Why the Charges Must Be Answered

Nevertheless, a kind of necessity is laid on me to reply, as a simple matter of justice: many, I hear, are likely to be troubled by what he has written unless the true state of the case is set before them. I am compelled to reply, against my resolve and even my vows, so that I do not seem, by keeping silent, to admit that the accusation is true. It is indeed, in most cases, a Christian’s glory to follow our Lord’s example of silence and so to turn back an accusation; but to take that course in matters of faith makes stumbling blocks spring up in vast numbers. It is true that at the beginning of his invective he promises to avoid personal attacks and to reply only about the matters in question and the charges made against him. But his claim is false on both counts. For how can he answer a charge when no charge has been made? And how can a man be said to avoid personal attacks when he never stops attacking and tearing to pieces the translator of the books in question, from the first line of his invective to the last? I will avoid every pretense of saying less than I mean, and every such evasion of hypocrisy, which is hateful in God’s sight; and though my words may be rough and my style unadorned, I will make my reply. I trust, and I will not trust in vain, that my readers will forgive my lack of skill, since my aim is not to entertain others but to try to clear myself of the reproaches aimed at me. My wish is that what shines out in me may be, not style, but truth.