serpent, besides the particular sins of which each person is guilty (a)."-Tatian, speaking of the effect of Adam's sin, says, "Man who was made according to the image of God, being divested of his more powerful spirit, became mortal (y). -Irenæus says, "Men are by no other means saved from the antient wound of the serpent, but by believing in him, who, by being crucified after the similitude of the sin of the flesh, both draws all things after him, and quickens the dead (z),"-Origen says, "The curse of Adam is common to all men (a);" and he infers that every one is born in original sin from the words of David, "I was shapen in wickedness, and in sin hath my mother conceived me;" and also from the practice of infant baptism, "for," says he" if there were nothing in children which required remission, the grace of baptism would seem superfluous (b).” --Tertullian says, “I am speaking of Satan, by whom man was at first seduced to violate the command of God, and was therefore made subject to death, from thence he caused his whole race, being infected by his seed, to be liable to his condemnation (c).”—Cyprian, speaking of baptism, says, "An infant ought not to be refused baptism, who, being newly born, has

been

(x) Dial. cum Tryph. (y) Orat. contra Gent. (2) Adv. Hær. lib. 4. cap. 5. (a) Cont. Cels. lib. 4. (c) De An.

(b) Hom. 8, in Lev.

been guilty of no sin, except that being carnally born according to Adam, he has contracted the contagion of the old death at his first birth; who is admitted to the remission of sins more readily, because not his own sins, but those of another are remitted (d)."-Athanasius says, "As the sin of Adam who transgressed, passed into all men, so the like power of the Lord, who was powerful, shall pass unto us (e);" and in another place he speaks of " the antient sin," which through Adam came upon all men (f)."-Gregory Nazianzen says, "It was necessary that I should be entirely saved, because I had entirely fallen, and was condemned for the disobedience of our first parents (g)."-It should be remembered, that all these writers were prior to the time of Pelagius; and as they lived before original sin was denied, the subject is only mentioned incidentally as a thing universally admitted. The term Original Sin was first used by Augustine, and before his time it was called, as we have seen, the Old Guilt, the Antient Wound, the Common Curse, the Old Sin, &c. all which expressions denote the corruption or depravation of human nature derived from the fall of Adam.

The article proceeds to state, AND THERE

FORE IN EVERY PERSON BORN INTO THE WORLD

(d) Epist. ad Fid. (f) Syn. Sac. Scri.

(e) Orat. 2.

(g) Orat. 3.

WORLD IT

DESERVETH GOD'S WRATH AND

DAMNATION. These words imply that every person who is born into the world, exclusive of the sins which he himself commits, or even if he does not live to commit sin, is, on account of the disobedience and guilt of Adam, subject to the wrath and punishment of God; and we have seen the same thing intimated in the second article, where it is said, that Christ suffered "as a sacrifice not only for original guilt, but also for the actual sins of men:" this is the doctrine of Augustine (h) and his followers, whose opinions upon this subject are thus stated and supported by bishop Burnet: " They believe that a co

venant was made with all mankind in Adam as their first parent; that he was a person constituted by God to represent them all; and that the covenant was made with him, so that, if he had obeyed, all his posterity should have been happy through his obedience; but by his disobedience they were all to be esteemed to have sinned in him, his act being imputed and transferred to them all. This opinion," continues the learned prelate, "seems to have great foundation in that large discourse of St. Paul's, where, in the fifth of the Romans, he compares the bless

ings

(h) Peccatum eos ex Adamo dicimus originaliter trahere, id est, reatu eos complicatos, et ob hoc pœnæ obnoxios detineri. Aug. Retr. lib. 1. cap. 15.

ings that we receive by the death of Christ with the guilt and misery that was brought upon us by the sin of Adam. Now it is confessed, that by Christ we have both an imputation or communication of the merits of his death, and likewise a purity and holiness of nature conveyed to us by his doctrine and spirit. In opposition then to this, if the comparison is closely to be pursued, there must be an imputation of sin as well as a corruption of nature transferred to us from Adam. This is the more considerable as to the point of imputation, because the chief design of St. Paul's discourse seems to be levelled at that, since it is begun upon the head of reconciliation and atonement; upon which it follows, that as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin, and death passed upon all men, for that (or as others render it, in whom) all have sinned (i).'. Now they think it is all one to their point, whether it be rendered for that,' or, 'in whom;' for though the latter word seems to deliver their opinion more precisely, yet it being affirmed that, according to the other rendering, all who die have sinned, and it being certain that many infants die who have never actually sinned, these must have sinned in Adam; they could sin no other way. It is afterwards said by St. Paul, that by the offence of one many were dead; that

(i) Rom. c. 5. v. 12.

the

the judgment was by one to condemnation; that by one man's offence death reigned by one; that by the offence of one, judgment came upon all men to condemnation; and that by one man's disobedience many were made sinners. As these words are positive and of great importance in themselves, so all this is much the stronger by the opposition in which every one of them is put to the effects and benefits of Christ's death, particularly to our justification through him, in which there is an imputation of the merits and effects of his death, that are thereby transferred to us; so that the whole effect of this discourse is taken away, if the imputation of Adam's sin is denied. And this explication does certainly quadrate more entirely to the words of the article, as it is known that this was the tenet of those who prepared the articles, it having been the generally received opinion from St. Austin's days downwards."

But many persons, although they reject the Pelagian system, do not accede to this opinion of Augustine, concerning original guilt; as thinking it incompatible with the justice and goodness of God to make the whole race of men liable to punishment for the sin of Adam, in which they had no concern; and the case which appears the most repugnant to the divine attributes, is that of infants and idiots, who being incapable of sinning, ought not to

be