PL 3 · cols. 871–874

Pseudo-Cornelius, Appendix secunda: decretales epistolae S. Cornelio papae ascriptae (de translatione corporum apostolorum Petri et Pauli; ad Rufum coepiscopum), cum decreto ex Gratiano

Letter II

EPISTOLA II.

Letter II.

AD RUFUM COEPISCOPUM ORIENTALEM.

To Rufus, an Eastern fellow bishop.

ARGUMENTUM. — Ne sacerdotes Domini, sicut vulgus solet facere, praesumant jurare vel compellantur, 1. Si sacramentum ab episcopis fieri debeat. 2. De causis episcoporum, ⟨e⟩t ut quidquid adversus absentes agitur, vacuum habeatur.

Argument. That the priests of the Lord should not presume to swear, as the common people are accustomed to do, nor be compelled to, 1. Whether an oath ought to be made by bishops. 2. On the cases of bishops, and that whatever is done against those who are absent be held void.

CORNELIUS EPISCOPUS RUFO COEPISCOPO IN DOMINO SALUTEM.

Cornelius, bishop, to Rufus, fellow bishop, greeting in the Lord.

Exigit dilectio tua, frater charissime, ut ex auctoritate Sedis apostolicae tuis deberemus consultibus respondere. Quod licet non prolixe, sed succincte agere festinaremus, propter quasdam importunitates, quae nostris praepedientibus peccatis, in nos supervenere, tuis tamen per reliqua sanctorum Patrum instituta studiis perquirere latius et investigare permittimus. Non enim potest mens attrita, et oneribus atque importunitatibus gravata, tantum boni peragere, quantum delectata et oppressionibus soluta. Non ergo ista ob id praetulimus, ut haec et alia, quae necessaria fore cognoverimus, tuae sanctitati velimus denegare: sed quod hic minus invenitur, latius perquiratur.

Your love requires, dearest brother, that by the authority of the apostolic See we should reply to your inquiries. And although we have hastened to do this not at length but briefly, because of certain troubles which, our sins standing in the way, have come upon us, yet we leave it to your diligence to search out and investigate more widely through the remaining institutions of the holy Fathers. For a mind worn down, and burdened with loads and troubles, cannot accomplish as much good as one that is gladdened and freed from oppressions. We have therefore not put these things first for this reason, that we would wish to deny to your holiness these and other things which we may recognize to be necessary: but so that what is found too little here may be searched out more widely.

1. Sacramentum autem hactenus a summis sacerdotibus vel Dei ministris exigi, nisi pro fide recta, minime cognovimus, nec spontaneos jurasse reperimus. Summopere ergo sanctus Jacobus apostolus prohibens sacramentum, loquitur, dicens: Ante omnia, fratres mei, nolite jurare, neque per caelum, neque per terram, neque aliud quodcunque juramentum. Sit autem sermo vester, Est, est, Non, non: ut non sub judicium decidatis (Jacob. V). Et Dominus in Evangelio: Audistis quia dictum est antiquis: Non pejerabis, reddes autem Domino juramenta tua. Ego autem dico vobis non jurare omnino, neque per caelum, quia thronus Dei est: neque per terram quia scabellum est pedum ejus: neque per Hierosolymam, quia civitas magni regis est: neque per caput tuum juraveris, quia non potest unum capillum album facere aut nigrum. Sit autem sermo vester, Est, est, Non, non: quod autem his abundantius est, a malo est (Matth. V), id est, ab exigente et a jurante. Haec, frater charissime, ipse Dominus prohibet, id est, non debere jurare. Haec apostoli maxime omnes, haec sancti viri praedecessores nostri, qui huic sanctae universali apostolicae Ecclesiae praefuerant ante nos, haec Prophetae et reliqui sancti doctores, per universum mundum dispersi ad praedicandum, juramenta fieri vetant.

1. Now we have up to this time by no means known an oath to be demanded of the high priests or ministers of God, except for the right faith, nor have we found that they swore of their own accord. Most earnestly, therefore, the holy apostle James, forbidding the oath, speaks, saying: Above all things, my brothers, do not swear, neither by heaven, nor by earth, nor any other oath whatever. But let your speech be, Yes, yes, No, no: so that you may not fall under judgement (Jas. 5:12). And the Lord in the Gospel: You have heard that it was said to those of old: You shall not swear falsely, but you shall render your oaths to the Lord. But I say to you not to swear at all, neither by heaven, because it is the throne of God: nor by the earth, because it is the footstool of His feet: nor by Jerusalem, because it is the city of the great king: nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black. But let your speech be, Yes, yes, No, no: and whatever is more than these is from evil (Matt. 5:33–37), that is, from the one who demands and from the one who swears. These things, dearest brother, the Lord Himself forbids, that is, that one ought not to swear. These things the apostles most of all, all of them, these things the holy men our predecessors, who presided before us over this holy universal apostolic Church, these things the Prophets and the other holy teachers, scattered throughout the whole world to preach, forbid oaths to be made.

Editors' notes and page, col. 871

Footnotes

Variae lectiones (printed under page 487)

(16) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 871

Rusticum Alias.

"Rusticum" elsewhere.

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(17) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 871

Rustico Alias.

"Rustico" elsewhere.

(printed under page 487)

(18) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 871

Episcopo Alias.

"Episcopo" (to the bishop) elsewhere.

(printed under page 487)

(19) ‹anchor: Dei ministris exigi› · call in col 871

Ita etiam Gratianus: in cit ms. Vel reliquis exigi.

So also Gratian; in the cited manuscript: "Vel reliquis exigi" (or to be required of the rest).

(printed under page 487)

(20) ‹anchor: nec spontaneos› · call in col 871

In cit. ms. et apud Gratianum Nec sponte eos.

In the cited manuscript and in Gratian: "Nec sponte eos" (nor [that] they of their own accord).

(printed under page 487)

(21) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 871

Nos sanctorum sequentes Alias.

"Nos sanctorum sequentes" (we, following the saints) elsewhere.

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(22) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 871

Nos sacramentum Alias.

"Nos sacramentum" (we … the oath) elsewhere.

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(15) ‹anchor: auctoritate sedis› · call in col 871

Auctoritate sedis. Greg. Epist. 32, lib. XII.

By the authority of the see. Gregory, Letter 32, book XII.

(printed under page 487)

(16) ‹anchor: Sacramentum autem hactenus› · call in col 871

Sacramentum autem hactenus. Quando ab episcopis ac reliquis clericis juramentum licite praestetur, vel exigatur, vide canonistas 2, qu. 4, can. Sacramentum hactenus, de quo prolixe Covarruvias, aliique plures. SEVER. BIN.

But the oath hitherto. On when an oath may lawfully be taken by, or required of, bishops and the other clerics, see the canonists on [Causa] 2, q. 4, canon Sacramentum hactenus, on which Covarrubias writes at length, and many others. SEVERINUS BINIUS.

(printed under page 487)

Page

running head: AD S. CORNELIUM AP (cut off at the image edge; column number 871)
marginal letters: A ‹EPISTOLA II. (beside Quor- of col. 872)›; B ‹investigare permittimus›; C ‹non: ut non sub judicium decidatis›; D ‹stolicae Ecclesiae praefuerant ante nos›
old-edition numerals: 845 before EPISTOLA II.; 846 after Dominus
other: running head printed across the page and cut off at the right edge, not set beyond what is visible; editors' matter set: Argumentum (‹Ne sacerdotes Domini›); "et" in the Argumentum printed with damaged first letter; "maxime" and "praefuerant" printed with damaged type, read as given; Variae lectiones and Variorum notae at the page foot not set

PL 3:872

Quorum nos exempla si coeperimus enumerare, aut in schedula hac inserere, ante deficiet hora diei, quam eorum exempla de hac causa prohibita. Quae nos sequentes, sanctorum apostolorum, eorumque successorum jura firmamus, et sacramenta incauta fieri prohibemus. Unde et ipse Dominus, in tabulis lapideis quas Mosi dedit, propria manu scripsit, dicens: Vide ne assumas nomen Domini tui in vanum (Exod. XX). Et reliqua, Nos autem, ut paulo superius praelibavimus, sacramentum episcopis nescimus oblatum, nec unquam fieri debet: quoniam, ut supra memoratum est, praeceptum est a Domino non jurandum, neque per caelum, quia thronus Dei est: neque per terram, quia scabellum est pedum ejus: neque per caput suum, quia nullus potest unum capillum creare (Matth. V; Jacob. V). Unusquisque enim sicut ante altare stans, Dei timorem habet prae oculis, et propriam conscientiam mundam servat Deo, quod in memoria retinet, nullatenus habet intermittere, quoniam, os quod mentitur, occidit animam (Sap. I). Et apostolus ait: Loquimini veritatem unusquisque cum proximo suo, quoniam sumus invicem membra (Ephes. IV). Et alibi: Nolite mentiri invicem (Coloss. III).

If we should begin to enumerate their examples, or to insert them into this sheet, the hour of the day would fail sooner than their examples forbidden on this matter. Following these, we confirm the rights of the holy apostles and of their successors, and we forbid incautious oaths to be made. Whence the Lord Himself also, on the tablets of stone which He gave to Moses, wrote with His own hand, saying: See that you do not take the name of your Lord in vain (Exod. 20). And the rest. We, however, as we touched on a little above, do not know of an oath having been offered to bishops, nor ought it ever to be done: since, as was mentioned above, it is commanded by the Lord that one must not swear, neither by heaven, because it is the throne of God; nor by the earth, because it is the footstool of His feet; nor by one's own head, because no one can create a single hair (Matt. 5; Jas. 5). For each one, as though standing before the altar, has the fear of God before his eyes, and keeps his own conscience clean for God; what he retains in memory he must by no means let lapse, since the mouth that lies kills the soul (Wis. 1). And the apostle says: Speak the truth, each one with his neighbour, since we are members of one another (Eph. 4). And elsewhere: Do not lie to one another (Col. 3).

Haec sunt praecepta Salvatoris, haec Prophetarum, haec sanctorum Patrum instituta. Quae si quis in vanum duxerit, hostis est animae suae: quia nemo contra prophetas, nemo contra apostolos, nemo contra Evangelium facit aliquid absque periculo (Conc. Carth. I can. 43). Et summopere praevidendum est ne pastorem suum oves, quae ei commissae fuerant, reprehendere (nisi a fide exorbitaverit) neque accusare praesumant: quoniam tales accusationes vim non habent, neque eis nocere possunt. Unum vero, charissimi, ut ait beatus apostolus Petrus, non lateat vos, quia unus dies apud Dominum sicut mille anni, et mille anni sicut unus dies. Non tardat Dominus promissis, sed patienter agit propter vos nolens aliquos perire, sed omnes ad poenitentiam reverti. Adveniet autem dies Domini ut fur, in qua coeli magno impetu transient, elementa vero calore solventur (II Petri III). Cum haec igitur omnia dissolvenda sint, ex his potestis considerare, quales oportet vos esse in sanctis conversationibus et pietatibus, exspectantes et properantes in adventum dici Dei, per quem coeli ardentes solventur, et elementa ignis ardore tabescent. « Vos autem, charissimi, dixit Judas apostolus (In Epistola sua canonica, vers. 17), memores estote

These are the precepts of the Saviour, these of the Prophets, these the institutions of the holy Fathers. If anyone holds them of no account, he is an enemy of his own soul: for no one does anything against the prophets, no one against the apostles, no one against the Gospel without peril (Council of Carthage I, can. 43). And it must be most carefully foreseen that the sheep which had been entrusted to their shepherd do not presume to censure him (unless he has strayed from the faith) or to accuse him: since such accusations have no force, nor can they harm them. But let this one thing not be hidden from you, dearest ones, as the blessed apostle Peter says, that one day with the Lord is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow in His promises, but acts patiently for your sake, not wishing any to perish, but all to return to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with great violence, and the elements will be dissolved with heat (2 Pet. 3). Since, then, all these things are to be dissolved, from this you can consider what sort of people you ought to be in holy ways of life and in acts of piety, awaiting and hastening towards the coming of the day of God, through which the heavens, burning, will be dissolved, and the elements will melt away with the heat of fire. « But you, dearest ones, said Jude the apostle (in his canonical Epistle, verse 17), be mindful

Editors' notes and page, col. 872

Footnotes

(23) ‹anchor: Dominus promissis› · call in col 872

Sic ms. q. alia Promissi, ut et Graeca vulgata Latina Promissionem.

So the manuscript; other [copies] "Promissi" (of the promise), as also the Greek; the Latin Vulgate "Promissionem" (the promise).

Variorum notae (printed under page 487)

(17) ‹anchor: Patrum instituta› · call in col 872

Patrum instituta. Ep. ad Oceanum de vita clericorum, apud Hieronymum. LABB.

The ordinances of the Fathers. The letter to Oceanus on the life of clerics, among Jerome's works. LABBE.

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(18) ‹anchor: reprehendere› · call in col 872

Reprehendere. Con. Rom. V, sub. Symmach. LABB.

To rebuke. Fifth Council of Rome, under Symmachus. LABBE.

(printed under page 487)

Page

running head: ...RNELIUM APPENDICES. 872 (left part of the running head cut off at the image edge)
marginal letters: A ‹Quorum nos exempla›; B ‹test unum capillum creare›; C ‹missae fuerant, reprehendere›; D ‹ardentes solventur, et elementa›
old-edition numerals: 847 after ‹igitur›
other: misprints kept as printed: "dici" (for diei) in ‹in adventum dici Dei›
other (Q2): the calls of Variae lectiones 21 and 22 stand in this column (exempla, sacramentum), but those variants are filed in n871 marked "call in col 871"; not duplicated here.

PL 3:873

verborum quae praedicta sunt ab apostolis Domini nostri Jesu Christi, qui dicebant vobis, quoniam «in novissimo tempore venient illusores, secundum sua desideria ambulantes impietatum. Hi sunt qui segregant semetipsos, animales. Spiritum non habentes. Vos autem, charissimi, superaedicantes vosmetipsos sanctissimae vestrae fidei, in Spiritu sancto orantes, ipsos vos in dilectione Dei servate, exspectantes misericordiam Domini nostri Jesu Christi in vitam aeternam. Et hos quidem arguitc judicatos, illos vero salvate de igne rapientes. Aliis autem miseremini in timore, odientes et eam, quae carnalis est maculatam tunicam.» Nullus enim sacerdotum causam suam alieno committat judicio, nisi ad Sedem apostolicam fuerit appellatum. Sed unusquisque comprovinciales judices, et notos habeat, nisi aliquam vim temerariae multitudinis illic timuerit, aut infestos, aut suspectos inibi judices habuerit, pro quibus causis ad majoris auctoritatis judices, et ad alias provincias appellare et venire concessum est.

of the words which were foretold by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ, who said to you that «in the last time there will come mockers, walking according to their own desires of ungodliness. These are they who separate themselves, sensual men. Not having the Spirit. But you, most dear ones, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, awaiting the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. And these indeed reprove, as judged, but those save, snatching them from the fire. And on others have mercy in fear, hating even that which is carnal, the stained tunic.» For let no one of the priests commit his case to another's judgement, unless an appeal has been made to the Apostolic See. But let each one have judges of his own province, and known ones, unless he fears some violence of a reckless multitude there, or has hostile or suspect judges in that place, for which reasons it is granted to appeal and come to judges of greater authority, and to other provinces.

II. Omnia ergo quae adversus absentes in omni negotio aut loco aguntur aut judicantur, omnino evacuentur: quoniam absentem nullus addicit, nec ulla lex damnat. Facile ergo homo hominem fallere potest, non tamen Deum, cujus oculis omnia nuda sunt et aperta. Unde ait Propheta: Dominus novit cogitationes hominum, quoniam vanae sunt (Psal. XCIII). Sapiens ergo non

II. Therefore let all things which are done or judged against absent persons in any business or place be utterly made void: since no one sentences an absent man, nor does any law condemn him. Easily, then, can man deceive man, but not God, to Whose eyes all things are naked and open. Whence the Prophet says: The Lord knows the thoughts of men, that they are vain (Ps. 93). The wise man therefore is not

Editors' notes and page, col. 873

Footnotes

Variae lectiones (printed under page 488)

(24) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 873

Sic ms. q. editionis Vulgatae, sic et Graeca. Alia In impietate. Excusa habent In impietatibus.

So the manuscript and [the text] of the Vulgate edition, and so also the Greek. Another [copy]: "In impietate" (in ungodliness). The printed editions have "In impietatibus" (in ungodlinesses).

(printed under page 488)

(25) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 873

3 q. 6, Omnia quae adversus.

[Causa] 3, q. 6, [canon] Omnia quae adversus.

Variorum notae (printed under page 488)

(19) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 873

Nullus. Amb. Ep. 29 in decret. Ivo lib. IV.

No one. Ambrose, Letter 29; in the Decretum, Ivo, book IV.

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(20) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 873

Judices. Hard. coll. 17. Item 5, 8, 30, 32, etc.

Judges. Hardouin, collection, 17. Likewise 5, 8, 30, 32, etc.

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(21) ‹anchor: ulla lex damnat› · call in col 873

Damnat. Conc. Chalced. initio actionis X.

Condemns. Council of Chalcedon, at the beginning of the tenth session.

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(22) ‹anchor: non tamen Deum› · call in col 873

Deum. Sixti Sent. 176, et paulo post 292 et 203.

God. Sentences of Sixtus 176, and a little after, 292 and 203.

(printed under page 488)

(23) ‹anchor: Sapiens ergo non› · call in col 873

Ergo non est. 6. q. 1. Sapiens non est. Allegatur tamen ibi sub nomine Lucii papae successoris Cornelii, ubi etiam habetur.

Therefore is not. [Causa] 6, q. 1, [canon] Sapiens non est. There, however, it is cited under the name of Pope Lucius, Cornelius's successor, among whose [letters] it is also found.

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Page

running head: 873 ÉPISTOLÆ SUPPOS (cut off at the image edge)
marginal letters: A verborum quae praedicta sunt; B beat, nisi aliquam vim
old-edition numerals: 848 after nec
other: "Ethos" printed without a space, set "Et hos"; "committat" has damaged type (looks like commitlat), read as committat; the column ends mid-sentence at "non"; the full-width "APPENDIX TE[...]" title, "MONITUM." heading and its Monitum text ("Etsi suam habeant propriam...") stand across both columns below the rule and are cut off at the edge, so they are not set; signature "PATROL. III." omitted; Variae lectiones and Variorum notae at the page foot omitted

PL 3:874

est qui nocet. Nec quidquam mali vult, qui fidelis est, aut cuiquam insidias machinatur. Hortamur, frater, et monemus tuam dilectionem, ut omnes semper, prout melius potueris, adjuves, confortes et consoleris. Et sacramenta, super quibus hanc sanctam Romanam, ac universalem Ecclesiam consulere voluisti, fieri prohibeas, et neminem unquam infestes aut noceas. Haec, frater, ad reliquorum fratrum notitiam tua faciat sanctitas pervenire, ut omnes haec mala caveant. Et sicut generaliter tam ab ipso Domino, quam a sanctis et reliquis apostolicis viris, et caeteris Patribus, sunt prohibita, ita generaliter ab omnibus custodiantur. Bene valere beatitudinem tuam semper optamus, et sacris virtutibus proficere te desideramus, frater charissime atque amantissime. Data undecimo kalendas junii, Maximo et Decio viris clarissimis consulibus.

the one who does harm. Nor does he who is faithful wish any evil, or plot snares against anyone. We exhort and admonish your love, brother, that you always help, strengthen and console all, as best you can. And the oaths, concerning which you wished to consult this holy Roman and universal Church, you should forbid to be made, and you should never trouble or harm anyone. Let your holiness, brother, cause these things to come to the notice of the other brethren, so that all may beware of these evils. And just as they have been forbidden generally both by the Lord Himself and by the holy and the other apostolic men, and by the rest of the Fathers, so let them be observed generally by all. We always wish your beatitude to fare well, and we desire that you advance in sacred virtues, dearest and most beloved brother. Given on the eleventh day before the Kalends of June, Maximus and Decius, most illustrious men, being consuls.

DECRETUM.

Decree.

Ex Gratiani decreto desumptum, in prioribus Decretalibus non exstans.

Taken from the decree of Gratian, not extant in the earlier Decretals.

Ut a jejunis juramenta praestentur.

That oaths be taken by persons fasting.

Honestum etiam videtur ut qui in sanctis audet jurare, hoc jejunus faciat cum omni honestate et timore Dei, et ut pueri ante annos quatuordecim non cogantur jurare.

It also seems honourable that whoever ventures to swear upon holy things should do this fasting, with all propriety and the fear of God, and that boys under fourteen years of age should not be compelled to swear.

Editors' notes and page, col. 874

Footnotes

(24) ‹anchor: Bene valere› · call in col 874

Benevalere. S. Bonif. ep. 8.

To fare well. Saint Boniface, letter 8.

(printed under page 488)

(25) ‹anchor: Maximo› · call in col 874

Maximo. Anno 250 aut. seq.

Maximus. In the year 250 or the following.

(printed under page 488)

(26) ‹anchor: Ex Gratiani› · call in col 874

Ex Gratiani. Gratian. 16, 22, q. 5. Verius e Capitular. l. I. c. 63. HARDUINUS.

From Gratian. Gratian, [canon] 16, [Causa] 22, q. 5. More truly from the Capitularies, book I, ch. 63. HARDOUIN.

(printed under page 488)