Anti-Pelagian Writings, Volume Two

Grace, Free Will, and Predestination

What did Augustine really teach about grace, free will, and predestination?

As the Pelagian controversy intensified, Augustine’s response became deeper, sharper, and more theologically daring.

In this volume, you will discover:

• Augustine’s exploration of marriage, concupiscence, and the transmission of original sin

• A careful discussion of how divine grace and human free will work together

• Augustine’s direct response to Pelagian critics attacking his teaching on grace

• His mature reflections on predestination and why some believers persevere

• Two of Augustine’s most influential treatises on the grace that brings faith and the grace that preserves it

By the time these works were written, the Pelagian controversy had moved beyond its earliest debates. Augustine had already defended the reality of original sin and the necessity of divine grace. Now new questions pressed in from every side. If grace is necessary for salvation, what role remains for human choice? Why do some believe while others do not? And why do some who begin the Christian life fall away while others persevere to the end?

In these later anti-Pelagian writings, Augustine confronts those questions directly. On Marriage and Concupiscence addresses the relationship between the goodness of marriage and the fallen condition of human desire. A Treatise on the Soul and its Origin explores difficult questions about human nature and the transmission of sin. A Treatise against Two Letters of the Pelagians answers critics who sought to dismantle Augustine’s theology of grace.

The remaining works present Augustine’s mature reflection on grace and salvation. In A Treatise on Grace and Free Will and A Treatise on Rebuke and Grace, Augustine explains how divine grace enables rather than destroys human freedom. Finally, A Treatise on the Predestination of the Saints and A Treatise on the Gift of Perseverance examine why faith itself must be understood as a gift of God and why perseverance in the Christian life ultimately depends on divine grace.

The English text presented here is based on the classic nineteenth-century translation published in the Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers series (First Series, Volume 5). In this edition the language has been carefully updated to improve 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.