam. They say that no one now has the power to live well, and that everyone is forced into sin by the necessity of their flesh.
1.5.9They also say that the marriages now taking place were not instituted by God. This can be read in Augustine's book, which I have just answered in four short books. Our enemies have adopted Augustine's statements out of hatred for the truth.
1.5.10They also say that the movement of the sexual organs and the intercourse of married couples were devised by the devil. For that reason, they say, people who are born innocent are guilty and are made by the devil rather than by God, because they are born from this diabolical intercourse. This is unmistakably Manichaean.
1.7.12They say that the saints of the Old Testament were not free from sins: that is, even by correcting their lives they were not freed from wrongdoing, but death overtook them while they were still guilty.
1.8.13They say that even the apostle Paul, and indeed all the apostles, were continually defiled by uncontrolled sexual desire.
1.12.25They say that even Christ was not free from sins, but was driven by the necessity of the flesh to lie and was stained by other offenses.
1.13.26They also say that baptism does not grant complete forgiveness of sins or remove wrongdoing, but merely shaves it away, leaving the roots of all sins in the evil flesh.
1.15.29We argue against these things every day. We refuse to agree with those who do wrong, because we say that free will belongs to everyone by nature and could not have been destroyed by Adam's sin. The authority of all the Scriptures confirms this.
We say that the marriages now taking place throughout the world were instituted by God. Married people are…§§1.15.30–1.24.42
1.15.30We say that the marriages now taking place throughout the world were instituted by God. Married people are not guilty; it is those who commit sexual immorality and adultery who should be condemned.
1.15.31We say that the movement of the sexual organs—that is, the male sexual capacity itself, without which intercourse cannot take place—was instituted by God.
1.18.36We maintain that human beings are God's work. His power does not force anyone against their will into either evil or good. People do good or evil by their own will. In a good action they are always helped by God's grace; toward evil they are urged by the devil's suggestions.
1.21.39We say that the saints of the Old Testament passed from this life to eternal life with their righteousness perfected. That is, through devotion to virtue they had turned away from all sins. For even those whom we read of as having committed some sin, we know to have corrected themselves afterward.
1.22.40We confess that Christ's grace is necessary for everyone, adults and infants alike. We condemn those who say that a child born to two baptized parents does not need to be baptized.
1.23.41We also condemn those who say that baptism does not wipe away all sins, because we know that these mysteries grant complete cleansing.
1.24.42Let no one deceive you, then, and let the ungodly not deny that they hold these opinions. If they are telling the truth, either let us have a hearing, or let these very bishops who now disagree condemn the positions which, as I have said above, they hold along with the Manichaeans—just as we condemn the things they allege against us. Then there will be complete agreement. If they refuse, know that they are Manichaeans, and refrain from sharing fellowship with them.