Augustine of Hippo, on Rom 5:20

“Now the law entered in, that sin might abound. And where sin abounded, grace did more abound.”

“By this Paul has clearly indicated that the Jews did not know by what dispensation the law had been given. It was not given in order to bring life, for grace brings life through faith, but the law was given to show with what great and tight chains those who thought they could fulfill all righteousness in their own strength were bound. So sin abounded, both because desire grew more ardent in the light of the prohibition and because the crime of trespass affected those who sinned against the law. Whoever considers the second of the four states of man will understand this.”

Imported from an open dataset — not yet checked against the printed edition.