Augustine reports Julian interpreted his claim that desire is ‘indecent because disobedient’ as meaning…

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Augustine reports Julian interpreted his claim that desire is ‘indecent because disobedient’ as meaning that desire ‘is subject neither to body nor mind, but remains always untamed through a savage force.’

Glorious struggles.

Latin source witness

Latin

Hunc itaque motum ideo indecentem, quia inoboedientem, cum illi primi homines in sua carne sensissent, et in sua nuditate erubuissent, foliis ficulneis eadem membra texerunt: ut saltem arbitrio verecundantium velaretur, quod non arbitrio volentium movebatur; et quoniam pudebat quod indecenter libebat, operiendo fieret quod decebat

motum

ideo indecentem, quia inoboedientem

non eam corpori, non animo esse subiectam, sed fera virtute semper indomitam

gloriosa certamina

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About this text

Julian’s earlier work To Turbantius, in four books, survives only in the excerpts Augustine quotes in his six-book reply, Against Julian. The excerpts are grouped here by those six books. Latin source text is on each section when recovered.

Julian of Eclanum (c. 386–c. 455) was bishop of Eclanum in southern Italy until 418, when he was deposed and exiled for refusing to condemn Pelagius. The most learned Pelagian controversialist, he pursued Augustine across a decade of pamphlet war.

None of Julian's works survives directly; what remains is preserved in the long quotations of Augustine, who answered him book by book. Reconstructed from those hostile pages, Julian emerges as a formidable defender of free will, marriage, and the goodness of creation.

English follows Julian’s words as Augustine excerpts them in Against Julian. This is not a recovered complete To Turbantius.

Printed text used

Translated from Augustine, Against Julian (Latin · Excerpts arranged by Augustine’s books)

We have not yet re-checked this work against its source. We made this study translation with AI help. No scholar has yet certified it as faithful and complete. Open Latin on any section, or the Latin source link, to see the source text. It is not a critical edition.

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