Bellarmine · De Controversiis · On Justification · Book IV: On the Justice of Works
Chapter 9: The necessity of works unto salvation is proved from reason
Our translation, from the Latin of the Opera Omnia (Paris: Vivès, 1870–74), vol. VI, De Justificatione, Book IV. The Latin source text is public domain; this English rendering is released with the site. Scripture quotations follow Bellarmine's Vulgate citations, rendered in Douay-Rheims wording where he quotes exactly. Click “Show the Latin” for the original (raw OCR of the scan; scanning errors remain — the scan itself is the authority).
We shall add, lastly, a reason like to that which we wove in book 1, to prove that faith alone does not justify. Thus, then, we can reason: if faith alone saved, and works were not necessary save by reason of presence, as fruits and signs of faith, it would follow that faith could save even though it lacked all good work, and were conjoined with all vices and sins; but this consequent is manifestly false, and conflicts with the Scriptures and with reason; therefore faith alone does not save, and good works are necessary, not only by reason of presence, but also by reason of some efficiency. The proposition of the argument, which is conditioned, is proved in this manner. Works are not required in the act of saving save accidentally, for they have no power of saving, nor add to faith, nor take from faith the power which it has of saving, as the adversaries contend; therefore, all good works being taken away, faith would still save. For as, since fire heats by heat alone, if all the other qualities were taken from fire which are accidentally conjoined with heat, it would still without doubt heat; and since a father is referred to his son by the sole relation of paternity, if from him who is a father all the other attributes were removed — as knowledge, nobility, power, health, beauty — and contrariwise were added ignorance, obscurity, weakness, sickness, deformity, and of the former attributes the sole paternity remained, that father would still be referred to his son: so plainly, since a Christian apprehends salvation by faith alone, and is referred to it, according to the adversaries, certainly it follows that, faith remaining, he can be saved, even though he have no good works and have many evil works. Nor ought they to answer that our hypothesis is impossible; both because we proved in book 1 that faith can truly be separated from works, not only in reason, but also in fact; and because it is enough for us in this place, for establishing the hypothetical proposition, that faith can be understood without good works, and be separated from them, if not in fact, at least in reason. But that faith can be understood without works, and be separated from them at least in reason, the adversaries cannot deny, seeing they say that faith and works are related as cause and effect, as tree and fruits, as fire and heat. For why can not a cause be understood without the effect, a tree without fruit, the prior without the posterior? True, then, is the proposition of the argument, thus conditioned: if faith alone saved, it would do this even though it were void of all good works, and conjoined with every kind of vices. The assumption of the same argument, which teaches that it cannot in any way be that faith, destitute of good works and accompanied by evil works, save a man, is not denied by the adversaries; and if it were denied, the proof would be at hand, since it is written: Tribulation and anguish upon every soul of man that worketh evil, of the Jew first, and of the Greek; but glory, and honor, and peace to every one that worketh good, to the Jew first, and to the Greek, Romans 2. Likewise: Know you not that the unjust shall not possess the kingdom of God? Do not err: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor the effeminate, nor liers with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor railers, nor extortioners shall possess the kingdom of God, 1 Corinthians 6. Likewise: The works of the flesh are manifest, which are fornication, uncleanness, immodesty, luxury, etc., of the which I foretell you, as I have foretold to you, that they who do such things shall not obtain the kingdom of God, Galatians 5. Finally (to pass over many others): Know you this and understand, that no fornicator, or unclean, or covetous person, which is a serving of idols, hath inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God, Ephesians 5. There follows, then, the conclusion, that good works are necessary unto salvation, not only by reason of presence, but also of some efficiency; and that works, no less than faith, are in their manner referred to salvation. And these things concerning the necessity of works suffice in this place. For there are no contrary arguments besides those which we solved in the first book, when we disputed of faith not alone justifying, and those which we shall solve a little after in the question of the truth of justice in good works.
Show the Latin (Vives edition, OCR)
CAPUT IX. Probatur operum, necessitas ad salutem ex ratione. Addemus postremo rationem illi similem, quam texuimus in i. lib. ut probaremus, fi¬ dem solam non justificare. Sic igitur ratiocinari possumus, si fides sola salvaret, et opera non essent necessaria (1) Luc. V, 5. 318 LIBER IV. nisi ratione praesentiae, ut fructus et signa fidei, sequeretur, fidem salvare posse, etiam¬ si careret omni bono opere, et conjuncta es¬ set omnibus vitiis et peccatis : hoc autem consequens est manifeste falsum, et Scriptu¬ ris, ac rationi repugnat; igitur fides sola non salvat, et necessaria sunt opera bona, non solum ratione praesentite, sed etiam ra¬ tione alicujus efficientiae. Propositio argumenti, quae conditionata est, probatur boc modo, opera non requi¬ runtur in actu salvandi nisi per accidens, nullam enim ipsa vim salvandi habent, ne¬ que addunt fidei, neque tollunt a fide vim, quam habet salvandi, ut adversarii conten¬ dunt, igitur bonis omnibus operibus sublatis, adhuc fides salvaret. Quemadmodum enim quia ignis solo calore calefacit, si tollerentur ab igne omnes aliae qualitates, quae per ac¬ cidens sunt cum calore conjunctae, adhuc sine dubio calefaceret : et quoniam pater sola relatione paternitatis refertur ad fi¬ lium, si ab eo, qui pater est, omnia alia at¬ tributa removerentur, ut scientia, nobilitas, potestas, sanitas, pulchritudo, et contra ad¬ deretur ignorantia, obscuritas, debilitas, aegritudo, deformitas ; et ex prioribus attri¬ butis sola paternitas remaneret, adhuc pater ille referretur ad filium. Ita prorsus quia Christianus per solam fidem salutem appre¬ hendit, atque ad eam refertur per adversa¬ rios, certe sequitur, ut manente fide salvari possit, etiamsi nulla habeat opera bona et multa habeat opera mala. Neque respondere debent, nostram hypo- thesim esse impossibilem ; tum quia proba¬ vimus in i. lib. vere posse fidem ab operibus separari, non solum ratione, sed etiam re : tum quia satis nobis hoc loco est ad hypo¬ theticam propositionem statuendam, fidem posse intelligi sine bonis operibus, atque ab eis si non re, saltem ratione separari. Posse autem fidem intelligi sine operibus, et ab eis saltem ratione separari, adversarii negare non possunt, quippe qui dicunt, fidem et opera ita se habere ut causam et effectum, ut arborem et fructus, ut ignem et calorem. Quidni enim intelligi possit causa sine effec¬ tu, arbor sine fructu, prius sine posteriore ? Vera igitur est argumenti propositio ita conditionata: si fides sola salvaret, id preesta- ret, etiamsi bonis omnibus operibus esset va¬ cua, etcum omni genere vitiorumconjuncta. Assumptio ejusdem argumenti, quae docet, fieri nullo modo posse, ut fides bonis operi¬ bus destituta, et malis operibus comitata, hominem salvet, ab adversariis non nega¬ tur, et si negaretur, in promptu esset pro¬ batio, cum scriptum sit : Tribulatio et angu¬ stia in omnem animam operantis malum, Ju¬ daei primum et Graeci : gloria autem, et honor, et pax omni operanti bonum , Judaeo primum et Graeco , Rom. 2. Item : An nescitis, quia iniqui regnum Dei non possidebunt ? nolite er¬ rare, neque fornicarii, neqne idolis servien¬ tes, neque adulteri, neque molles, neque mas¬ culorum concubitores, neque fures, neque ava¬ ri, neque ebriosi, neque maledici, neque rapa¬ ces regnum Dei possidebunt, I ad Corinth. 6. Item : Manifesta sunt opera carnis, quae sunt fornicatio, immunditia, impudicitia, luxuria, etc., quae praedico vobis, sicut praedixi, quo¬ niam qui talia agunt, regnum Dei non conse- quentur, Galat. v. Denique utaliamulta prae¬ teream : Hoc scitote intelligentes, quod omnis fornicator aut immundus, aut avarus, quod est Idolorum servitus, non habet haereditatem in regno Christi et Dei, Ephes. v (1). Sequitur igitur conclusio, necessaria esse ad salutem opera bona, non solum ratione praesentiae, sed etiam alicujus efficientiae, et non minus opera, quam fidem, ad salutem suo modo referri. Atque haec de necessitate operum hoc loco sufficiunt. Nam argumenta contraria nulla sunt, praeter ea, quae solvi¬ mus in primo libro, cum disputaremus de fide non sola justificante, et quae solvemus paulo post in quaestione de justitiae veritate in operibus bonis.