15. Lastly, to say nothing of our other sins, who is there among laymen, except a very few, that does not constantly have the name of Christ on his lips to swear by it? Hence this is the oath most commonly used by nobles and baseborn men alike: "By Christ I do this ... ; by Christ I act thus ... ; by Christ I am not going to say anything else ... ; by Christ I am not going to do anything else." And what results? The abuse has been carried so far that, as we said before about heathen barbarians, Christ's name seems now to be not a binding oath but a mere expletive. For among the great majority this name is held to be so trivial that men never have less intention of doing a thing than when they swear by Christ to do it. Although it is written: "Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain," reverence for Christ has fallen so low that among all the vain words of this age scarcely any seems more vainly used than the name of Christ.
Then many swear by the name of Christ to do things not merely trivial and foolish but even criminal. For this is their usual manner of speaking: "By Christ I'll steal that ... ; by Christ I'll wound that man ... ; by Christ I'll murder him." It has come to such a pass that they feel themselves bound by religion to commit the crimes they have sworn in Christ's name.
Finally, let me tell an experience of my own. A short time ago, won over by the pleas of a certain poor man, I besought a man of considerable influence not to take from the poor wretch his property and substance, not to remove the sole prop and help that supported his poverty. Then he, who had swallowed the poor man's goods in ravenous haste, and had already devoured his prey with most ardent ambition and greed, glared at me with eyes blazing as if he thought I might take from him something he had not succeeded in |125 filching from the other, and said he could not possibly do as I asked, since he was acting in accordance with a sacred command or decree that he absolutely could not overlook. When I asked the reason, he said most emphatically, brooking no contradiction: "I have made a vow to seize that man's property. Consider then whether I could or should fail to accomplish what I have sworn by the name of Christ." Then I left him, having heard the reason for his most pious crime, for what else was I to do, when his action was shown to be so just and sacred!
16. At this point I ask all who are of sound mind: who would ever believe that human covetousness would reach such a pitch of audacity, would ever scorn God so openly that men should say it is for Christ's sake they intend to do a deed the very performance of which is an insult to Christ? "What an unthinkable and monstrous crime! Of what daring are the wicked minds of men not capable? They arm themselves for robbery in God's name; they make him somehow responsible for their crimes, and although Christ forbids and punishes all sin they claim that they perform their wicked deeds for his sake.
Yet we, complaining of the injustice of the enemy, say that the heathen barbarians are guilty of perjury. How much less guilty are they who swear falsely by demons, than we who swear by Christ! How much less serious a crime it is to take the name of Jove in vain than that of Christ! In the one case it is a dead man by whom they swear, in the other the living God by whose name they swear falsely. In the former instance there is no longer even a man; in the latter, the most high God; here, since the oath was taken in the most binding name, the greatest guilt and perjury must be involved; there, since that by which they swear scarcely exists, clearly there is no perjury, for since the God by whom they swear does not exist, there is no perjury when the oath is broken. Finally, let him who wishes to know the truth of this matter |126 listen to the blessed apostle Paul uttering the very arguments I am giving. These are his words: "Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law." And again: "Where no law is, there is no transgression." In these two statements, did he not make clear that there are two divisions of the human race, those placed without the law, and those living under it? What men are there who now live under the law? Who indeed but the Christians? Such was the apostle himself, who said of himself: " I am not without law to God, but under the law to Christ."
Who then are outside the law of Christ? Who but pagans ignorant of the Lord's law? Therefore it is of these that he says: "Where no law is, there is no transgression." By this one word he shows that only Christians transgress the law when they sin, but the pagans who do not know the law sin without transgression, since no one can transgress in a matter of which he is ignorant. We alone therefore are transgressors of the divine law, we who, as it is written, read the law and do not follow it. Hence our knowledge brings us nothing but guilt, since its result is only that we give the more offence by our sins, for what we know from our reading and in our hearts, we spurn in our wantonness and scorn.
So the words of the apostle to every Christian man were most justly spoken: "Thou that makest thy boast of the law, through breaking the law dishonorest thou God? For the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you."
Of what crimes the Christians are guilty may be learned from this one fact, that they defame the name of God. And although we have been charged to "do all things for the glory of God" we, on the contrary, do all things for his injury. Although the Savior daily calls to us: "Let your light so shine before men, that the |127 sons of men may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven," we, on the other hand, so live that the sons of men may see our evil deeds and blaspheme our Father which is in heaven.
17. This being the case, we may indeed beguile ourselves with the great prerogatives of the name of Christian, we who so act and live that by the very fact that we are said to be a Christian people we seem to be a reproach to Christ. On the other hand, what do we find of this sort among the pagans? Can it be said of the Huns: "See what sort of men these are who are called Christians?" Can it be said of the Saxons or the Franks: "See what these men do who claim to worship Christ?" Can the sacred law be blamed for the savage customs of the Moors? Do the most inhuman rites of Scythians or Gepids bring curses and blasphemy on the name of the Lord our Savior? Can it be said of any of these: "Where is the catholic law that they believe? Where are the commandments of piety and chastity that they learn? They read the Gospel, and are unchaste; they listen to the apostles, and get drunk; they follow Christ, and plunder; they lead dishonorable lives, and say that they follow an honorable law." Can such things be said of any of these nations? Certainly not, but they are all truly said of us: in us Christ suffers reproach; in us the Christian law is accursed. Of us are said the words quoted above: "See what sort of men these are who worship Christ. They are plainly lying when they say that they learn good things, and boast that they keep the commandments of the sacred law. For if they learned good things they would be good. Their religion must be like its followers: doubtless they are what they are taught to be. Thus it appears that the prophets they have teach impurity; and the apostles they read have sanctioned wickedness; and the Gospel which they have learned preaches the actions that they perform; in fine, the lives of the Christians would be holy, if Christ had taught holiness. So the object of their |128 worship must be judged from his worshippers. How can the teacher be good whose pupils we see are so evil? In him they are Christians ---- they hear Christ himself and read his words. It is easy for us all to learn the teachings of Christ. See what the Christians do, and you will clearly discern the teachings of Christ."
Finally, what distorted and wicked notions the pagans have always had about the sacraments of the Lord is shown by the bloody inquisitions of brutal persecutors, who believed that at Christian services only vile and abominable rites were performed. Even the origins of our religion were thought to spring from two great crimes, the first being murder and the second incest, which is worse than murder. Nor were these mere murder and incest, but a more wicked thing than the bare commission of either of these crimes, the incest of holy mothers, and the murder of innocent infants, whom, they thought, the Christians not only murdered, but ---- which is more abominable ---- devoured.
All this was supposed to be done to appease God, as if any evil would cause him greater offence! as an offering to atone for sin, as if any sin could be greater! to make him look with favor on sacrifices, as if any act could better arouse his aversion and horror! to win the right to eternal life, as if indeed, even supposing it could be won by such actions, it were worth while to attain it by such atrocious crimes!
18. We may understand from this what the pagans have come to believe about the character of Christians, who worship God in such sacrifices, and what sort of God they think could have taught such things as sacred rites. Yet how did this belief arise? How else but through those who are called Christians, but are not; who by their shameful and disgraceful lives sully the name of their religion; who, as it is written, "profess that they know God, but in works deny him, being abominable and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate"; by whom, as we read, "the way of |129 truth is evil spoken of" and the sacred name of God violated by the profanity of sacrilegious men.
How very difficult it is to atone for subjecting the name of divinity to the evil-speaking of the heathen, we are taught by the example of the most blessed David. By the suffrage of his former acts of justice he deserved to win release by a single act of confession, from eternal punishment for his offences. Yet even the penitence that pleaded for him did not avail to win pardon for, this grievous sin. For when Nathan the prophet had heard him confess his fault, and said to him: "The Lord hath put away thy sin, thou shalt not die," he added at once: "Howbeit, because by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, the child also that is born of thee shall surely die."
What followed? He laid aside his diadem, cast off his jewels, doffed the purple, gave up all the splendor of his royal state, and instead shut himself up alone in mourning, foully clad in sackcloth, drenched with his tears and besmirched with ashes. Yet though he sought the life of his little child with such lamentations and entreaties, and strove to move the tender heart of God with such fervent prayers, all his pleas and protests could not obtain his pardon, even though he had firmly believed that he should gain what he sought from God ---- which is the greatest aid to those who pray. From this we learn that there is absolutely no sin for which it is harder to atone than that of giving the heathen occasion to blaspheme. For whoever has gravely sinned without causing others to blaspheme brings condemnation only on himself, but he who has made others blaspheme drags many men down to death with him, and must be held answerable for all whom he has implicated in his guilt. Nor is this all; whenever a man sins; in such a way that his action does not give others occasion for blasphemy, his sin injures only him who has committed it, but does not insult the holy name of |130 God by the sacrilegious curses of blasphemy. But if his wrongdoing has caused others to blaspheme, his sin must be immeasurably great, beyond the bounds of human guilt, for by the revilings of many he has caused incalculable insult to God.
19. Moreover, as I have said, this evil is peculiar to us Christians, because God is blasphemed only through the agency of those who know the good and do evil; who, as it is written: " Profess that they know God, but in works deny him"; who, as the same apostle says: "Rest in the law and know his will, and approve the things that are more excellent; who have the form of knowledge and of truth in the law; who preach a man should not steal, and themselves steal; who say a man should not commit adultery and themselves commit it; who make their boast in the law and through breaking the law dishonor God."
The Christians are worse than other men for the very reason that they ought to be better. They do not justify their profession of faith, but light against it by their evil lives. For evil doing is the more damnable in contrast with an honorable title; and a holy name becomes a crime in an impious man. Therefore our Savior also says in the Apocalypse to a lukewarm Christian: "I would thou wert hot or cold; so then because thou art lukewarm, I will spue thee out of my mouth."
The Lord commanded every Christian to be fervent in faith and spirit. For it is written: "That we may be fervent in spirit, serving the Lord." In this fervor of spirit the ardor of religious faith is made known; he who has the largest share of such ardor is recognized as fervent and faithful, while he who has none at all is known to be cold and an unbeliever. But he who is betwixt and between is a lukewarm Christian and hateful to the Lord, who therefore says to him: " Would that thou wert hot or cold, now therefore |131 since thou art lukewarm I will spue thee out of my mouth." That is to say: "Would that you had either the heat and faith of good Christians or the ignorance of pagans. For then either your warm faith would make you pleasing to God, or at least for the time being your ignorance of the law would give you some measure of excuse. But as it is, since you know Christ, and neglect him whom you know, you who have, so to speak, been received into the very presence of God by the recognition of the faith, are cast out because of lukewarmness."
The blessed apostle Peter also made this plain when he said of the lukewarm and vicious Christians, that is, those who live wicked lives: "For it had been better for them not to have known the truth, than after they had known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, 'The dog is turned to his own vomit again, and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.' "
To make clear that this was said of those who live under the name of Christian in the vileness and filth of the world, hear what he says of such men in the same passage: "For if, after they had escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning." This, indeed, the blessed Paul repeats in like manner: "For circumcision verily profiteth, if thou keep the law; but if thou be a breaker of the law, thy circumcision is made uncircumcision." He himself shows very clearly that by circumcision Christianity is to be understood when he says: "For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit and have no confidence in the flesh." By this we see that he is comparing the |132 wicked Christians with pagans, and not merely comparing them but almost ranking them as of less account, when he says: "However, if the uncircumcision keep the righteousness of the law, shall not his uncircumcision be counted for circumcision? And shall not uncircumcision, which is by nature, if it fulfil the law, judge thee, who by the letter and circumcision dost transgress the law?"
From this we learn, as I said before, that we are much more blameworthy, who have the law and reject it, than those who neither have it at all nor know it, for no one despises what he does not know. "I had not known lust," the apostle says, "except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet," Nor do men transgress the law which they do not know, for, as it is written: "Where no law is, there is no transgression." If men do not transgress the law which they have not, neither do they despise the terms of the law which they have not, for no one, as I said, can despise what he does not know.
We, therefore, are alike scorners and transgressors of the law, and thus we are worse than the pagans, because they do not know the ordinances of God, but we know them; they do not possess them, but we do; they do not perform precepts they have not heard, but we read and trample them under our feet. Hence what with them is ignorance is in us transgression, since there is less guilt in ignorance of the law than in contempt of it.
[Footnotes moved to the end]
1. See III. 2, supra.
2. Salvian Ad ecclesiam II. 37; a work issued anonymously as the address of Timothy to the church on avarice, but accepted by Salvian as his in Ep. IX, to Salonius. The anonymous publication explains the manner of his reference in this case. On this passage cf. also Ep. IX. 9: "The names of things are of no avail without the substance, and the words for virtues are nothing without their active strength."
3. Proverbs 11. 22.