Annotation CCLXXXI

”The spirit fights against the flesh.” — Galatians 5:17

Whether those who live under grace are impeccable [free from sin].

Augustine, in the exposition of the epistle to the Galatians, discoursing on this, asserted that those are under the law, and not under grace, whose spirit so lusts against the flesh, that they do not do the [things] which they will — that is, do not hold themselves unconquered in the charity of justice — but are conquered by the flesh lusting against them. Augustine excuses this sentence [in] the 24th chapter of the first book of the Retractations, saying that he said this because he had not yet understood that these words fit also those who are under grace; because they too have concupiscences of the flesh, against which they lust by [their] spirit, being unwilling to have them, if they could: and therefore they do not do whatsoever they will; because they will to lack them [the concupiscences], and cannot — but they will not have them then, when [they will] not [have] corruptible flesh [either]. A very similar [thing] Augustine retracted [in] the book of Propositions on the epistle to the Romans, chapter 7, and out of the book of 83 Questions, question 66.