To Florus 1.109
He shows what his exhortation contains by saying first: “I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. Just as you presented your members to serve impurity and lawlessness leading to lawlessness, so now present your members to serve righteousness leading to sanctification. For when you were slaves of sin, you were free from righteousness” (Romans 6:19–20). With perfect consistency he says that those whom he had urged to keep their members in complete sanctification had been free from righteousness.
We have spent no little time here proving the complete certainty of what I said earlier in section 73: people terrified by your speech would deny free choice and be driven by empty fear into real destruction; and you are the chief denier of free choice. Let us therefore return to the book addressed to Valerius, to prove that at first you denied God as Creator, while now you deny him in some places and in others acknowledge him far more wickedly than you denied him. How absolutely you denied God as humanity's Creator in that earlier book of yours became sufficiently clear when it was examined. You said that the devil rightly plucked the human race like the fruit of a shrub he himself had planted (Augustine, On Marriage and Concupiscence 1.26). You added many other things, offered as arguments, that support this error. In this second book, although your doctrine as a whole pursues the same course, you attempt to amend your former statement in a more destructive way.
Latin
Denique quid exhortatio ipsius teneret, ostendit, praemittens: Humanum est quod dico, propter infirmitatem carnis vestrae; sicut enim exhibuistis membra vestra servire immunditiae et iniquitati ad iniquitatem; ita nunc exhibete membra vestra servire iustitiae in sanctificationem; cum enim servi essetis peccati, liberi fuistis iustitiae [n291] . Ordinatissime prorsus ipsos dicit liberos fuisse iustitiae, quos convenerat, ut membra sua in omni sanctificatione retinerent. Verum, quia non parum hic immorati sumus, ut ostenderemus certissimum esse quod dixeram [n292] , quia negarent liberum arbitrium homines qui vestro fuissent sermone deterriti, et in verum exitium vana formidine truderentur; atque te esse praecipuum arbitrii liberi negatorem; revertamur ad illum librum, qui est ad Valerium destinatus, ut probemus primo te negasse conditorem Deum; nunc autem, alibi quidem negare, alibi scelestius multo quam negaveras confiteri. Et quidem, quam in illo libro tuo priore absolute Deum negaveris conditorem hominum, satis cum discuteretur apparuit; dixisti quippe, quod genus humanum diabolus quasi plantati a se fruticis fructum iure decerperet [n293] ; multaque alia quae loco a te argumentorum posita huic cooperantur errori. In hoc vero secundo libro, etsi universitate dogmatis tui idem agas, tamen perniciosius niteris emendare sententiam, quam ante protulisti.
About this text
Julian’s six preserved books to Florus, quoted section by section in Augustine’s unfinished reply. Augustine’s refutations are omitted. Latin of Julian’s words is on each section.
Julian’s own books do not survive as a separate manuscript. English follows his words as Augustine quotes them in the Unfinished Work Against Julian. Augustine’s replies are omitted. We do not restore a Julian text independent of Augustine.
Witnesses
- Copy-text Augustine, Unfinished Work Against Julian (Latin · Julian’s words as quoted, Books 1–6)
- Checked print Augustinus.it Latin of the Unfinished Work (Latin · Same work)
- Checked print Migne PL 45 (Latin · Hard cases)
This is an AI-assisted study translation. Source fidelity and completeness have not been independently certified. Open Latin on each section (or the Latin source witness link) for the source text. This is not a complete critical edition.