And thus
though, in point of fact, they simply decline acknowledging that
Jansenius has maintained the propositions which they condemn, which
cannot be called heresy, you will boldly assert that they have refused
to condemn the propositions themselves, and that it is this that
constitutes their heresy.
Such is the fruit which you expect to reap from their refusal, and
which will be no less useful to you than what you might have gained
from their consent. So that, in the event of these signatures being
exacted, they will fall into your snares, whether they sign or not,
and in both cases you will gain your point; such is your dexterity
in uniformly putting matters into a train for your own advantage,
whatever bias they may happen to take in their course!
How well I know you, father! and how grieved am I to see that
God has abandoned you so far as to allow you such happy success in
such an unhappy course! Your good fortune deserves commiseration,
and can excite envy only in the breasts of those who know not what
truly good fortune is. It is an act of charity to thwart the success
you aim at in the whole of this proceeding, seeing that you can only
reach it by the aid of falsehood, and by procuring credit to one of
two lies either that the Church has condemned efficacious grace, or
that those who defend that doctrine maintain the five condemned
errors.
The world must, therefore, be apprised of two facts: first, That
by your own confession, efficacious grace has not been condemned;
and secondly, That nobody supports these errors.
Pages:
329
330
331
332
333
334
335
336
337
338
339
340
341
342
343
344
345
346
347
348
349
350
351
352
353