a Christian sect who appeared about the end of the fourth or beginning of the fifth century. They maintained that Adam was by nature mortal, and, whether he had sinned or not, would certainly have died; that the consequences of Adam's sin were confined to his own person; that new-born infants are in the same situation with Adam before the fall; that the law qualified men for the kingdom of heaven, and was founded upon equal promises with the gospel; that the general resurrection of the dead does not follow in virtue of our Saviour's resurrection; that the grace of God is given according to our merits; and that this grace is not granted for the performance of every moral act, the liberty of the will, and information in points of duty, being sufficient. The founder of this sect was Pelagius.