thou up the light of thy
countenance upon us," they distinguish between a higher part of reason
which inquires concerning God, and a lower part employed in temporal
and civil affairs. Even Augustine is pleased with this distinction, as
we stated above when discussing the fall of man.

67. But if only a spark of the knowledge of God had remained
unimpaired in man, we should be different beings by far from what we
now are. Hence, those quibblers who pick flaws in the plain statements
of Paul are infinitely blind. If they would carefully and devoutly
consider that very passage as they read it in their Latin Bible, they
would certainly cease to father so bad a cause. For it is not an
insignificant truth which Moses utters when he says the senses and the
thoughts of the heart of man are prone to evil from his youth. This is
the case especially in the sixth chapter (vs 5) where he says that the
whole thought of his heart was bent on evil continually, meaning
thereby that he purposes what is evil, and that in inclination,
purpose and effort he inclines to evil. For example; an adulterer,
whose desires are inflamed, may lack the opportunity, the place, the
person, the time, and nevertheless be stirred by the fire of lust,
unable to dwell upon anything else. In this manner, says Moses, does
human nature always incline toward evil. Can, then, the natural powers
of man be said to have remained unimpaired, seeing that man's thoughts
are always set upon evil things?

68. If the minds of the sophists were as open toward the holy doctrine
contained in the prophetical and apostolical writings as toward their
own teachers who teach the freedom of the will and the merit of works,
they surely would not have permitted themselves by so small an
inducement as one little word to be led away from the truth so as to
teach, contrary to Scripture, that man's natural powers are uninjured,
and that man, by nature, is not under wrath or condemnation.
Notwithstanding, it appears that they turn against their own
absurdity. Although the natural powers of man are uninjured, yet they
maintain that, to become acceptable, grace is required; in other
words, they teach that God is not satisfied with man's natural
goodness, unless it be improved by love.

69. But what is the need to argue longer against the madness of the
sophists, since we know the true meaning of the Hebrew text to be, not
that man's mind and thoughts are inclined to evil, but that the