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Both by nature and by grace, Augustin was formed to be the champion of truth in this controversy. Of a naturally philosophical temperament, he saw into the springs of life with a vividness of mental perception to which most men are strangers; and his own experiences in his long life of resistance to, and then of yielding to, the drawings of God’s grace, gave him a clear apprehension of the great evangelic principle that God seeks men, not men God, such as no sophistry could cloud. However much his philosophy or theology might undergo change in other particulars, there was one conviction too deeply imprinted upon his heart ever to fade or alter,—the conviction of the ineffableness of God’s grace. This book comprises St. Augustine’s writings and thoughts regarding the Anti-Pelagian dispute.

This is the extended and annotated edition including * an extensive biographical annotation about the author and his life This edition contains the following writings: Contents: On the Merits and Forgiveness of Sins, and on the Baptism of Infants On the Spirit and the Letter On Nature and Grace, Against Pelagius Concerning Man's Perfection in Righteousness On the Proceedings of Pelagius, A Treatise on the Grace of Christ, and on Original Sin On Marriage and Concupiscence. On the Soul and Its Origin A Treatise Against Two Letters of the Pelagians A Treatise on Grace and Free Will. Treatise on Rebuke and Grace A Treatise on the Predestination of the Saints, A Treatise on the Gift of Perseverance, Being the Second Book

"The Council of Nicaea in 325 AD marked the beginning of a new era in Christianity. For the first time, doctrines were organized into a single creed. The Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers did most of their writing during and after this important event in Church history. Unlike the previous era of Christian writing, the Nicene and Post-Nicene era is dominated by a few very important and prolific writers. In Volume V of the 14-volume collected writings of the Nicenes and Post-Nicenes (first published between 1886 and 1889), readers will discover Saint Augustines rebuke of Pelagianism. This doctrine undermined Augustines beliefs because it claimed that original sin did not exist. Since there was no original sin, humans were saved or lost based solely on their own will. This further meant that Jesus, while a great teacher and model human being, did not die to save humanity, negating a large portion of Christian doctrine. Augustine believed that salvation was available only by the grace of God working in conjunction with mans decision to live a good life. Spiritual seekers and students of history will find this work a thorough defense of Catholic theology."

In the first part of the book he proves that the perseverance by which a man perseveres in Christ to the end is God's gift; for that it is a mockery to ask of God that which is not believed to be given by God. Moreover, that in the Lord's prayer scarcely anything is asked for but perseverance, according to the exposition of the martyr Cyprian, by which exposition the enemies to this grace were convicted before they were born.

Where traditional Christianity has always affirmed that sin can only be atoned by the sacrifice of Christ, the theory that the human will is able to earn salvation of its own accord was the basis of Pelagian thought. Augustine in this series of works fought vehemently against such ways of thinking because he wanted to make people realize that Christ is the one and only way to find true salvation.

Six major treatises presented in this volume include Miscellany of Questions in Response to Simplician I, The Punishment and Forgiveness of Sins and the Baptism of Little Ones, The Spirit and the Letter, Nature and Grace, The Predestination of the Saints, and The Gift of Perseverance.