Migne Reading Room
PL 3 · cols. 63–176
J. A. Orsi, O.P., Dissertatio apologetica pro SS. Perpetuae, Felicitatis et sociorum martyrum orthodoxia
Editors' preface
DISSERTATIO APOLOGETICA PRO SS. PERPETUAE, FELICITATIS ET SOCIORUM ORTHODOXIA,
AN APOLOGETIC DISSERTATION FOR THE ORTHODOXY OF SS. PERPETUA, FELICITY AND THEIR COMPANIONS,
AUCTORE JOSEPHO AUGUSTINO ORSI O. P., S. R. E. PRESBYTERO CARDINALI.
BY JOSEPH AUGUSTINE ORSI, O.P., CARDINAL PRIEST OF THE HOLY ROMAN CHURCH.
CAPUT PRIMUM.
CHAPTER ONE.
Externis argumentis ex Ecclesiae et veterum Patrum auctoritate petitis. SS. Perpetuae. Felicitatis et sociorum martyrum orthodoxia vindicatur. I Tertulliani coaevi scpiptoris pro Perpetua sociisque martyribus testimonium. II. Pontius diaconus eorumdem martyrum acta non obscure laudavit. III. Perpetuae et Felicitatis antiquissimum fuisse in Ecclesia Romana cultum, ex Bucherii pervetusto calendario demonstratur. IV. Sanctus Augustinus earumdem martyrum variis in locis cum laude meminit, ac tribus eas tractatibus celebravit quorum priorem in editis levi admodum conjectura sancto doctori Basnagius abjudicat et irrito conatu elevare et labefactare contendit. V. Ecclesiarum Carthaginensium celeberrima et caeterarum matrix, Perpetuae et Felicitatis reliquiis illustrata est, et ex earum nominibus nuncupata. VI. In missae canone quotidiano earumdem nomina inter celebriores martyres recensentur. VII. Argumentum, quod ex his testimoniis conficitur, frustrat Basnagius.
By external arguments sought from the authority of the Church and of the ancient Fathers the orthodoxy of SS. Perpetua, Felicity and their fellow martyrs is vindicated. I. The testimony of Tertullian, a contemporary writer, for Perpetua and her fellow martyrs. II. Pontius the deacon praised the acts of these same martyrs in no obscure way. III. That the cult of Perpetua and Felicity in the Roman Church was most ancient is demonstrated from Bucher's very old calendar. IV. Saint Augustine mentions these same martyrs with praise in various places, and celebrated them in three tractates, the first of which in the editions Basnage, on a very slight conjecture, denies to the holy doctor, and strives with a vain attempt to make light of and to undermine. V. The most celebrated of the churches of Carthage, and the mother of the rest, was made illustrious by the relics of Perpetua and Felicity, and was named after them. VI. In the daily canon of the Mass the names of the same are recounted among the more celebrated martyrs. VII. The argument which is drawn from these testimonies Basnage evades in vain.
Nullum omnino est religiosi cultus et observantiae signum, quod non jam inde ab antiquis temporibus confestim in sanctas hasce ac celeberrimas martyres contulerit Ecclesiae catholicae pietas, et unanimis ubique terrarum in eas christianae religionis affectus populorumque devotio. Earum scilicet nomina vetustissima ecclesiarum tabularia exhibent et in omnibus pen⟨e⟩ martyrologiis descripta sunt: earum solemnitas et natalis dies magno christianae plebis concursu celebrata: earum Acta in ecclesiis publice lecta: in earum honorem et super earum reliquias templa et altaria Deo consecrata: panegyricae orationes in earum anniversaria festivitate a Patribus habitae: earum denique specialis, inter quotidiana sacrificia, commemoratio ad nostra usque tempora perennavit. Haec omnia clarissimis testimoniis ostendam, quae ita disponam, ut plane et aperte constet jam inde ab earum nece fuisse perpetua et non interrupta Ecclesiae traditione pro veris martyribus habitas, adeoque in Ecclesiae catholicae pace et communione obiisse.
There is no sign at all of religious cult and observance which the piety of the Catholic Church, and the unanimous affection of the Christian religion and devotion of the peoples everywhere on earth, did not from ancient times onward promptly bestow upon these holy and most celebrated martyrs. Their names, that is, the most ancient registers of the churches display, and they are written down in almost all the martyrologies: their solemnity and their birthday were celebrated with a great concourse of the Christian people: their Acts were read publicly in the churches: in their honour and over their relics temples and altars were consecrated to God: panegyric orations were delivered by the Fathers on their anniversary feast: finally, a special commemoration of them, among the daily sacrifices, has continued even down to our own times. All these things I shall show by the clearest testimonies, which I shall so arrange that it may stand plainly and openly that from their death onward they were held, by the perpetual and uninterrupted tradition of the Church, to be true martyrs, and therefore that they died in the peace and communion of the Catholic Church.
I. Tertullianus, qui Perpetuae coaevus fuit et Carthaginis incola, ubi Perpetuae sociique martyres neci
I. Tertullian, who was a contemporary of Perpetua and a resident of Carthage, where Perpetua and her fellow martyrs were
Editors' notes and page, col. 63
Page
- running head: 63 DISSERTATIO APOLO[...] (cut off at the image edge)
- marginal letters: A CAPUT PRIMUM.; B celebriores martyres recensentur; C tate a Patribus habitae; D (none)
- old-edition numerals: 61 before CAPUT PRIMUM; 62 after earum
- other (Q1a): misprints kept as printed: scpiptoris (for scriptoris); "Perpetuae. Felicitatis" with a full stop; "I Tertulliani" without a full stop after the numeral.
- other (Q2): 'confestim' (para. 1): the first e prints like c (confcstim) on the scan, most likely a damaged e; the text sets confestim. UNSURE between a damaged sort and a misprint. 'pen⟨e⟩': the final e is damaged on the scan and supplied.
- running head: 63 DISSERTATIO APOLOGETICA 64
- marginal letters: A ‹Externis argumentis ex Ecclesiae› (letter printed between the columns); B ‹celebriores martyres recensentur. VII. Argumen-›; C ‹tate a Patribus habitae : earum denique specialis,›; D (none)
- old-edition numerals: 61 before ‹CAPUT PRIMUM›; 62 after ‹earum› (before ‹nece›)
- other: full_width: the title (DISSERTATIO / APOLOGETICA / PRO SS. PERPETUAE, FELICITATIS ET SOCIORUM / ORTHODOXIA, / AUCTORE ...) is printed across the top of cols 63-64; set once here at the head of the unit; editors' matter. Small-caps E in AUCTORE, S. R. E., PRESBYTERO looks like B on the scan; set as E.
- other: the column ends mid-sentence ('neci'); continues 'traditi sunt' at the head of col 64.
traditi sunt, ejus in libro De anima, cap. 55, his verbis meminit: « Perpetua, fortissima martyr, sub die passionis, in revelatione paradisi solos illic commartyres suos vidit. » Ne verbo quidem indicat fuisse illam sectae montanisticae addictam: quod certe vanissimus homo nequaquam praetermisisset, solitus inflatis buccis sceleratae factionis decora resonare. Meminit in eodem libro, cap. 9, fanaticae cujusdam mulieris angelorum, ut putabat, et ipsius Domini visionibus assuetae; neque monere omittit suae illam fuisse communionis: Est, inquit, hodie soror apud nos revelationum charismata sortita, » etc. Alterius meminit libro De virginibus velandis prope finem, quam pariter sororem nominat: et montanistam fuisse, perspicuis verbis declarat: « Nobis, » id est Paracleti discipulis, qui novas non spernimus prophetias, charismata honoramus, et visiones revelationesque suscipimus, « Dominus, etiam revelationibus, velaminis spatia metatus est. Non cuidam sorori nostrae angelus in somnis, » etc. Nihil ejusmodi tradit ubi de Perpetua loquitur, nihil ejusmodi jactat. Martyrem tantummodo nominat, et fortissimam; non illam sororem suam, non martyrem suam praedicat, et ne verbo quidem significat fuisse illam Montanistarum superstitionibus ac deliramentis imbutam. Estne vero credibile adeo singulare sectae suae ornamentum sibi suisque perspicuis verbis asserere neglexisse, qui tam sollicite monitos nos esse voluit insanas etiam mulierculas, nulla virtute insignes sed insomniis unice deditas, e Montani schola et institutione prodiisse? Quae contra affert Basnagius, et argumentum quod ex his Tertuliani verbis in suae opinionis confirmationem exsculpit, inferius evertam.
put to death, mentions her in his book On the Soul, chapter 55, in these words: "Perpetua, the bravest martyr, on the day of her passion, in a revelation of paradise saw there only her fellow martyrs." Not even by a word does he indicate that she had been devoted to the Montanist sect: which that most vain man would certainly by no means have passed over, accustomed as he was to sound forth with puffed cheeks the glories of his wicked faction. He mentions in the same book, chapter 9, a certain fanatical woman accustomed to visions of angels, as he thought, and of the Lord Himself; nor does he omit to point out that she was of his own communion: There is, he says, "a sister among us today who has been allotted the gifts of revelations," etc. He mentions another in the book On the Veiling of Virgins near the end, whom he likewise calls a sister: and he declares in plain words that she was a Montanist: "To us," that is, to the disciples of the Paraclete, who do not spurn new prophecies, who honour the gifts, and receive visions and revelations, "the Lord has measured out, even by revelations, the extent of the veil. Was it not to a certain sister of ours that an angel in sleep," etc. Nothing of the kind does he relate where he speaks of Perpetua, nothing of the kind does he boast. He names her only a martyr, and the bravest; he does not proclaim her his sister, nor his martyr, and not even by a word does he signify that she was steeped in the superstitions and ravings of the Montanists. Is it credible indeed that he neglected to claim in plain words, for himself and his own, so singular an ornament of his sect, he who wished us to be so carefully informed that even crazed little women, distinguished by no virtue but given over solely to dreams, had come forth from the school and instruction of Montanus? What Basnage brings against this, and the argument which he carves out of these words of Tertullian in confirmation of his opinion, I shall overturn below.
II. Pontius diaconus, qui post Perpetuae et Felicitatis obitam quinquaginta circiter annis floruit, in Vita S. Cypriani haec habet, quae ad earum acta, mea quidem sententia, manifeste respiciunt, uti etiam viro clarissimo Lucae Holstenio jampridem est observatum: « Majores nostri plebeis et catechumenis martyrium consecutis tantum honoris,
II. Pontius the deacon, who flourished about fifty years after the death of Perpetua and Felicity, has these words in the Life of St Cyprian, which, in my opinion at least, plainly look back to their acts, as was also long ago observed by that most distinguished man Lucas Holstenius: "Our forebears, to commoners and catechumens who had attained martyrdom, gave so much honour,
Editors' notes and page, col. 64
Footnotes
(1) ‹anchor: est observatum› · call in col 64
In Not. ad Passion. SS. Perpetuæ, Felicit., etc. § 2, vers. 1.
In the Notes on the Passion of SS. Perpetua, Felicity, etc., § 2, verse 1.
(printed under page 84)
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- running head: DISSERTATIO APOLOGETICA (printed cut off at the left edge as "TATIO APOLOGETICA"), column number 64
- marginal letters: A ‹traditi sunt, ejus in libro›; B ‹spernimus prophetias, charismata›; C ‹diisse? Quae contra affert›
- old-edition numerals: 63 after ‹viro›
- running head: 63 DISSERTATIO APOLOGETICA 64
- marginal letters: A ‹traditi sunt, ejus in libro›; B ‹« Nobis, » id est Paracleti discipulis›; C ‹diisse ? Quae contra affert Basnagius›; D (none)
- old-edition numerals: 63 after ‹viro› (before ‹clarissimo›)
- misprints kept as printed (Q3): Tertuliani (for Tertulliani); obitam (for obitum)
- other (Q3): ‹Non cuidam sorori nostrae› is printed so (Tertullian, De virg. vel. 17, reads Nam); set as printed, and the English renders the printed Non as a question. UNSURE whether Non is a misprint for Nam.
pro martyrii ipsius veneratione, dederunt, ut de passionibus eorum multa, aut prope dixerim, pene cuncta conscripserint, ut ad nostram quoque notitiam, qui nondum nati fuimus, pervenirent. » Haec Pontii verba Perpetuae et Felicitatis acta digito veluti ostendunt, et in ea optime quadraat.
for the veneration of martyrdom itself, that they wrote down many things, or, I might almost say, nearly everything, about their sufferings, so that these might reach even our knowledge, we who had not yet been born." These words of Pontius point, as it were with a finger, to the Acts of Perpetua and Felicity, and fit them excellently.
Plebeii hoc loco, ut idem observavit Holstenius, accipiendi sunt laici, nullum in clero ordinem adepti; sic enim paulo inferius idem Pontius: Multa sunt quae adhuc plebeius, multa quae jam presbyter fecit.
By "plebeians" in this place, as the same Holstenius observed, laymen are to be understood, who had attained no order in the clergy; for so, a little further on, the same Pontius says: Many are the things he did while still a layman, many those he did when already a presbyter.
Catechumenas fuisse tum ipsas, tum earum in passione socios, Actorum collectori, ipso statim initio, diligenter est adnotatum: « Apprehensi sunt adolescentes catechumeni, Revocatus et Felicitas conserva ejus Saturninus et Secundulus, inter quos et Vivia Perpetua, honeste nata, liberaliter instituta, matronaliter nupta, habens patrem et matrem et fratres duos, alterum aeque catechuminum, » etc. Hic esse videtur Saturus, quem fratrem suum Perpetua in hisce Actis appellat: « Tunc dixit mihi frater meus; Domina soror, » etc. Et infra: « Et retuli statim fratri meo, et intelleximus passionem esse futuram. » Loquitur autem de Saturo, ejusdem agonis commilitone. Sunt denique ejusmodi Acta ea diligentia conscripta, quam Pontius verbis superioribus laudat. Multa enim, aut, prope dixerim, pene cuncta quae ad eorum passiones pertinent, complectuntur, ad ipsas usque minutiores circumstantias, ut plane nesciam an aliqua antiquorum martyrum Acta majori accuratione ac diligentia descripta sint. Pontii itaque verba in ea, quae prae manibus habemus, Acta ita belle conveniunt ut nullis eorum quae modo exstant, melius. An autem Pontii aetate aliqua exstiterint, ad quae aptius ejus verba referri possent, valde equidem dubito: cum non adeo in vetustioris aevi moribus positum fuisse videatur, ut gesta martyrum adeo exquisita diligentia litteris traderentur. Fallitur enim Dodwellus cum ex laudatis verbis concludit, « adeo sedulos fuisse in martyrum gestis memoriae tradendis veteres, ut nihil illos fere fugerit; » ut ex actorum paucitate quae supersunt, paucitatem quoque martyrum colligat. Non enim asserit Pontius in singulorum martyrum gestis memoriae tradendis pari diligentia veteres fuisse versatos: ejus namque proposito satis erat luculentissimum horumce Actorum exemplum queis tam sedulo ad posteros transmissa fuerat plebeiorum et catechumenorum martyrum memoria. Inde enim facile omnes intelligebant, quam non segniorem operam adhibere ipse deberet in episcopi et martyris praeclarissimis gestis litterarum monumentis consignandis. Nullus itaque dubito, quin Perpetuae, Felicitatis et sociorum Acta prae oculis Pontius habuerit. Nam et ad plebeios pertinent et catechumenos, et aetas facile convenit, antequam scilicet Pontius ipse nasceretur,
That both the women themselves and their companions in the passion were catechumens was carefully noted by the compiler of the Acts at the very outset: "There were arrested young catechumens, Revocatus and Felicity his fellow-slave, Saturninus and Secundulus, and among them also Vivia Perpetua, nobly born, liberally educated, married as a matron, having a father and mother and two brothers, one of them likewise a catechumen," etc. This seems to be Saturus, whom Perpetua in these Acts calls her brother: "Then my brother said to me: Lady sister," etc. And further on: "And I at once reported it to my brother, and we understood that there would be a passion." Yet she is speaking of Saturus, a fellow-soldier in the same contest. Finally, these Acts are written with that diligence which Pontius praises in the words above. For they take in many, or, I might almost say, nearly all of the things that pertain to their passions, down to the very minutest circumstances, so that I plainly do not know whether any Acts of the ancient martyrs have been written with greater accuracy and diligence. Pontius' words therefore suit the Acts which we have in hand so neatly that they suit none of those now extant better. But whether in Pontius' time there existed any to which his words could more aptly be referred, I for my part greatly doubt, since it does not seem to have been so much the custom of an older age that the deeds of martyrs should be committed to writing with such exquisite diligence. For Dodwell is mistaken when from the words cited he concludes "that the ancients were so assiduous in handing down to memory the deeds of the martyrs that hardly anything escaped them," so that from the fewness of the Acts which survive he infers the fewness of the martyrs as well. For Pontius does not assert that the ancients took equal pains in handing down to memory the deeds of each individual martyr: for his purpose the most splendid example of these Acts was enough, by which the memory of plebeian and catechumen martyrs had been so assiduously transmitted to posterity. For from this all readily understood how by no means slacker an effort he himself ought to apply to recording in literary monuments the most illustrious deeds of a bishop and martyr. I therefore do not doubt at all that Pontius had the Acts of Perpetua, Felicity and their companions before his eyes. For they concern both plebeians and catechumens, and the date readily agrees, before, that is, Pontius himself was born,
Editors' notes and page, col. 65
Footnotes
(2) ‹anchor: verbis concludit› · call in col 65
Dissert. xi Cyprian., De martyr. paucit. § 3, et 5.
Dissertation 11 on Cyprian, On the Small Number of the Martyrs, §§ 3 and 5.
(printed under page 85)
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- running head: 65 PRO SS. PERPETUA, FELICITA (cut off at the image edge)
- marginal letters: A ‹pro martyrii ipsius veneratione›; B ‹tuta, matronaliter nupta›; C ‹prae manibus habemus, Acta ita belle conveniunt›; D ‹Actorum exemplum queis tam sedulo›
- old-edition numerals: 64 after ‹antequam›
- other: the word nasceretur, was split at the column break and stands whole here (joined on receipt); check that the English reads whole across the break into col 66
et eo quod ipse describit studio fuerunt ac diligentia concinnata: adeoque medio saeculo tertio fuisse Perpetuam ejusque socios Carthagine, ubi sanguinem fuderant, pro veris martyribus habitos, laudata Pontii verba non obscure suadent.
and that the things he himself describes were put together with care and diligence: and so the praised words of Pontius plainly suggest that by the middle of the third century Perpetua and her companions were held to be true martyrs at Carthage, where they had shed their blood.
III. Id vero nemo mirabitur qui secum animo reputaverit sequenti, id est quarto Ecclesiae saeculo, celebrem quoque Romae fuisse Perpetuae et Felicitatis festivitatem. Id constat ex vetustissimo Ecclesiae Romanae calendario, quod Bucherius publica luce donavit, et ad Liberii tempora pertinere unanimis esse videtur eruditorum sententia. In hoc itaque venerandae antiquitatis monumento. Nonis Martii, Perpetuae et Felicitatis, Africae, nomina inscripta sunt. Quod certe indubium est vetustissimi in Ecclesia cultus argumentum. Cum enim viri eruditi Bucheranium calendarium in Liberii tempora conferunt, non ea ipsorum mens est, Romae tum primum institutas fuisse, quae in eo recensentur, martyrum solemnitates: absurda enim esset ejusmodi cogitatio. Nam Bucherianus iste seu Liberianus indiculus ex antiquioribus diptychis et tabulariis descriptus est, quam non tum primum Ecclesiae, praesertim Apostolicae, et maxime atque in primis Romana, sed jam inde ab initio, ut ex Tertulliano aliisque auctoribus discimus, sacros fastos habuerint, pro illorum temporum conditione accuratissime digestos. Fieri itaque optime potuit, ut aliquot ante Liberium annis Perpetuae et Felicitatis natale coeptum fuerit in urbe celebrari: Carthagine autem prius quam Romae receptum fuisse et vulgatum earum cultum, annon vero perquam simillimum est? Cum igitur medio saeculo quarto Liberius, sub quo laudatum calendarium conditum est, sedere coeperit, morosi nimium critici esset, inficias ire Carthagine saltem ineunte saeculo quarto, Nostrarum celebrem fuisse memoriam.
III. But no one will wonder at this who considers in his mind that in the following, that is the fourth, century of the Church the festival of Perpetua and Felicity was celebrated at Rome as well. This is established from the very ancient calendar of the Roman Church which Bucherius brought to public light, and which, it seems, the learned are unanimous in judging to belong to the times of Liberius. In this monument of venerable antiquity, then, under the Nones of March, the names "Perpetua and Felicity, of Africa" are inscribed. This is certainly an undoubted proof of a very ancient cult in the Church. For when learned men assign the Bucherian calendar to the times of Liberius, it is not their meaning that the solemnities of the martyrs recorded in it were then first instituted at Rome: such a notion would be absurd. For this Bucherian or Liberian list was copied out from older diptychs and registers, since the Churches, especially the Apostolic ones, and most of all and above all the Roman, had sacred calendars not first at that time but from the very beginning, as we learn from Tertullian and other authors, drawn up with the greatest accuracy allowed by the conditions of those times. It could therefore very well have happened that the birthday of Perpetua and Felicity began to be celebrated in the City some years before Liberius; but is it not truly most likely that their cult was received and spread at Carthage earlier than at Rome? Since, then, Liberius, under whom the praised calendar was compiled, began to occupy the see in the middle of the fourth century, it would be the mark of an overly captious critic to deny that at least at the beginning of the fourth century the memory of our [martyrs] was celebrated at Carthage.
Est aliud, quod circa Liberianum istum martyrum laterculum diligenter velim animadverti, ex quo nostrarum martyrum cultus non vetustas modo, sed et celebritas intelligi facile potest; martyres scilicet in eo calendario descriptos, praeter Nostras et Cyprianum, omnes esse Romanos: neque, his tribus exceptis, ullum in eo exteris martyribus locum esse. Quod profecto clare et aperte demonstrat, quam ab antiquis temporibus in ore famae praedicti martyres versarentur. Sanctos quidem martyres, non uni alicui Ecclesiae, sed omnibus, a primis christianae fidei saeculis, fuisse deputatos, haud inscite Oxoniensis Cypriani Operum Editor observavit; est tamen aliquid in ejus verbis, pro illorum, de quibus loquitur, temporum conditione, non satis accurate dictum: Videmus enim, inquit, Acta martyrum ab una Ecclesia ad alias transmissa; et singularum ecclesiarum martyrologia non suorum modo, sed et longe dissitorum hominum nomina continere.
There is another point concerning this Liberian list of martyrs which I would wish to be carefully noted, from which not only the antiquity but also the renown of the cult of our martyrs can easily be understood: namely, that the martyrs entered in that calendar, apart from our [martyrs] and Cyprian, are all Roman, and that, these three excepted, there is no place in it for foreign martyrs. This surely shows clearly and openly how, from ancient times, the aforesaid martyrs were on the lips of fame. That the holy martyrs were assigned, from the first centuries of the Christian faith, not to any one Church but to all, the Oxford editor of the Works of Cyprian has observed not unskilfully; yet there is something in his words that is not stated accurately enough for the conditions of the times of which he speaks: "For we see," he says, "the Acts of the martyrs transmitted from one Church to others; and the martyrologies of individual churches containing the names not only of their own people but also of men far removed."
Editors' notes and page, col. 66
Footnotes
(3) ‹anchor: ex Tertulliano› · call in col 66
Lib. De præscript., cap. 32, et lib. De corona milit., cap. 13.
The book On Prescription, chapter 32, and the book On the Soldier's Crown, chapter 13.
(printed under page 85)
(4) ‹anchor: enim, inquit› · call in col 66
In Notis ad Epist. Celerini, inter Cyprianic. 21.
In the Notes on the Letter of Celerinus, number 21 among the Cyprianic letters.
(printed under page 85)
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- running head: UA, FELICITATE ET SOCIIS. 66
- marginal letters: A ‹retur, et eo quod ipse›; B ‹in Ecclesia cultus argumentum›; C ‹tum earum cultum, annon vero›; D ‹ti martyres versarentur›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
Si de recentioribus martyrologiis sermo sit, puta Hieronymiano et caeteris quae inde profluxerunt, non est cur ullam erudito viro controversiam excitemus; sed in antiquissimis calendariis suos duntaxat, paucis exceptis, aut finitimarum provinciarum unaquaeque ecclesia martyres exhibet. Sic in Romano Buccherii, praeter Nostras et Cyprianum, ut dictum est, omnes Romani; et in Carthaginensi Mabilloniano plerique omnes Carthaginenses, aut Africani, aut pauci tamen ex quibusdam aliis provinciis, quibuscum magnum olim christianis Carthaginensibus commercium intercessit; progressu vero temporis ampliora semper condita fuisse martyrologia, quae non singularum ecclesiarum tantum, sed et longe dissitorum hominum nomina contineret, clarum et perspicuum est . sicut etiam festivitatum numerum sequioribus saeculis valde fuisse auctum, et eas quoque solemnitates ascitas, quibus remotissimae longeque inter se dissitae ecclesiae suos unaquaeque martyres celebrabat. Sed ut ad Perpetuam et Felicitatem redeamus, quisquamne ibit in ficias dandum id esse earum famae atque celebritati, quod solae cum Cypriano, ex Africanis, imo et aliorum provinciarum martyribus, in Romano calendario locum habuerint, priscis illis temporibus, quibus unaquaeque ecclesia suis contenta martyribus, exterorum martyrum solemnitates non nisi rarissimas ascribebat. Et de Cypriano quidem facile intelligitur, unde illi adeo insigne decus, ut ejus, nomen cum Romanis martyribus in Liberiano indiculo ascriberetur: id scilicet praeclarissimis ejus meritis datum est, non in Ecclesiam modo Carthaginensem et universam Africam, sed in omnem qua patet Ecclesiam et in primis Romanum longe lateque diffusis. Nostris autem unde cum Cypriano eadem gloriae celebritas, ut ex tot martyribus qui Africae arenas glorioso cruore irrigarunt, adeo mature, id est non longe post initium saeculi quarti, solae cum sanctissimo illo ac celeberrimo episcopo specialem Romae solemnitatem consequerentur? Profecto, aut ex earum actis, aut ex miraculorum ad earum monumenta frequentia. Ex miraculis non dicet utique Basnagius: igitur ex actis quae omnium proinde tum manibus terebantur. Annon vero absurdum est cogitatu, intra unius saeculi spatium ex hominum memoria excidere potuisse celeberrimas hasce notissimasque mulieres, quarum Actorum lectione Christiani mirifice capiebantur, Montanistarum fuisse erroribus maculatas? Id eo difficilius creditu est, quo earum insignior exstitit fama: quae enim ad obscurae sortis homines pertinent, facile e posterorum memoria delet oblivio. Rem vero adeo sigularem, mulieres scilicet ob invictae fortitudinis laudem et coelestes revelationes omnium admirationi habitas, Montanistarum addictas fuisse superstitionibus; neque Catholici, neque haeretici, tam brevi temporis intervallo in oblivionem
If the talk is of the more recent martyrologies, for instance the Hieronymian and the others that flowed from it, there is no reason for us to stir up any controversy with a learned man; but in the most ancient calendars each church, with a few exceptions, displays only its own martyrs or those of the neighbouring provinces. Thus in the Roman calendar of Bucherius, apart from our [women] and Cyprian, as has been said, all are Roman; and in the Carthaginian calendar of Mabillon nearly all are Carthaginians or Africans, or at any rate a few from certain other provinces with which the Christians of Carthage once had extensive intercourse; but that with the progress of time ever more ample martyrologies were composed, which contained the names not only of individual churches but also of men very far removed, is clear and evident. just as also the number of feasts was greatly increased in later centuries, and those solemnities too were adopted with which the most remote churches, far separated from one another, each celebrated their own martyrs. But to return to Perpetua and Felicity, will anyone go so far as to deny that it must be granted to their fame and renown that they alone, together with Cyprian, of the African martyrs, nay even of the martyrs of other provinces, had a place in the Roman calendar, in those early times when each church, content with its own martyrs, entered the solemnities of foreign martyrs only very rarely? And in the case of Cyprian indeed it is easily understood whence he had so distinguished an honour that his name was entered with the Roman martyrs in the Liberian list: this was evidently granted to his most illustrious merits, spread far and wide not only through the Church of Carthage and all Africa, but through the whole Church wherever it extends, and above all the Roman. But whence did our [women] have the same celebrity of glory as Cyprian, so that out of so many martyrs who watered the sands of Africa with glorious blood, they alone, together with that most holy and most celebrated bishop, should obtain a special solemnity at Rome so early, that is, not long after the beginning of the fourth century? Surely either from their Acts, or from the frequency of miracles at their tombs. Basnage will certainly not say from miracles: therefore from the Acts, which were accordingly then worn by the hands of all. And is it not absurd to think that within the space of a single century it could have dropped out of men's memory that these most celebrated and best-known women, by the reading of whose Acts Christians were wonderfully captivated, had been stained with the errors of the Montanists? This is the more difficult to believe, the more distinguished their fame was: for oblivion easily blots out from the memory of posterity what concerns men of obscure lot. But a thing so singular, namely that women held in the admiration of all for the praise of their unconquered fortitude and for heavenly revelations had been devoted to the superstitions of the Montanists; neither Catholics nor heretics, in so brief an interval of time, into oblivion
Editors' notes and page, col. 67
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- running head: DISSERTATIO APOLO (cut off at the image edge; page number 67 at left)
- marginal letters: A Si de recentioribus; B merum sequioribus; C tis datum est; D celeberrimas hasce
- old-edition numerals: 65 before Si (at the head of the paragraph)
abire atque intercidere permissi sunt. Non quidem Catholici, qui ut ab haereticorum etiam gloria confessionis insignium consuetudine refugiebant, ita sollicite cavebant, ne falsi pro veris, id est haeretici pro catholicis martyribus in sacra diptycha reciperentur. Et licet aliquando haereticorum nomina in martyrologia irrepserint; id tamen, ut inferius demonstrabitur, sequioribus saeculis et a rerum gestarum memoria remotissimis factum est; id vero de quo nunc agimus, vix elapso ab earum passione saeculo contigisset: quod certe in martyribus ejusdem celebritatis et nominis caret exemplo. Sed neque Montanistae, haud infrequens in Afri⟨c⟩a haereticorum factio, suos sibi a Catholicis subripi martyres passi fuissent. Sed de hoc alibi plenior erit et opportunior dicendi locus.
were allowed to pass away and perish. Certainly not the Catholics, who, just as they shrank from association with heretics, even those distinguished by the glory of confession, so took careful precaution that false martyrs should not be received for true, that is, heretics for catholic martyrs, into the sacred diptychs. And although the names of heretics have at times crept into the martyrologies, this nevertheless, as will be shown below, happened in later ages very remote from the memory of the events; but the thing we are now dealing with would have occurred scarcely a century after their passion: something which certainly has no precedent among martyrs of the same celebrity and name. Nor, again, would the Montanists, a not infrequent faction of heretics in Africa, have allowed their own martyrs to be stolen from them by the Catholics. But there will be a fuller and more fitting place to speak of this elsewhere.
IV. Initio saeculi quinti florebat Augustinus, cujus Possidius in indiculo recenset, De natali Perpetuae et Felicitatis tractatus tres, qui in novissima operum ejus editione, PP. Benedictinorum congregationis sancti Mauri studio adornata, sunt inter sermones num. CCLXXX, CCLXXXI et CCLXXXII. Primum, id est ducentesimum octogesimum, alias de diversis centesimum tertium, in dubium Basnagius revocat, imo non esse Augustini existimat, levissima ductus conjectura: Non existimamus, inquit, Augustini sermonem esse de Natali SS. Perpetuae et Felicitatis martyrum, ubi haec leguntur: « Exhortationes earum in divinis revelationibns, triumphosque passionum, cum legerentu⟨r⟩, audivimus. » Quae sane non quudrant ad Augustini mentem, qui verbis expressis Perpetuae visiones Scripturis sanctis eximit: De fratre autem S. Perpetuae Dimocrate, nec scriptura ipsa canonica est. Quid vero magis canonicum quam divinae revelationes, quales sermonis auctori existimantur? Verum non Augustinus modo, sed neque ullus unquam catholicus scriptor divinas hic pro canonicis accepisset. Quis enim, exceptis Montanistis, privatas hujusmodi revelationes, et privata auctoritate litteris traditas, pro canonicis habuit? An igitur sermonis auctorem aliquem fuisse dicet e Montanistarum secta declamatorem? non puto id dicturum virum eruditum. Quisquis igitur fuerit sermonis auctor, sane doctus et catholicus et totus Augustinianus, divinas dixit, a Deo immissas, ut pie existimabat, revelationes, non autem quod eas crederet divina fuisse conscriptas auctoritate: aliud est enim divinam esse revelationem, aliud divinam esse et canonicam scripturam, in qua talis nobis revelatio proponitnr. Ut divinam dicamus aliquam revelationem, sufficit ut Deum auctorem habuisse probabiliter existimemus; sed ut canonicam dicamus scripturam in qua talis revelatio continetur, necesse est ut canonicum scriptorem et divino afflatum spiritu habuerit. Augustinus igitur, ut deinceps videbimus, Perpetuoe revelationes ex Deo fuisse
IV. At the beginning of the fifth century flourished Augustine, among whose works Possidius lists in his little index Three Treatises on the Feast of Perpetua and Felicity, which in the most recent edition of his works, prepared through the labour of the Benedictine Fathers of the Congregation of Saint Maur, are among the sermons numbered 280, 281 and 282. The first, that is the two hundred and eightieth, otherwise the hundred and third On Various Subjects, Basnage calls into doubt, indeed he judges that it is not Augustine's, led by a very slight conjecture: "We do not judge," he says, "to be Augustine's the sermon on the Feast of Saints Perpetua and Felicity, martyrs, where these words are read: 'We have heard their exhortations in the divine revelations, and the triumphs of their passions, when they were read.' Which certainly do not square with the mind of Augustine, who in express words excludes the visions of Perpetua from the holy Scriptures: 'But concerning Dinocrates, the brother of Saint Perpetua, the writing itself is not canonical either.' And what is more canonical than divine revelations, such as are judged so by the author of the sermon?" But not Augustine only, but no catholic writer ever at all would have taken divine here for canonical. For who, except the Montanists, has held private revelations of this kind, and committed to writing on private authority, for canonical? Will he then say that the author of the sermon was some declaimer of the sect of the Montanists? I do not think that a learned man will say so. Whoever, therefore, the author of the sermon was, certainly learned and catholic and wholly Augustinian, he called the revelations divine, sent by God, as he piously judged, but not because he believed that they had been written down by divine authority: for it is one thing to be a divine revelation, another to be divine and canonical scripture, in which such a revelation is set before us. For us to call some revelation divine, it suffices that we judge with probability that it had God as its author; but for us to call the scripture in which such a revelation is contained canonical, it is necessary that it had a canonical writer, inspired by the divine Spirit as well. Augustine therefore, as we shall see hereafter, believed it probable that the revelations of Perpetua were from God
Editors' notes and page, col. 68
Footnotes
(5) ‹anchor: existimamus, inquit› · call in col 68 (note printed at the foot of col 67)
An. 203, n. vi.
Year 203, number 6.
(printed under page 86)
(6) ‹anchor: sanctis eximit› · call in col 68
Lib. i De anima et ejus orig., cap. 10.
Book 1 On the Soul and Its Origin, chapter 10.
(printed under page 86)
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- running head: TATIO APOLOGETICA 68
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- old-edition numerals: 66 after ne
probabiliter credidi: adeoque divinas hoc sensu et notione dicere potuisset. Auctori vero sermonis neque in mentem venit, Perpetuae Acta in quibus ejusmodi revelationes leguntur, canonicam esse scripturam eorumque auctorem divino afflatum fuisse spiritu, divinaque praeditum auctoritate. Quare inter sermonis auctorem, quicunque ille fuerit, et Augustinum optime convenit: neque tam levi inanique conjectura laudatus sermo Augustino fuerat abjudicandus.
and so he could have said divinas in this sense and meaning. But it did not even enter the mind of the author of the sermon that the Acts of Perpetua, in which revelations of this kind are read, are canonical scripture, or that their author was inspired by the divine Spirit and endowed with divine authority. Therefore the author of the sermon, whoever he may have been, and Augustine agree perfectly: nor should the sermon cited have been taken away from Augustine on so slight and empty a conjecture.
Concedatur tamen neque hunc, neque duos sequentes sermones in Natali martyrum Perpetuae et Felicitatis, qui modo inter ejus opera exstant, Augustini esse; an contra apertum Possidii esse testimonium negabit, tres, S. doctorem de Natali Perpetuae et Felicitatis tractatus habuisse? Adeoque eas pro veris catholicisque martyribus a sancto doctore fuisse habitas, et quinto ineunte saeculo celebrem fuisse earum in Africa solemnitatem? An negabit Augustini esse enarrationem in Psalmum XLVII, ubi Perpetuae meminit, et ejus Acta publice in Ecclesiis lecta fuisse significat? Sicut novimus inquit, et legimus in passione beatae Perpetuae. Sed et in libris De anima et ejus origine Perpetuam ubique sanctam appellat; et quamvis ejus passionis Acta Scripturarum canone eximat, neque ex eis testimonia proferri velit adversus fidei mysteria, eodem tamen numero ac pretio habet quo caeterorum martyrum acta, eamdem illis ac caeteris fidem adhibet, neque ullibi Perpetuae visiones pro muliercularum insomniis habet, veluti Montanistarum figmenta, aut humani spiritus ludificationes explodit: adeoque a Deo immissas fuisse et hoc sensu divinas, ea fide credit, quam hujusmodi monumentis adhibere viri prudentia et judicio praediti consueverunt.
Let it be granted, however, that neither this sermon nor the two following sermons On the Feast-day of the Martyrs Perpetua and Felicity, which are now extant among his works, are Augustine's; will he, against the plain testimony of Possidius, deny that the holy doctor delivered three tractates On the Feast-day of Perpetua and Felicity? And consequently that they were held by the holy doctor to be true and catholic martyrs, and that at the beginning of the fifth century their solemnity was celebrated in Africa? Will he deny that the exposition of Psalm 47 is Augustine's, where he makes mention of Perpetua and indicates that her Acts were read publicly in the churches? "As we know," he says, "and read in the passion of blessed Perpetua." But also in the books On the Soul and Its Origin he everywhere calls Perpetua a saint; and although he excludes the Acts of her passion from the canon of the Scriptures, and does not wish testimonies to be brought from them against the mysteries of the faith, yet he holds them in the same rank and value as the acts of the other martyrs, gives them the same credence as he gives the others, and nowhere treats Perpetua's visions as the dreams of silly women, nor rejects them as fictions of the Montanists or delusions of the human spirit: and so he believes that they were sent by God, and in this sense divine, with that faith which men endowed with prudence and judgement have been accustomed to give to records of this kind.
V. Sed omnibus quae hactenus produximus, argumentis luculentius est illud, quod ex Basilicae dignitate ac vetustate conficitur, quam Carthagine Perpetua ac Felicitas habuerunt. Celeberrima siquidem et antiquissima omnium ecclesiarum Carthaginensium, et, ut modo dicitur, Matrix illa fuisse videtur quae in antiquis monumentis modo basilica restituta, modo basilica majorum, modo basilica major, modo ad majores, nuncupatur. In ea utpote majori plebis Carthaginensis concursu frequentata, plerique Augustini sermones habiti sunt eorum, quos sanctus doctor Carthagine recitavit. In ea concilium secundum
V. But clearer than all the arguments we have so far brought forward is the one drawn from the dignity and antiquity of the basilica which Perpetua and Felicity had at Carthage. For it seems to have been the most celebrated and most ancient of all the churches of Carthage and, as it is now called, that Mother church which in ancient records is named now the basilica restituta, now the basilica of the ancestors, now the basilica major, now ad majores. In it, as being frequented by a larger gathering of the people of Carthage, most of those sermons of Augustine which the holy doctor delivered at Carthage were preached. In it the second council
Editors' notes and page, col. 69
Footnotes
(7) ‹anchor: ejus origine› · call in col 69
Vid. lib. i, cap. 10; lib. iii, cap. 11, et lib. iv, cap. 18.
See book 1, chapter 10; book 3, chapter 11; and book 4, chapter 18.
(printed under page 87)
(8) ‹anchor: basilica restituta› · call in col 69
In Actis conc. Carthagin. ii, et apud August., Serm. 19, et apud Victor. Vitens., lib. i De persecut. Vandal.
In the Acts of the Second Council of Carthage; in Augustine, Sermon 19; and in Victor of Vita, book 1 On the Vandal Persecution.
(printed under page 87)
(9) ‹anchor: basilica majorum› · call in col 69
Apud August., lib. De gestis Pelag., cap. 11, et serm. 294.
In Augustine, the book On the Proceedings against Pelagius, chapter 11, and Sermon 294.
(printed under page 87)
(10) ‹anchor: basilica major› · call in col 69
Apud eumd., Serm. 258, et apud Victor. Vitens., ubi sup.
In the same author, Sermon 258, and in Victor of Vita, in the place cited above.
(printed under page 87)
(11) ‹anchor: ad majores› · call in col 69
Apud August., serm. 34.
In Augustine, Sermon 34.
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- running head: 69 PRO SS. PERPETUA, FELICITA[...] (cut off at the image edge)
- marginal letters: A ‹probabiliter credidi: adeoque›; B ‹petuae et Felicitatis tractatus habuisse? Adeoque›; C ‹muliercularum insomniis habet, veluti Montanista-›; D ‹nuncupatur. In ea utpote majori plebis Carthagi-›
- old-edition numerals: 67 after ‹sermonis›
Carthaginense sub Genetlio anno CCCXC, et caeterae deinceps Carthaginenses synodi celebratae sunt. De hac eadem basilica intelligendum puto sanctum Optatum Milevitanum, ubi de schismatica Majorini ordinatione loquens, haec habet: Interea ad basilicam, ubi cum Caeciliano tota civitas in frequentia fuerat, nullus de supra dictis accessit. Et paulo post: Illo tempore aut reus (Caecilianus) debebat expelli, aut communicari debuit innocenti. Conferta erat Ecclesia populis: plena erat cathedra episcopalis: erat altare loco suo in quo pacifici episcopi retro temporis obtulerunt, Cyprianus, Lucianus et caeteri. Sic exitum est, foras, et altare contra altare erectum est, etc. De hac, inquam, basilica seu majorum, seu restituta, loqui hoc loco sanctum Optatum existimo, propterea quod a Victore Vitensi memoriae proditum fuit, Carthaginensium episcoporum sedem illic semper fuisse ac domicilium. Porro in hac ecclesia quam omnium Carthaginensium statuere jure optimo possumus celeberrimam juxta atque antiquissimam, Perpetuae et Felicitatis condita fuisse corpora, laudatus Victor Vitensis testis locupletissimus est: Basilicam majorem, ubi corpora sanctarum martyrum Perpetuae atque Felicitatis sepulta sunt... suae religioni (Vandali) licentia tyrannica manciparunt. Imo ex Perpetuae eamdem basilicam appellatam fuisse nomine, haud obscure colligitur ex Actis secundi concilii Carthaginensis, quod habitum fuisse dicitur in basilica Perpetua (forte an Perpetuae) restituta. Hoc autem esse puto antiquissimi et celeberrimi cultus et earum orthodoxiae evidentissimum argumentum.
of Carthage under Genethlius in the year 390, and the other synods of Carthage were held thereafter. Of this same basilica, I think, must Saint Optatus of Milevis be understood, where, speaking of the schismatic ordination of Majorinus, he says this: Meanwhile, to the basilica, where the whole city had gathered in crowds with Caecilian, none of the aforesaid came. And a little later: At that time either the accused (Caecilian) ought to have been expelled, or communion ought to have been held with an innocent man. The church was crowded with people; the episcopal chair was occupied; the altar stood in its place, on which peaceable bishops of former time had offered, Cyprian, Lucian and the rest. Thus they went out of doors, and altar was raised against altar, etc. Of this basilica, I say, whether [the basilica] of the Ancestors or the Restored, I judge that Saint Optatus speaks in this place, because it was recorded by Victor of Vita that the see and dwelling of the bishops of Carthage had always been there. Moreover, that in this church, which with the best right we may declare the most celebrated as well as the most ancient of all those of Carthage, the bodies of Perpetua and Felicity were laid, the aforementioned Victor of Vita is a most ample witness: The Greater Basilica, where the bodies of the holy martyrs Perpetua and Felicity are buried, they (the Vandals) with tyrannical licence made over to their own religion. Indeed, that this same basilica was called by the name of Perpetua is gathered, not obscurely, from the Acts of the second council of Carthage, which is said to have been held in the basilica Perpetua (perhaps rather Perpetuae, 'of Perpetua') Restituta. And this I think to be a most evident proof of a most ancient and most celebrated cult and of their orthodoxy.
Vetustissimum fuisse in Ecclesia morem, et ipsi pene christianae religioni coaevum, ut catholica plebs ad memorias martyrum conveniret, et ea loca frequentaret ac religiosa devotione coleret, ubi sacrae ipsorum exuviae conditae fuerant nemo qui historiam ecclesiasticam vel a limine salutarit, ignorat. De Romanis monumentis, in quibus sacra apostolorum corpora deposita fuerant, id manifeste testatur Zephyrion aequalis adeoque Tertulliano, Perpetuae et Felicitati synchronus Caius: Ego vero, inquit. Apastolorum tropaea possum ostendere. Nam sive in Vaticanum, sive ad Ostiensem viam pergere libet, occurrent tibi tropaea eorum, qui ecclesiam, illam fundaverunt. In iisdem locis amplificata postmodum religione, et Ecclesia a persecutionibus respirante, exstructas fuisse basilicas sacrasque domos religionis usibus mancipatas, etiam constat.
That it was a most ancient custom in the Church, and almost coeval with the Christian religion itself, for the catholic people to gather at the memorials of the martyrs, and to frequent and honour with religious devotion the places where their sacred remains had been laid, no one is unaware who has greeted ecclesiastical history even from the threshold. Concerning the Roman monuments, in which the sacred bodies of the apostles had been deposited, Caius, a contemporary of Zephyrinus and thus synchronous with Tertullian, Perpetua and Felicity, plainly testifies to this: But I, he says, can show the trophies of the apostles. For whether you wish to go to the Vatican or to the Ostian Way, you will come upon the trophies of those who founded that church. It is also established that in these same places, when religion had afterwards grown and the Church was breathing again after the persecutions, basilicas were built and sacred houses made over to the uses of religion.
Editors' notes and page, col. 70
Footnotes
(12) ‹anchor: not visible on the page-foot image› · call in col 70
Lib. i contra Parmenian.
Book 1 Against Parmenian.
(printed under page 87)
(13) ‹anchor: not visible on the page-foot image› · call in col 70
Lib. i De persecut. Africana.
Book 1 On the African Persecution.
(printed under page 87)
(14) ‹anchor: locupletissimus est› · call in col 70
Ibid.
In the same place.
(printed under page 87)
(15) ‹anchor: Ego vero, inquit› · call in col 70
Ἐγὼ δὲ τὰ τρόπαια τῶν ἀποστόλων ἔγω δεῖξαι· ἐὰν γὰρ θελήσῃς ἀπελθεῖν ἐπὶ τὸν Βατικανὸν, ἢ ἐπὶ τὴν ὁδὸν, τὴν Ὠστίαν, εὑρήσεις τὰ τρόπαια τῶν ταύτην ἱδρυσαμένων τὴν ἐκκλησίαν. Disput. adversus Proclum, apud Euseb. Histor. ecclesiast. lib. ii, cap. 25.
"But I can show the trophies of the apostles: for if you will go to the Vatican, or to the road, the Ostian Way, you will find the trophies of those who founded this church." Disputation against Proclus, in Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History, book 2, chapter 25.
(printed under page 87)
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- old-edition numerals: 68 after ‹altare›
Illud denique ex antiquis monumentis compertum est, et ratio ipsa suadet, celebriores atque insigniores basilicas insignioribus atque illustrioribus fuisse martyribus aedificatas; aut saltem celebriorum atque insigniorum martyrum λείψανα in celebriores et insigniores basilicas fuisse translata. Praesertim vero majores ecclesiae ut praecipuorum martyrum reliquiis decorarentur, cura episcoporum fuit: idque tum propter majorem ipsorum martyrum gloriam, tum propter ecclesiarum splendorem, tum denique quia frequentior erat christianae plebis ad matrices ecclesias concursus, atque ut eo etiam frequentius praecipuorum martyrum devotione allecta conflueret. Cum igitur Perpetuae et Felicitatis corpora in majorem ecclesiam Carthaginensem illata fuisse ex Victore Vitensi habeamus; quin inter illustriores martyres, antequam eo inferrentur, fuerint numeratae ambigere non debemus.
Finally, it is established from ancient records, and reason itself suggests, that the more celebrated and more distinguished basilicas were built for the more distinguished and more illustrious martyrs; or at least that the remains (λείψανα) of the more celebrated and more distinguished martyrs were translated into the more celebrated and more distinguished basilicas. Above all, it was the concern of the bishops that the greater churches should be adorned with the relics of the foremost martyrs: and this both for the greater glory of the martyrs themselves, and for the splendour of the churches, and finally because the concourse of the Christian people to the mother churches was more frequent, and so that it might flock there even more frequently, drawn by devotion to the foremost martyrs. Since, therefore, we have it from Victor of Vita that the bodies of Perpetua and Felicity were brought into the great church of Carthage, we ought not to doubt that they had been numbered among the more illustrious martyrs before they were brought there.
Sed translationis tempus, ut de cultus antiquitate etiam constet, eruendum est. Anno CCCXC, quo secundum concilium Carthaginense habitum est, major ecclesia Carthaginensis ex Perpetuae nomine, ut vidimus, nuncupabatur. Eo igitur anno antiquiorem statuere debemus sacrarum pignorum translationem. Sub Liberio Bucherianum calendarium, ut diximus, concinnatum est. In eo, ut et in omnibus martyrologiis, Perpetuae et Felicitatis festum Nonis Martiis consignatur. Hunc autem non earum martyrii, sed translationis esse diem, Cl. Pagius hoc argumento probat. Passae sunt SS. martyres quo die natale Getae Caesaris colebatur: Munere castrensi eramus pugnaturi. Natale tunc Getae Caesaris. Et infra: Quid utique non permittis refrigerare noxiis nobilissimis, Caesaris scilicet, et natali ejusdem pugnaturis? At in diem septimam Martii, neque imperii Caesarei, neque Getae natale genuinum incidebat. Natus enim Geta, teste Spartiano, sexto Kalendas Junias: Caesarea vero dignitate anno CXCVIII, non ante diem XIII Aprilis ornatus est: Et ratio est, inquit Pagius, quia, ut mox visuri sumus, Caracalla post eum diem tribunitiam potestatem et augusteam dignitatem a patre obtinuit; et verisimile non est Getam minorem filium prius a patre Augustum nuncupatum. Utraque itaque nuncupatio vel eodem tempore post mensem Martium facta, vel Caracalla prius dictus Augustus quam Geta Caesar. Quare sanctae Perpetua et Felicitas alio die, quam quo passae sunt, in martyrologiis coluntur. Quod non raro accidisse, passim in hoc opere observabimus diesque septima Martii dies est quo Carthaginem earum reliquiae postea translatae, non vero dies obitualis. Cum itaque medio saeculo quarto Liberius sedere coeperit, hoc tempore sacratum reliquiarum fuerat peracta translatio: adeoque statuere jure optimo possumus, eam translationem non
But the time of the translation must be ascertained, so that the antiquity of the cult may also be established. In the year 390, in which the second Council of Carthage was held, the great church of Carthage was, as we have seen, called by the name of Perpetua. We must therefore fix the translation of the sacred pledges earlier than that year. Under Liberius the Bucherian calendar was, as we have said, compiled. In it, as also in all the martyrologies, the feast of Perpetua and Felicity is recorded on the Nones of March. But that this is the day not of their martyrdom but of their translation, the distinguished Pagi proves by this argument. The holy martyrs suffered on the day on which the birthday of Geta Caesar was celebrated: We were to fight in the military games. It was then the birthday of Geta Caesar. And below: Why indeed do you not allow refreshment to the most noble criminals, namely Caesar's, and those who are to fight on his birthday? But on the seventh day of March there fell neither the anniversary of his Caesarean rule nor the genuine birthday of Geta. For Geta was born, on the testimony of Spartianus, on the sixth day before the Kalends of June; and he was invested with the dignity of Caesar in the year 198, not before the thirteenth day of April: And the reason is, says Pagi, that, as we shall soon see, Caracalla obtained the tribunician power and the dignity of Augustus from his father after that day; and it is not likely that Geta, the younger son, was named Augustus by his father first. Therefore either both namings were made at the same time, after the month of March, or Caracalla was called Augustus before Geta [was called] Caesar. Therefore Saints Perpetua and Felicity are commemorated in the martyrologies on a day other than that on which they suffered. That this happened not rarely we shall observe here and there in this work; and the seventh day of March is the day on which their relics were afterwards translated to Carthage, not the day of their death. Since, therefore, Liberius began to occupy the see in the middle of the fourth century, the translation of the sacred relics had been accomplished by this time: and so we can with the best of right establish that this translation not
Editors' notes and page, col. 71
Footnotes
(16) ‹anchor: argumento probat› · call in col 71
Anno 198, num v.
Year 198, number 5.
(printed under page 88)
(17) ‹anchor: teste Spartiano› · call in col 71
In Geta, cap. 3.
In the Life of Geta, chapter 3.
(printed under page 88)
Page
- running head: 71 DISSERTATIO APOLO (cut off at the image edge)
- marginal letters: A Illud denique ex antiquis monumentis compertum; B ex Victore 69 Vitensi habeamus; quin inter illu-; C castrensi eramus pugnaturi. Natale tunc Getae Cae-; D Quare sanctae Perpetua et Felicitas alio die, quam
- old-edition numerals: 69 after Victore
multo post initium saeculi quarti, reddita jam per Constantinum Ecclesiae pace, fuisse celebratam; et ab earum martyrio saeculo duntaxat elapso, Perpetuam et Felicitatem praecipuarum martyrum loco habitas, et ad earum memorias Carthaginensem populum frequentissimum concurrisse.
long after the beginning of the fourth century, when peace had already been restored to the Church by Constantine, was celebrated; and that, barely a century having passed since their martyrdom, Perpetua and Felicity were held in the rank of principal martyrs, and the people of Carthage flocked in very great numbers to their memorials.
Vidimus quomodo ex nostrarum martyrum in majorem ecclesiam Carthaginensem translatione cultus earum celebritas et antiquitas demonstretur: videndum superest quam luculenter ex eodem principio earum orthodoxia confirmetur. Ecclesia, domus, cathedra et altare in primis episcopi, centrum erant, ut notat illustrissimus Albaspineus, ecclesiasticae communionis. Eo catholica plebs frequentissima confluebat, inde populum episcopus alloquebatur, ibi preces eorum et oblationes et vota suscipiebat. Hic erat locus orationis, hic locus sacramentorum, hic denique solemnis sacrificii locus. Caetera altaria, ut idem observat Albaspineus, in subsidium communionis exstructa sunt, cujus, ut dictum est, centrum ecclesia et altare episcopi habebantur. In hoc altari quam frequentes Catholici communicabant, tam ad illud schismaticis et haereticis nullus permittebatur accessus: imo inde, vi etiam adhibita, extrudebantur qui Ecclesiae catholicae communione excidissent, ne forte, ob loci sanctitatem et amplitudinem in quo veteres catholicae communionis arcem constituerant, pro Catholicis haberentur. Hujus rei argumento id esse potest, quod de Paulo Samosateno narrat Eusebius; nefarium scilicet haeresiarcham sententia synodi exauctoratum, et Antiocheno episcopatu dejectum, domo, sede et ecclesia episcopali exturbari neutiquam potuisse, quandiu Zenobia, cujus ille favore et gratia utebatur, rerum in Oriente potita est. Tandiu enim se pro legitimo episcopo habendum existimavit, et catholicam plebem sibi retinere posse credidit, quamdiu domum, cathedram, basilicam et altare occuparet, in quo majores sui sedere, plebem colligere, oblationes et vota populi suscipere, et sacrificia Deo offerre consueverant. Catholici vero episcopi omni ope et conatu egerunt ut, nequissimo homine expulso, Domnus, qui ei fuerat subrogatus, episcopalem basilicam obtineret, et in decessorum suorum sede cathedraque collocaretur. Quod quidem, profligata Zenobia, Aureliani ope perfectum est, qui, ut ait Eusebius, ab episcopis interpellatus, rectissime hoc negotium dijudicavit, iis domum dari praecipiens quibus Italici christianae religi⟨o⟩nis antistites et Romanus episcopus scriberent. Quae cum ita sint, omnes, puto, hoc argumento facile intelligunt quam fixa fuerit apud veteres constans certaque sententia, martyres nostras in Ecclesiae pace et communione obiisse, dum eo ipsarum corpora
We have seen how, from the translation of our martyrs into the greater church of Carthage, the renown and antiquity of their cult is demonstrated: it remains to see how clearly their orthodoxy is confirmed from the same principle. The church, house, cathedra and altar of the bishop above all were, as the most illustrious Albaspineus notes, the centre of ecclesiastical communion. Thither the catholic people flocked in very great numbers; from there the bishop addressed the people; there he received their prayers and oblations and vows. This was the place of prayer, this the place of the sacraments, this, finally, the place of the solemn sacrifice. The other altars, as the same Albaspineus observes, were built in support of the communion, whose centre, as has been said, was held to be the church and altar of the bishop. As frequently as Catholics communicated at this altar, so no access to it was permitted to schismatics and heretics: indeed, those who had cut themselves off from the communion of the catholic Church were driven out from there, even with force applied, lest perhaps, on account of the holiness and dignity of the place in which the ancients had established the citadel of catholic communion, they should be taken for Catholics. As proof of this may serve what Eusebius relates about Paul of Samosata: namely that the wicked heresiarch, deposed by sentence of a synod and cast down from the bishopric of Antioch, could by no means be driven out of the episcopal house, see and church as long as Zenobia, whose favour and goodwill he enjoyed, held power in the East. For so long he thought he was to be regarded as the legitimate bishop, and believed he could keep the catholic people for himself, as long as he occupied the house, cathedra, basilica and altar in which his predecessors had been accustomed to sit, to gather the people, to receive the oblations and vows of the people, and to offer sacrifices to God. But the catholic bishops strove with every effort and endeavour that, the most wicked man having been expelled, Domnus, who had been appointed in his place, should obtain the episcopal basilica and be installed in the see and cathedra of his predecessors. This indeed, once Zenobia had been overthrown, was accomplished by the aid of Aurelian, who, as Eusebius says, being appealed to by the bishops, judged this matter most rightly, ordering the house to be given to those to whom the bishops of the Christian religion in Italy and the Roman bishop should write. Since these things are so, all, I think, easily understand from this argument how fixed was the constant and certain conviction among the ancients that our martyrs died in the peace and communion of the Church, since they wished their bodies
Editors' notes and page, col. 72
Footnotes
(18) ‹anchor: illustrissimus› · call in col 72
In Not. ad optat., lib. i advers. Parmenian.
In the Notes on Optatus, book 1 Against Parmenian.
(printed under page 88)
(19) ‹anchor: ait Eusebius› · call in col 72
Βασιλευς ἐντευχθεὶς Αὐρηλιανὸς αἰσιώτατα περὶ τοῦ πρακτέου διείληφε. τούτοις νεῖμαι προστάττων τὸν οἶκον, οἷς ἂν οἱ κατὰ τὴν Ἰταλίαν καὶ τὴν Ῥωμαίων πόλιν ἐπίσκοποι τοῦ δόγματος ἐπιστέλλοιεν. Lib. vii Hist. Eccl., cap. 30.
The emperor Aurelian, when appealed to, decided most rightly what was to be done, ordering the house to be assigned to those to whom the bishops of the faith in Italy and in the city of the Romans should write. Book 7 of the Ecclesiastical History, chapter 30.
(printed under page 88)
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- running head: TATIO APOLOGETICA 72 (left edge cut off; presumably DISSERTATIO APOLOGETICA)
- marginal letters: A multo post initium; B episcopus alloquebatur; C sententia synodi exauctoratum; D profligata Zenobia
- old-edition numerals: 70 after hic
inferri voluerunt quo veluti ad catholicae communionis centrum et arcem Carthaginiensis populus confluebat. Praecipuorum ossa martyrum ideo sub primario illo episcopi altari recondebantur, ut catholici eo convenientes, se non aliorum fidelium modo, sed et sanctorum martyrum communionis participes esse intelligerent; contra schismatici et haeretici, quibus ad illud pietatis asylum nullus patebat accessus, nullam sibi esse scirent neque cum Ecclesia catholica neque cum sanctis martyribus communionem. Unde sanctus Optatus Milevitanus Donatistas veluti schismaticos hoc argumento traducit, quod sanctorum Apostolorum memoriis in Urbe neutiquam communicarent Denique si Macrobio (Donatistarum in Urbe pseudepiscopo) dicatur, ubi illic sedeat, numquid potest dicere, In cathedra Petri? quam nescio si vel oculis novit et ad cujus memoriam non accedit, quasi schismaticus contra Apostolum faciens, qui ait Memoriis sanctorum communicantes. Ecce praesentes sunt tibi duorum Apostolorum memoriae; dicite si ad has ingredi potuit, ita ut obtulerit illic ubi sanctorum memorias esse constat. Apud veteres igitur adeo compertum fuit Perpetuae et Felicitati nihil, dum viverent, cum haereticis fuisse commune, et in Ecclesiae pace et communione martyrium consummasse, ut earum sacras reliquias, ab earum martyrio saeculo vix elapso, eo intulerint quo haeretici maxime vetabantur accedere, et ubi nemo nisi catholicus communicabat.
to be carried into the place to which, as to the centre and citadel of catholic communion, the people of Carthage flocked together. For this reason the bones of the chief martyrs were laid up beneath that principal altar of the bishop, so that catholics, gathering there, might understand that they were sharers in the communion not only of the other faithful but also of the holy martyrs; whereas schismatics and heretics, to whom no access to that sanctuary of piety lay open, might know that they had no communion either with the catholic Church or with the holy martyrs. Hence Saint Optatus of Milevis exposes the Donatists as schismatics by this argument, that they in no way communicated at the memorials of the holy Apostles in the City: Finally, if it is said to Macrobius (the pseudo-bishop of the Donatists in the City), where does he sit there, can he say, In the chair of Peter? which I do not know whether he knows even by sight, and to whose memorial he does not go, acting like a schismatic against the Apostle, who says: Communicating in the memorials of the saints. Behold, the memorials of the two Apostles are present to you; say whether he has been able to enter them, so as to have offered there where it is established that the memorials of the saints are. Among the ancients, therefore, it was so well established that Perpetua and Felicity, while they lived, had had nothing in common with heretics, and had consummated their martyrdom in the peace and communion of the Church, that, scarcely a century after their martyrdom, they carried their sacred relics into the place which heretics were most strictly forbidden to approach, and where no one but a catholic communicated.
VI. Denique, pro nostrarum cultus antiquitate et celebritate atque earumdem orthodoxia, ex assidue repetita earum inter quotidiana sacrificia commemoratione, haud absimilia praecedentibus confici possunt argumenta. Perpetuae enim et Felicitatis tum in Missali Gelasii, tum in Gregorii Sacramentario Gallicano quotidie repetitur, cum paucis aliis martyribus in missae canone commemoratio. Obvia sunt omnibus antiquissimorum Patrum testimonia, Tertulliani in primis et Cypriani, quibus ii aperte testantur martyrum natalitios dies speciali eorum inter sacrificia commemoratione fuisse celebratos. An vero praeter anniversariam martyrum in die natalis eorum celebritatem, priscorum temporum usus haberet, ut vel omnium vel insigniorum nomina inter quotidiana sacrificia et sacris diptychis recitarentur, haud ita e veterum testimoniis compertum est. Indicare id tamen sanctus Cyprianus videtur epist. XXXIX ad Pam. num. 30, ubi, postquam de Celerini avia Celerina, et patruo ejus, et avunculo Laurentio et Ignatio locutus est, qui martyriojam pridem fuerant coronati, subjungit: Sacrificia pro eis semper, ut meministis, offerimus, quoties martyrum passiones ut dies anniversaria commemoratione celebramus. His scilicet
VI. Finally, for the antiquity and renown of the cult of our [martyrs] and for their orthodoxy, arguments not unlike the preceding can be drawn from the commemoration of them constantly repeated among the daily sacrifices. For the commemoration of Perpetua and Felicity, together with a few other martyrs, is repeated daily in the canon of the Mass, both in the Missal of Gelasius and in the Gallican Sacramentary of Gregory. Well known to all are the testimonies of the most ancient Fathers, of Tertullian above all and of Cyprian, in which they openly testify that the birthdays of the martyrs were celebrated with a special commemoration of them among the sacrifices. But whether, besides the anniversary celebration of the martyrs on the day of their birth, the custom of earlier times held that the names either of all or of the more distinguished should be recited among the daily sacrifices and from the sacred diptychs, is not so clearly established from the testimonies of the ancients. Yet Saint Cyprian seems to indicate it in epistle 39, in Pamelius's edition no. 30, where, after he has spoken of Celerinus's grandmother Celerina, and of his paternal uncle, and of his maternal uncle Laurentius, and of Ignatius, who had long since been crowned with martyrdom, he adds: We always offer sacrifices for them, as you remember, whenever we celebrate the sufferings and days of the martyrs with an anniversary commemoration. With these, that is,
Editors' notes and page, col. 73
Footnotes
(20) ‹anchor: not visible on the page-foot image› · call in col 73
Lib. ii adversus Parmenian.
Book 2 Against Parmenian.
(printed under page 89)
(21) ‹anchor: not visible on the page-foot image› · call in col 73
Ad Rom. XII, 13.
Romans 12:13.
(printed under page 89)
(22) ‹anchor: Sacramentario Gallicano› · call in col 73
Apud Mabillon., tom. i Musæi Italici.
In Mabillon, volume 1 of the Museum Italicum.
(printed under page 89)
(23) ‹anchor: in primis› · call in col 73
Lib. de Corona Milit., cap. 3.
The book On the Soldier's Crown, chapter 3.
(printed under page 89)
(24) ‹anchor: et Cypriani› · call in col 73
Epist. xii, al. xxxvii, et epist. xxxix, al. xxxiv.
Letter 12 (otherwise 37), and letter 39 (otherwise 34).
(printed under page 89)
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- running head: 73 PRO SS. PERPETUA, FELICIT (cut off at the image edge)
- marginal letters: A inferri voluerunt quo veluti; B cathedra Petri? quam nescio; C et celebritate atque earumdem; D sacris diptychis recitarentur
- old-edition numerals: 71 after ait (bold, printed immediately after the footnote call)
verbis haud obscurae significat Cyprianus, quoties alicujus martyris recurrebat anniversaria solemnitas, praedictorum semper fuisse renovatam, inter sacrificiorum solemnia, mentionem. Et fieri quidem optime potuit ut, cum non magnus erat martyrum numerus, sicut nulli eorum deerat anniversaria solemnitas, neque insignioribus tantum, et qui atrocia tormenta experti fuerant, sed etiam obscurioribus, et qui nullis cruciatibus toleratis pro confessione nominis in carcere obierant, ut ab eodem Cypriano statutum est; postea vero aucta in immensum eorum copia, praecipui tantum, ut vetera nos calendaria docent, et quorum illustrior erat fama, retenti sunt, pro quibus annua sacrificia et oblationes celebrarentur: ita primum quidem omnium fieret in quotidianis sacrificiis commemoratio; postea vero, ut ex liturgiis, antiquissimis illis quidem, at tertio tamen saeculo recentioribus compertum est, illustriorum duntaxat in Missis quotidianis nomina retinerentur. Sed, ut ut sit de vetustiorum temporum usu, nulli dubium est quin ii quorum in Missae canone quotidie memoria renovatur, et modo et olim fuerint inter illustriores martyres computati. Quod proinde argumento est, Perpetuam atque Felicitatem, quae in antiquissimis liturgiis id honoris, cum aliis paucis, sortitae sunt a majoribus nostris, non inter martyres modo, sed etiam inter insigniores fuisse martyres numeratas.
in words not at all obscure Cyprian indicates that, whenever the anniversary solemnity of any martyr came round, mention of those aforesaid was always renewed among the solemn rites of the sacrifices. And indeed it could very well have come about that, while the number of martyrs was not great, just as none of them lacked an anniversary solemnity (not only the more distinguished and those who had undergone atrocious torments, but also the more obscure, and those who, without having endured any tortures, had died in prison for the confession of the Name, as was ordained by the same Cyprian), but afterwards, when their multitude had grown immensely, only the chief ones, as the old calendars teach us, and those whose fame was more illustrious, were retained, for whom annual sacrifices and oblations were to be celebrated: so at first a commemoration of all was made in the daily sacrifices; but afterwards, as is learned from the liturgies, very ancient ones indeed, yet more recent than the third century, the names of only the more illustrious were retained in the daily Masses. But however it may be with the usage of more ancient times, no one doubts that those whose memory is daily renewed in the canon of the Mass were, both now and formerly, reckoned among the more illustrious martyrs. This, accordingly, is proof that Perpetua and Felicity, who in the most ancient liturgies were allotted this honour by our forebears along with a few others, were numbered not merely among the martyrs but even among the more distinguished martyrs.
Illud etiam hoc loco non sine animadversione praetermittendum, quod supra etiam est annotatum, laudatas liturgias aut sacramentaria, in quibus Perpetuae et Felicitatis quotidie mentio iteratur, non ad Carthaginiensem aut alias Africae ecclesias, sed ad Romanam et Gallicanam pertinuisse. Quod magis adhuc magisque demonstrat quam ab antiquis temporibus nostrae in ore famae martyres versarentur. In Missae Romanae canone nulli olim, nisi Romani martyres memorabantur, si praeter Apostolos et Ignatium, virum apostolicum, qui et Romae passus est, martyres nostras et Cyprianum excipias: Agatham enim et Luciam martyres Siculas a Gregorio Magno canoni adjunctas scribit Aldhelmus. Cypriano cur id honoris tribueretur, praeclara ipsius, ut dicimus, in Ecclesiam Romanam merita obtinuerunt. Nostris vero unde haec specialis praerogativa, ut, quamvis exterae et aliae ac transmarinae provinciae, Romae tamen earum quotidie memoria inter sacra mysteria perageretur? Unde, inquam, illis hoc decus, nisi ea famae celebritate qua semper per ora hominum volitarunt, et insigniorum martyrum loco habitae sunt? Cum qua profecto famae celebritate non consonat ut tam brevi temporis intervallo, cui dum viverent addictae fuissent religioni, ex hominum memoria elaberetur.
This too must not be passed over at this point without remark, which was also noted above: that the liturgies or sacramentaries cited, in which mention of Perpetua and Felicity is repeated daily, belonged not to the church of Carthage or to other churches of Africa, but to the Roman and Gallican. This shows still more and more how from ancient times our martyrs were on the lips of fame. In the canon of the Roman Mass formerly none but Roman martyrs were commemorated, if, besides the Apostles and Ignatius, an apostolic man who also suffered at Rome, you except our martyrs and Cyprian: for Aldhelm writes that Agatha and Lucy, Sicilian martyrs, were added to the canon by Gregory the Great. Why this honour was granted to Cyprian, his outstanding merits towards the Roman Church, as we say, secured it. But whence did ours have this special prerogative, that, although they were of a foreign and different province, and one beyond the sea, nevertheless their memory was daily performed at Rome among the sacred mysteries? Whence, I say, this distinction for them, except from that celebrity of fame with which they always flew upon the lips of men, and were held in the rank of the more distinguished martyrs? With which celebrity of fame it certainly does not accord that, in so short an interval of time, the religion to which they had been devoted while they lived should have slipped from the memory of men.
Editors' notes and page, col. 74
Footnotes
(25) ‹anchor: not visible on the page-foot image› · call in col 74
Epist. xii. al. xxxvii.
Letter 12 (otherwise 37).
(printed under page 89)
(26) ‹anchor: scribit Aldhelmus› · call in col 74
Lib. de Virginitate, cap. 25.
The book On Virginity, chapter 25.
(printed under page 89)
Page
- running head: [cut off at left]TUA, FELICITATE ET SOCIIS. 74
- marginal letters: A verbis haud obscurae significat; B quidem omnium fieret; C laudatas liturgias aut sacramentaria; D praerogativa, ut, quamvis
- old-edition numerals: 72 after vetustiorum
Illud denique hic pariter observandum, hanc intra sacram synaxim sanctorum martyrum commemorationem eo praecipue spectare ut intelligamus nos cum illis in Christo, cujus corporis sacrificium offertur, communicare, quod et ipsa canonis verba aperte testantur: Communicantes et memoriam venerantes, etc. Eo autem pertinere credenda est exterorum illa martyrum commemoratio, ut unam ubique esse sciamus catholicam Ecclesiam, et unam omnium ecclesiarum, quamvis loco dissitarum, communionem, ut quae alienos martyres, haud secus quam domesticos, venerantur. Quod, ut supra est observatum, clare et perspicue demonstrat tam certo de nostrarum martyrum orthodoxia apud veteres constitisse, ut earum nomina catholicae communionis symbolum esse voluerint.
Finally, it must likewise be observed here that this commemoration of the holy martyrs within the sacred synaxis aims chiefly at this, that we should understand that we are in communion with them in Christ, the sacrifice of Whose body is offered, as the very words of the canon also openly attest: "Communicating and venerating the memory", etc. And that commemoration of martyrs from elsewhere must be believed to tend to this end, that we may know that there is everywhere one catholic Church, and one communion of all the churches, however far apart in place, since they venerate foreign martyrs no differently from their own. This, as was observed above, shows clearly and plainly that the orthodoxy of our [women] martyrs was so certainly established among the ancients that they wished their names to be a token of catholic communion.
VII. Horum omnium de quibus hactenus disseruimus, testimoniorum auctoritatem elevare se putat levissima hac responsione Basnagius, quod nempe « horum constantia martyrum necnon actorum antiquitas posteris fucum fecit, ut in pretio haberentur. » Productaque deinde, quam supra confutavi, de Augustini Sermone conjectura, subjungit: Concedatur tamen verba haec Augustini esse. Quaestio facti est, Perpetua fueritne Ecclesiae mulier, an sectae montanisticae. jam vero in quaestionibus hujusmodi viri boni saepenumero tota errant via, et haereticos martyres irrepsisse in martyrologia suo loco ostendimus. De Actis, et eorum auctoritate inferius dicendum erit. Nunc breviter videndum, annon summae temeritatis sit, ob levissimas, ut deinceps ostendam, conjecturas, eorum orthodoxiam et sanctitatem in dubium revocare, quos constat statim ab eorum passione, ac deinceps per quindecim et amplius saecula nullo non religionis et observantiae signo, non ut genuinos tantum, sed inter celebriores Chris⟨t⟩i martyres, universalem Ecclesiam esse veneratam? quorum scilicet memoriam jam inde ab antiquis temporibus frequentavit; quibus altaria, et basilicas, quae centrum essent catholicae communionis excitavit: quorum anniversariam solemnitatem non modo Ecclesia Carthaginiensis, sed etiam Romana alter⟨o⟩ ab eorum passione saeculo celebravit; quorum nomina in antiquissimis ecclesiarum tabulis inter illustriorum martyrum nomina recensetur; quorum memoria cum paucis aliis insignioribusque item martyribus quotidie in missae canone renovatur; quos denique non unum aut alterum privatum martyrologium, sed omnia et in diversarum ecclesiarum usum concinnata pariter celebrant. Haec enim omnia in nostras martyres simul fuisse collata, satis jam praesenti hoc capite demonstravi. Sed constantia martyrum, et Actorum antiquitus posteris fucum fecit. Sed numquid pene coaevis, aut supparibus scriptoribus imponere potuissent? Sed in his facti quaestionibus
VII. Basnage thinks that he weakens the authority of all these testimonies which we have discussed so far by this very slight reply, namely that "the constancy of these martyrs and the antiquity of the Acts deceived posterity, so that they were held in esteem." And then, having brought forward the conjecture about Augustine's Sermon which I refuted above, he adds: "Let it be granted, however, that these words are Augustine's. The question is one of fact, whether Perpetua was a woman of the Church or of the Montanist sect. Now in questions of this kind good men very often go wholly astray, and we show in its place that heretical martyrs crept into the martyrologies." Of the Acts and their authority we shall have to speak below. Now we must briefly see whether it is not the height of rashness, on the slightest conjectures, as I shall show hereafter, to call into doubt the orthodoxy and sanctity of those whom, it is established, the universal Church has venerated immediately after their passion, and thereafter through fifteen centuries and more, with every sign of religion and observance, not merely as genuine martyrs of Christ but among the more celebrated ones? whose memory, that is, it has frequented from ancient times; to whom it raised altars and basilicas, which were to be a centre of catholic communion; whose anniversary solemnity not only the Church of Carthage but also that of Rome celebrated in the century after their passion; whose names are recorded in the most ancient tables of the churches among the names of the more illustrious martyrs; whose memory, together with a few other likewise more distinguished martyrs, is renewed daily in the canon of the Mass; whom, finally, not one or another private martyrology, but all, including those compiled for the use of different churches, celebrate alike. For that all these things were bestowed together upon our [women] martyrs I have already sufficiently shown in the present chapter. "But the constancy of the martyrs and the antiquity of the Acts deceived posterity." But could they really have imposed upon writers who were almost contemporaries, or nearly so? "But in these questions of fact
Editors' notes and page, col. 75
Footnotes
(27) ‹anchor: not visible on the page-foot image› · call in col 75
Lib. 1 De Civit. Dei cap. 26.
Book 1 of The City of God, chapter 26.
(printed under page 90)
Page
- running head: 75 DISSERTATIO APOLOG (cut off at the image edge)
- marginal letters: A ‹Illud denique hic pariter observandum, hanc›; B ‹catholicae communionis symbolum esse volue-›; C ‹videndum, annon summae temeritatis sit›; D ‹martyrum nomina recensetur; quorum memoria›
- old-edition numerals: 72 after ‹Perpetua›
- other: the word quaestionibus was split at the column break and stands whole here (joined on receipt); check that the English reads whole across the break into col 76
viri boni saepe falluntur. Sed numquid et Ecclesiae universalis auctoritas? Cui tantum in hisce etiam quaestionibus detulit Augustinus, ut de his nihil temere judicare voluerit, quae tempore persecutionis, ut insectatores suae pudicitiae devitarent, in rapturum atque necaturum se fluvium projecerunt, eoque modo defuuctae sunt, earumque martyria in catholica Ecclesiae veneratione celeberrima frequentantur: De his, inquit nihil temere audeo judicare. Utrum enim Ecclesiae aliquibus fide dignis testificationibus, ut eorum memoriam sic honoret divina persuaserit auctoritas, nescio: et fieri potest, ut ita sit. Quid si enim hoc fecerunt, non humanitus deceptae nec errantes, sed obedientes? sicut de Samsone aliud nobis fas non est credere. At haeretici martyres in martyrologia irrepserunt. Sed numquid etiam in antiquissima Kalendaria? Numquid etiam ad eorum monumenta sacrificia, et catholicorum conventus celebrati? numquid in eorum memoriam altaria Deo, et basilicae consecratae? numquid eorum laudes veteres Patres orationibus et publicis tractatibus exornarunt? numquid denique inter illustriores martyres per tot annos etiam nunc in missae canone memorantur? Marculum, pseudo martyrem Donatistarum, primus, saeculo nono, imprudenter in suum martyrologium Rabanus retulit; inde in nothum Bedae martyrologium et ex eo in aliquot Usuardini martyrologii codices et editiones irrepsit; sed error facile detectus est, et Romani martyrologii conditores Numidiae Nicomediam, Marculo Marcellum, Constanti Constantium, Macarianis Arianos subrogarunt. Legentes enim sub eosdem circiter dies in antiquioribus martyrologiis Marcelli Nicomediensis martyris nomen, et ejus acta ignorantes, ex Marculi actis interpolatis hoc ei elogium concinnarunt: Nicomediae (pro in Numidia) sancti Marcelli (leg. Marculi) presbyteri, qui Constantii (verius Constantis) tempore ab Arianis (pro a Macarianis) e rupe praecipitatus martyr occubuit. Quae Patrum Benedictinorum conjectura est in Not. ad Augustini lib. III. contra Cresconium, cap. 49. Qua de re videndus etiam Cl. Mabillonus in Annot. ad Marculi acta, tom. III Vett. Analector. Jam vero quid huic, aut si quod est aliud huic simile, exemplo cum martyribus nostris aliqua ex parte commune? Quae non sequioribus saeculis per unius aut alterius scriptoris oscitantiam in privatum aliquod martyrologium irrepserunt, sed in publicis, et antiquissimis Ecclesiae tabulis, in publicis item precibus, ut earum nomina recitarentur, et nullum non religiosi cultus testimonium, jam inde ab initio consecutae sunt. Sed videamus, quibus Basnagius argumentis hac sanctioris famae et publici cultus perpetua veluti possessione sanctas martyres deturbare conatus est: gravissima enim ea esse oportet, quae hanc ei de nostris hisce martyribus, post tot ab earum
good men are often deceived." But surely not the authority of the universal Church as well? Augustine deferred to it so much even in these questions that he was unwilling to judge anything rashly about those women who, in time of persecution, to escape the assailants of their chastity, threw themselves into a river that would sweep them away and kill them, and so died, and whose martyrdoms are celebrated in the Catholic Church with the most crowded veneration: "About these," he says, "I dare judge nothing rashly. For whether the divine authority has persuaded the Church, through some trustworthy testimonies, to honour their memory in this way, I do not know; and it may be that it is so. For what if they did this not deceived in a human way, nor erring, but obeying? as concerning Samson it is not lawful for us to believe otherwise." But heretical martyrs have crept into the martyrologies. Surely not also into the most ancient calendars? Were sacrifices and assemblies of Catholics also celebrated at their tombs? Were altars to God and basilicas consecrated in their memory? Did the ancient Fathers adorn their praises with orations and public discourses? Are they, finally, commemorated among the more illustrious martyrs through so many years, even now, in the canon of the Mass? Marculus, a pseudo-martyr of the Donatists, was first entered imprudently into his martyrology by Rabanus in the ninth century; from there he crept into the spurious martyrology of Bede, and from that into some manuscripts and editions of the martyrology of Usuard; but the error was easily detected, and the compilers of the Roman Martyrology substituted Nicomedia for Numidia, Marcellus for Marculus, Constantius for Constans, Arians for Macarians. For, reading at about the same days in the more ancient martyrologies the name of Marcellus, martyr of Nicomedia, and not knowing his acts, they put together for him this notice out of the interpolated acts of Marculus: "At Nicomedia (for in Numidia), of Saint Marcellus (read Marculus), priest, who in the time of Constantius (more truly Constans) was thrown down from a rock by the Arians (for by the Macarians) and fell a martyr." This is the conjecture of the Benedictine Fathers in the notes on Augustine's book 3 Against Cresconius, chapter 49. On this matter see also the celebrated Mabillon in his annotations on the acts of Marculus, volume 3 of the Vetera Analecta. Now what does this example, or any other like it, if there is one, have in common in any respect with our martyrs? They did not creep into some private martyrology in later centuries through the carelessness of one writer or another, but obtained [a place] in the public and most ancient registers of the Church, likewise in the public prayers, so that their names were recited, and every testimony of religious cult, right from the beginning. But let us see with what arguments Basnage has tried to dislodge the holy martyrs from this, as it were, perpetual possession of holier fame and public cult: for those [arguments] must be very weighty which brought him this opinion of these martyrs of ours, after so many centuries from their
Editors' notes and page, col. 76
Footnotes
(28) ‹anchor: Rabanus retulit› · call in col 76, printed there as "(25)", evidently a misprint for (28)
Apud Mabillon. tom. iv Vet. Analect.
In Mabillon, volume 4 of the Vetera Analecta.
(printed under page 90)
(29) ‹anchor: editiones irrepsit› · call in col 76
Apud Bollandi socios, tom. vii, mensis Junii.
In Bolland's colleagues (the Acta Sanctorum), volume 7 for the month of June.
(printed under page 90)
Page
- running head: ATIO APOLOGETICA 76 (start of the title cut off at the image's left edge)
- marginal letters: A nibus viri boni saepe falluntur; B martyres in martyrologia irrepserunt; C Constanti Constantium, Macarianis; D ribus saeculis per unius
- old-edition numerals: 74 after martyrologii
passione saecula, intulerunt opinionem. Antiquorum enim consentientibus testimoniis et perpetuae de illarum orthodoxia et sanctitate Ecclesiae traditioni fides in re tam gravi abrogari non debuit, nisi aliam opinionem invicta perspicuaque argumenta pene repugnanti indiderunt. An ejusmodi sint, quae Basnagius attulit, sequentibns capitibus disseremus.
passion. For in so grave a matter, faith in the agreeing testimonies of the ancients and in the perpetual tradition of the Church concerning their orthodoxy and sanctity ought not to have been withdrawn, unless invincible and clear arguments had implanted another opinion in one almost resisting. Whether those which Basnage has brought forward are of this kind, we shall discuss in the following chapters.
CAPUT II.
Chapter II.
BASNAGII EXTERNIS ADVERSUS SANCTAS MARTYRES ARGUMENTIS OCCURRITUR.
The external arguments of Basnage against the holy martyrs are answered.
I. Actorum Perpetuae et Felicitatis compilatorem fuisse Montanistarum haeresi infectum. II. Ruinartii pro Actorum compilatore rationes refelluntur, variisque argumentis ejus montanismus asseritur. III. Dodwelli pro ejusdem scriptoris orthodoxia disputatio. IV. Ejus disputationis primum dejicitar fundamentum. V. Alterum ejusdem disputationis fundamentum evertitur. VI. A Montanistis Catholicos non fuisse pro haereticis existimatos. VII. Ab Ecclesiarum Catholicarum communione Montanistas non se omnino alienos existimasse. VIII. Ad Catholicorum quoque martyrum communionem adspirasse. IX. Non Perpetuae tantum, sed aliorum quoque catholicorum martyrum, Tertullianum cum laude meminisse. X. Alii, praeter Montanistas, haeretici catholicorum Acta martyrum luci dederunt. XI. Ex ipsomet Actorum auctore Montanista, martyres nostros ab hac secta fuisse alienos ostenditur.
I. That the compiler of the Acts of Perpetua and Felicity was infected with the heresy of the Montanists. II. Ruinart's reasons on behalf of the compiler of the Acts are refuted, and his Montanism is asserted by various arguments. III. Dodwell's disputation for the orthodoxy of the same writer. IV. The first foundation of his disputation is overthrown. V. The second foundation of the same disputation is overturned. VI. That Catholics were not regarded by the Montanists as heretics. VII. That the Montanists did not consider themselves altogether estranged from the communion of the Catholic Churches. VIII. That they also aspired to the communion of the Catholic martyrs. IX. That Tertullian made mention with praise not of Perpetua only, but of other Catholic martyrs also. X. Heretics other than the Montanists brought Acts of Catholic martyrs to light. XI. From the very author of the Acts being a Montanist, it is shown that our martyrs were strangers to this sect.
1. De auctore, seu potius, ut videri vult, Actorum Perpetuae et Felicitatis compilatore, non una eademque eruditorum sententia est. De Montanistarum familia unum fuisse, vir candidus juxta atque eruditus, ut Basnagii verbis utar, olim sensit Valesius. Contra Dodwellus non omnem modo ab ipso montanismi suspicionem amolitur; sed hominem quoque fuisse contendit adversus Montanistas catholicae fidei zelo et ardore flagrantem. Valesio nullo modo assentiri potest Cl. Ruinartius. Contra, Basnagius Valesii opinioni se adhaerere libenter profitetur, indeque primum, ut postea videbimus, adversus martyres nostros couficit argumentum. Ea res omnino postulat, ut de tota hac controversia perquam accuratissime disseramus, ne si Valesii opinionem amplectamur, temere id fecisse existimemur; sin autem, ne ex quodam praeconceptae opinionis praejudicio factum id esse videatur. Ut igitur agnoscat lector me secum candide agere, et nihil huc praejudicatum afferre, in Valesii opinionem, meis licet rationibus primo aspectu satis incommodam, valde animum inclinare profiteor. Argumento mihi est auctoris praefatio, qui sane his utitur verbis, quae quamvis, si alio tempore scripta forent, in catholicam sententiam utcunque interpretari possemus, at habita ratione temporis, quo scripta sunt, vehementem nobis montanismi suspicionem afferent. Sic enim habet: Sed viderint, qui unam virtutem Spiritus unius sancti pro aetatibus judicent temporum: cum majora reputanda sint novitiora quaeque ut novissimiora,
1. Concerning the author, or rather, as he wishes to appear, the compiler of the Acts of Perpetua and Felicity, the opinion of the learned is not one and the same. That he was one of the family of the Montanists was formerly the view of Valesius, a man candid as well as learned, to use the words of Basnage. On the other hand, Dodwell not only removes from him every suspicion of Montanism, but also contends that he was a man burning with zeal and ardour for the Catholic faith against the Montanists. The celebrated Ruinart can in no way agree with Valesius. On the other hand, Basnage freely professes that he adheres to the opinion of Valesius, and from it, as we shall see later, he constructs his first argument against our martyrs. The matter altogether demands that we discuss this whole controversy most exceedingly carefully, lest, if we embrace the opinion of Valesius, we be thought to have done so rashly; or if not, lest it seem to have been done from some prejudice of a preconceived opinion. So that the reader may recognize, therefore, that I deal candidly with him and bring nothing prejudged to this matter, I profess that my mind inclines strongly towards the opinion of Valesius, although at first sight it is rather inconvenient to my arguments. My proof is the author's preface, who certainly uses these words, which, although, had they been written at another time, we might in some way interpret in a Catholic sense, yet, taking into account the time at which they were written, will bring us a strong suspicion of Montanism. For it runs thus: But let those see to it who judge the one power of the one Holy Spirit according to the ages of times: since all the more recent things are to be reckoned greater, as being the most recent,
Editors' notes and page, col. 77
Footnotes
(30) ‹anchor: sit Valesius› · call in col 77
Præfat. ad Paris. Actorum editionem.
Preface to the Paris edition of the Acts.
(printed under page 91)
(31) ‹anchor: ardore flagrantem› · call in col 77
Dissert. 4, Cyprianica de visionibus, etc, § 8 et seqq.
Cyprianic Dissertation 4, On Visions, etc., § 8 and following.
(printed under page 91)
(32) ‹anchor: Cl. Ruinartius› · call in col 77 (note printed at the foot of col 78)
In admonit. Actis præmissa, num. 6.
In the notice prefixed to the Acts, number 6.
(printed under page 91)
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- running head: PRO SS. PERPETUA, FELIC (cut off at image edge)
- marginal letters: A passione saecula, intulerunt opinionem; B nis fundamentum evertitur. VI. A Montanistis; C modo ab ipso montanismi suspicionem; D primo aspectu satis incommodam
- old-edition numerals: 75 after catholicorum
- other: column begins with "passione", possibly the end of a word broken from the previous column; "aliam" blotted type, read as aliam; "dejicitar" reading UNSURE (may be damaged u); "haereticis" with damaged r; "Dé" read as De (accent likely a speck); "novitiora" read with italic t; last word "novis-" broken at column end; editors' matter set: the whole column is part of the editors' dissertation (CAPUT II with its caption and the chapter summary "I. Actorum Perpetuae et Felicitatis compilatorem", then §1 "De auctore, seu potius"); no full-width line seen
- other: the word novissimiora, was split at the column break and stands whole here (joined on receipt); check that the English reads whole across the break into col 78
secundum exuberationem gratiae in ultima saeculi spatia decreta: In novissimis enim diebus, dicit Dominus, effundam de Spiritu meo super omnem carnem, et prophetabunt filii filiaeque eorum, et super servos et ancillas meas de meo Spiritu effundam, et juvenes visiones videbunt, et senes somnia somniabunt. Itaque et nos, qui sicut prophetias, ita et visiones novas pariter repromissas, et agnoscimus et honoramus, etc. Quis credat, haec scriptori catholico excidere potuisse, quo tempore montanistica haeresis in Ecclesia vehementissime grassabatur; cum novissimorum temporum conditionem, ob charismatum copiam et Spiritus exuberantiam Paracleto suo reservatam, tantopere jactabant et extollebant haeretici; cum novas visiones, et prophetias repudiare se profiteretur Ecclesia; contra qui illas agnoscerent, et honorarent, pro haereticis haberentur. Cum majora, inquit, reputanda sint novitiora quaeque, ut novissimiora secundum exuberationem gratiae in ultima saeculi spatia decreta. Abruptiusne aut impudentius locutus unquam professus montanista fuisset? Estne ovum, ut aiunt, ovo similius, quam haec auctoris verba cum his Tertulliani sub finem libri de Resurrectione carnis? At enim Deus omnipotens adversus haec incredulitati⟨s⟩ et perversitatis ingenia, providentissima gratia sua effundens in novissimis diebus de suo Spiritu in omnem carnem, in servos suos et ancillas, et fidem laborantem resurrectionis carnalis animavit et pristina instrumenta manifestis verborum et sensuum luminibus ab omni ambiguitatis obscuritate purgavit. Nam quia haereses esse oportuerat, ut probabiles quique manifestarentur, hae autem sine aliquibus occasionibus Scripturarum audere non poterant, idcirco pristina instrumenta quasdam materias illis videntur subministrasse, et illas quidem iisdem litteris revincibiles. Sed quoniam necdum dissimulare Spiritum sanctum oportebat, quominus et ejusmodi eloquiis superinundaret, quae nullis haereticorum versutiis semina ⟨s⟩ubspargerent, imo et veteres eorum cespites vellerent, idcirco jam omnes retro ambiguitates, et quas volunt parabolas, aperta atque perspicua totius Sacramenti praedicatione discussit, per novam prophetiam de Paracleto inundantem, cujus si h⟨a⟩useris fontes, nullam poteris sitire doctrinam, nullus te ardor exuret quaestionum, resurrectionem quoque carnis, usquequaque potando, refrigerabis. Novissima veteribus anteponit, hoc est, novas Montani revelationes pristinis instrumentis, utriusque scilicet Testamenti libris, non ut Rhenanus et Pamelius interpretantur, Novi Foederis libros Mosaicis et propheticis. Non enim ex lege tantum et Prophetis, sed vel maxime ex Novi Testamenti obscuris quibusdam locis, ambiguitatibus et parabolis suorum dogmatum materiam haeretici decerpebant. Cui rei providentissima gratia sua
according to the superabundance of grace decreed for the last periods of the age: For in the last days, says the Lord, I will pour out of My Spirit upon all flesh, and their sons and daughters shall prophesy, and upon My servants and My handmaids I will pour out of My Spirit, and young men shall see visions, and old men shall dream dreams. Therefore we too, who both acknowledge and honour new visions, promised in like manner just as prophecies are, etc. Who would believe that these words could have fallen from a catholic writer at a time when the Montanist heresy was raging most violently in the Church? At that time the heretics were boasting so greatly of the condition of the last times and extolling it, as reserved for their Paraclete on account of the abundance of charisms and the superabundance of the Spirit. At that time the Church declared that she repudiated new visions and prophecies, while, on the contrary, those who acknowledged and honoured them were held to be heretics. Since, he says, all the more recent things are to be reckoned greater, as being the most recent, according to the superabundance of grace decreed for the last periods of the age. Would any professed Montanist ever have spoken more abruptly or more shamelessly? Is an egg, as they say, more like an egg than these words of the author are like these of Tertullian towards the end of his book On the Resurrection of the Flesh? But God almighty, against these devices of unbelief and perversity, by His most provident grace pouring out in the last days of His Spirit upon all flesh, upon His servants and handmaids, has both given life to the struggling faith in the resurrection of the flesh and cleansed the ancient instruments from all obscurity of ambiguity by the clear lights of words and senses. For since there had to be heresies, so that those who are approved might be made manifest, and these could not venture anything without some occasions from the Scriptures, therefore the ancient instruments seem to have supplied them with certain materials, and these indeed refutable by the same writings. But since it was not fitting that the Holy Spirit should any longer hold back from overflowing also with utterances of such a kind as would scatter no seeds for the cunning tricks of heretics, and would indeed even pluck up their old sods, therefore He has now dispelled all former ambiguities, and whatever parables they please, by the open and clear proclamation of the whole Mystery, through the new prophecy flowing abundantly from the Paraclete. If you draw from its fountains, you will be able to thirst for no doctrine, no burning of questions will scorch you, and by drinking continually you will refresh the resurrection of the flesh as well. He puts the newest things before the old, that is, the new revelations of Montanus before the ancient instruments, namely the books of both Testaments. He does not mean, as Rhenanus and Pamelius interpret it, the books of the New Covenant before the Mosaic and prophetic books. For the heretics drew the material of their doctrines not from the Law and the Prophets alone, but most of all from certain obscure passages, ambiguities and parables of the New Testament. To this matter by His most provident grace
Editors' notes and page, col. 78
Footnotes
(34) ‹anchor: call not visible on the page-foot image (the number may be a misprint for 33)› · call in col 78
Joel. II. 28, et Actor. ii, 17.
Joel 2:28, and Acts 2:17.
(printed under page 91)
Page
- running head: [PERP]ETUA, FELICITATE ET SOCIIS. 78 (left edge cut off in image)
- marginal letters: A simiora, secundum exuberationem; B et prophetias repudiare se; C guitatis obscuritate purgavit; D resurrectionem quoque carnis
- old-edition numerals: 76 after secundum
Deum prospexisse docet in novissimis diebus de Spiritu suo effundendo in omnem carnem, qui ejusmodi eloquiis superinundaret, quae nullis haereticorum versutiis materiam et semina subministrarent, et omnes retro ambiguitates et parabolas, aperta atque perspicua totius Sacramenti praedicatione discuteret: quod factum esse subjungit, per novam prophetiam de Paracleto inundantem. Adeoque quantum Novi Testamenti libri magis aperta perspicuaqne rerum coelestium revelatione, qua veteres figurae expositae sunt, legalibus et propheticis praestant, tantum Montani prophetiae, quae vel ipsas Evangelii ambiguitates, et parabolas aperta totius Sacramenti praedicatione discusserunt, ipsis quoque Novi Foederis libris erant anteponendae. Quam profecto sententiam Actorum collector paucioribus quidem, sed non minus expressis verbis, insinuavit, cum ait majora reputanda esse novitiora quaeque, ut novissimiora, secundum exuberationem gratiae, etc., id est, ut loquitur Tertullianus, secundum novam prophetiam de Paracleto inundantem.
he teaches that God had provided, in pouring out His Spirit upon all flesh in the last days, One Who would overflow with utterances of such a kind as would supply no material and seeds to the cunning devices of heretics, and Who would dispel all former ambiguities and parables by an open and clear preaching of the whole Sacrament: which he adds was accomplished through the new prophecy overflowing from the Paraclete. And so, by as much as the books of the New Testament excel the books of the Law and the Prophets through a more open and clear revelation of heavenly things, by which the old figures have been explained, by so much were the prophecies of Montanus, which dispelled even the ambiguities of the Gospel itself and its parables by an open preaching of the whole Sacrament, to be placed before even the books of the New Covenant themselves. This opinion the compiler of the Acts certainly insinuated, in fewer words indeed but no less express ones, when he says that all the more recent things are to be reckoned greater, as being the more final, according to the superabundance of grace, etc., that is, as Tertullian expresses it, according to the new prophecy overflowing from the Paraclete.
II. Respondet Ruinartius, quod quamvis haec verba primo aspectu Montani errores sapcre videantur; si tamen paulo accuratius discutiantur, nihil in ipsis contineri, nisi orthodoxum et fidei catholicae plane consonum. Non enim, inquit, iste auctor visiones novissimas cum Scripturis canonicis, ut putavit Valesius, sed solummodo cum veterum martyrum visionibus, et revelationibus comparat, asseritque non minori venerationi habendas esse, quae suo tempore, quam quae priscis temporibus, id est primo aut secundo Ecclesiae saeculo, contigerant. Imo et aliquatenus has novas revelationes majori studio suscipiendas esse dicit, cum exempla eo efficaciora sint, quo magis praesentia: tum deinde, quod hae novissimae, visiones quae aliquando veteres futurae erant, aliqua auctoritate fulciendae essent, ut a posteris crederentur, id patere ait ex eadem ipsius auctoris tota praefatione; ubi ne unum quidem verbum de Scripturae sacrae cum visionibus martyrum comparatione habetur. « Si vetera » inquit « fidei... exempla propterea in litteris sunt digesta, ut lectione eorum quasi repraesentatione rerum, et Deus honoretur, et homo confortetur, cur non et nova documenta aeque utrique causae convenientia et digerantur? »
II. Ruinart replies that, although these words seem at first sight to savour of the errors of Montanus, yet if they are examined a little more carefully, nothing is contained in them but what is orthodox and entirely consonant with the catholic faith. For, he says, this author does not compare the most recent visions with the canonical Scriptures, as Valesius thought, but only with the visions and revelations of the ancient martyrs, and asserts that those which occurred in his own time are to be held in no less veneration than those which occurred in former times, that is, in the first or second century of the Church. Indeed he even says that these new revelations are to be received with somewhat greater zeal, since examples are the more effective the more present they are: and then, that these most recent visions, which would one day become old, had to be supported by some authority so that they might be believed by posterity; this, he says, is evident from the whole preface of this same author, where there is not even one word about a comparison of sacred Scripture with the visions of the martyrs. « If the old examples of faith », he says, « have been set down in writing for this reason, that by the reading of them, as by a representation of the events, both God may be honoured and man strengthened, why should not new records, equally suited to both purposes, also be set down? »
Verum, non has tantum, quas Ruinartius refert rationes produxit auctor, cur novas revelationes, et prophetias prae antiquis in pretio haberi vellet; sed illam potissimum, quam nemo nisi merus putusque montanista attulisset, et quae satis ostendit, ipsum novissimas revelationcs, non modo veterum martyrum revelationibus, sed ipsis quoque Scripturis canonicis, praetulisse: ob exuberationem, scilicet gratiae in ultima saeculi spatia decreta, secundum Joelis prophetiam. Ecquis enim cui sanum esset caput, Spiritus sancti gratiam
But the author did not put forward only these reasons, which Ruinart reports, why he wished new revelations and prophecies to be held in esteem above the ancient ones; but above all that one which no one but a pure and unalloyed Montanist would have brought forward, and which shows clearly enough that he preferred the most recent revelations not only to the revelations of the ancient martyrs, but also to the canonical Scriptures themselves: namely, on account of the superabundance of grace decreed for the last periods of the age, according to the prophecy of Joel. For who, being of sound mind, ever dreamed that the grace of the Holy Spirit
Editors' notes and page, col. 79
Page
- running head: 79 DISSERTATIO APOLO (cut off at the image edge)
- marginal letters: A ‹Deum prospexisse docet›; B ‹cioribus quidem, sed non minus›; C ‹quae suo tempore, quam quae priscis›; D ‹Verum, non has tantum, quas Ruinartius›
- old-edition numerals: 77 after ‹catholicae plane›
novissimis hisce diebus, id est tertio ineunte, magis quam primo aut secundo saeculo exuberasse, somniavit? Quis nisi Montani spiritu abreptus, ut id ostenderet, Joelis verbis quibus futura haec novissimis diebus Spiritus exuberatio praenuntiabatur, usus aliquando fuisset? Unde non ea tantum ratione, ut Ruinartius credidit, iste auctor culpandus est quod horum martyrum visiones ex iis esse, quae Deus per Joelem repromiserat, existimaverit. Laudata enim Joelis verba ad omnia, quae in nostro Testamento a Deo charismata dispensantur referri posse non abnuo. Sed eo montanistam se prodit, quod prophetae verba adhibuerit, ad majorem ostendendam novissimis diebus quam praecedentibus Ecclesiae saeculis, coelestium charismatum exuberationem. Porro quamvis, ut idem Ruinartius subjungit, Ecclesia Fidelium dicta vel scripta inter Scripturas canonicas neutiquam computarit, etsi non dubitet ab eo processisse, a quo alii dantur genera linguarum, alii prophetiae alii sermo sapientiae, aliis alia dona, quae laudato Joelis testimonio praenuntiata et promissa fuisse certum est, attamen non inde sequitur idem pariter de Actorum scriptore sentiendum esse. Quamvis enim neque Ecclesia, neque scriptores catholici, novi Testamenti charismata et a Deo procedere, et laudato Joelis testimonio praenuntiata, et promissa fuisse, unquam dubitarint: nunquam tamen aut Ecclesia, aut aliquis Catholicorum Joelis verbis usus est ad majorem novissimorum temporum, quam praeteritorum Ecclesiae saeculorum visionibus et revelationibus venerationem auctoritatemque conciliaudam.
in these last days, that is, at the opening of the third century, more than in the first or second century, had overflowed? Who, unless carried away by the spirit of Montanus, would ever have used, in order to show this, the words of Joel by which this future outpouring of the Spirit in the last days was foretold? Hence this author is to be blamed not only on the ground, as Ruinart believed, that he considered the visions of these martyrs to be among those which God had promised through Joel. For I do not deny that the cited words of Joel can be referred to all the charisms which are dispensed by God in our Testament. But he betrays himself a Montanist in this, that he employed the prophet's words to show a greater abundance of heavenly charisms in the last days than in the preceding centuries of the Church. Moreover, although, as the same Ruinart adds, the Church has by no means reckoned the sayings or writings of the faithful among the canonical Scriptures, even though she does not doubt that they proceeded from Him by Whom to some are given kinds of tongues, to others prophecy, to others the word of wisdom, to others other gifts, which it is certain were foretold and promised by the cited testimony of Joel, yet it does not follow from this that the same must likewise be thought of the writer of the Acts. For although neither the Church nor Catholic writers ever doubted that the charisms of the New Testament both proceed from God and were foretold and promised by the cited testimony of Joel, yet never did either the Church or any of the Catholics use the words of Joel to win for the visions and revelations of the last times a greater veneration and authority than for those of the past centuries of the Church.
Est quidem hoc adversus Actorum, ut aiunt, compilatorem gravissimum praejudicium; nescio tamen an non gravius sit, quod ex sequentibus verbis conficitur argumentum. Sic enim pergit: « Itaque et nos, qui sicut prophetias, ita et visiones novas pariter repromissas et agnoscimus, et honoramus. » Haec plane peremptoria sunt: neque enim clarioribus verbis potuisset auctor, quam ipse sectam profiteretur, exponere: haec montanismi tessera sunt, et montanistiae doctrinae clara et aperta professio. Id enim catholicos inter et montanistas, id temporis disceptabatur, an novae, id est, extraordinariae et inusitatae visiones et prophetiae agnoscendae essent atque honorandae; an contra repudiandae atque abjiciendae. Catholici novas visiones et prophetias ut maligni spiritus seductionem aversabantur, non quod nullas eo tempore in Ecclesia agnoscerent visiones et prophetias, aut quod charismatum fontem exaruisse contenderent; sed novarum visionum et novae prophetiae nomine, insolitas, ut dixi, et ut loquitur apud Eusebium Asterius, « Praeter morem, atque institutum Ecclesiae a majoribus traditum, et continua deinceps successione propagatum » intelligebant. Contra Montanistae novas hasce revelationes
This is indeed, as they say, a most grave prejudice against the compiler of the Acts; yet I do not know whether the argument drawn from the following words is not graver still. For he continues thus: "And so we too, who, as we do prophecies, so also both acknowledge and honour new visions, promised alike." These words are plainly decisive: for the author could not have set out in clearer words what sect he himself professed: these are the badge of Montanism, and a clear and open profession of Montanist doctrine. For this was the point disputed at that time between Catholics and Montanists: whether new, that is, extraordinary and unusual visions and prophecies were to be acknowledged and honoured, or, on the contrary, repudiated and cast aside. The Catholics shunned new visions and prophecies as a seduction of the evil spirit, not because they acknowledged no visions and prophecies in the Church at that time, or because they maintained that the fount of charisms had dried up; but by the name of new visions and new prophecy they understood unusual ones, as I have said, and, as Asterius puts it in Eusebius, "contrary to the custom and institution of the Church handed down from our forebears and propagated thereafter in continuous succession". The Montanists, on the contrary, valued very highly these new revelations
Editors' notes and page, col. 80
Footnotes
(34) ‹anchor: apud Eusebium› · call in col 80, printed there as "(24)"; the note is numbered (34)
Παρὰ τὸ κατὰ παράδοσιν καὶ κατὰ διαδοχὴν ἄνωθεν τῆς Ἐκκλησίας ἔθος δῆθεν. Lib. v Histor., cap. 16.
"Contrary, that is, to the custom of the Church handed down by tradition and by succession from the beginning." Book 5 of the History, chapter 16.
(printed under page 92)
Page
- running head: …TATIO APOLOGETICA (left part cut off at the image edge; DISSERTATIO APOLOGETICA presumably)
- marginal letters: A novissimis hisce diebus; B Ecclesia Fidelium dicta (letter stands between the lines "nem. Porro quamvis" and "Ecclesia Fidelium"); C bus venerationem auctoritatemque; D contra repudiandae atque
- old-edition numerals: 78 after saeculorum
- other: the word revelationes was split at the column break and stands whole here (joined on receipt); check that the English reads whole across the break into col 81
et prophetias plurimi faciebant, amplectebantur et honorabant, et hunc primum suae ab Ecclesia secessioni colorem praetexuerunt, unde etiam scelerata factio, ut ex Serapione constat, nomen accepit, et « Nova prophetia nominata est. » Quod suae ipsos sectae nomen indidisse, his verbis Asterius Urbanus clare et aperte testatur : « Et Ecclesiam illius loci deprehendissem nova illa, non ut ipsi dicunt, prophetia, etc. » Novas prophetias, postquam ad Montanistas defecit, passim jactat et praedicat Tertullianus, libro de Jejuniis : « Propter hoc novae prophetiae recusantur. » Et libr. III cont. Marcion. : « Qui apud fidem nostram est novae prophetiae sermo testatur. « Et lib. IV : « Quam defendimus in caussa novae prophetiae. » Et lib. de Resurrect. carnis : « Per novam prophetiam de Paracleto inundantem. » Firmiliano Cataphryges sunt, qui « novas prophetias usurpare conantur. » Ex quo etiam intelligimus, novos eos a Catholicis quoque prophetas fuisse appellatos. Quae cum ita sint, montanistam utique palam se prodit et apertissime profitetur, qui, ferventibus per ea tempora de novis visionibus et prophetiis Catholicos inter et Montanistas dissidiis, novas se visiones et prophetias agnoscere et honorare palam aperteque testatur. Neminem certe Catholicorum ita esse locutum ostendi potest : Montanistarum illa professio est, cui similem, postquam hujus sectae dogmata amplexus est, Tertullianus his verbis edidit : « Nam quia spiritalia charismata agnoscimus, etc. » Ita et Actorum editor : « Visiones novas et prophetias agnoscimus, et honoramus. » Atqui, secundum Firmilianum, Κατάφρυγςε illi appellantur, qui novas prophetias usurpare conantur. Actorum igitur concinnator Cataphrygum seu Montanistarum catalogo eximi nulla ratione potest.
and prophecies, embraced and honoured them, and they put this forward as the first pretext for their secession from the Church; whence also the wicked faction, as is established from Serapion, received its name, and "was named the New Prophecy." That they themselves gave this name to their sect, Asterius Urbanus clearly and openly testifies in these words: "And when I had found the Church of that place [disturbed] by that new, not, as they themselves say, prophecy, etc." Tertullian, after he had defected to the Montanists, everywhere boasts of and proclaims new prophecies, in the book On Fasting: "On this account the new prophecies are rejected." And in book 3 Against Marcion: "The word of the new prophecy, which is with our faith, testifies." And in book 4: "Which we defend in the cause of the new prophecy." And in the book On the Resurrection of the Flesh: "Through the new prophecy overflowing from the Paraclete." For Firmilian the Cataphrygians are those who "try to usurp new prophecies." From which we also understand that they were called new prophets by the Catholics too. Since this is so, he certainly betrays himself openly and most plainly professes himself a Montanist who, at a time when disputes between Catholics and Montanists over new visions and prophecies were raging, openly and plainly testifies that he acknowledges and honours new visions and prophecies. It can certainly be shown that none of the Catholics spoke in this way: that profession belongs to the Montanists, and Tertullian, after he had embraced the doctrines of this sect, put forth one like it in these words: "For because we acknowledge spiritual gifts, etc." So too the editor of the Acts: "We acknowledge new visions and prophecies, and we honour them." But according to Firmilian those are called Cataphrygians who try to usurp new prophecies. The compiler of the Acts therefore can by no means be removed from the list of the Cataphrygians or Montanists.
Tertium, et illud etiam gravissimum argumentum desumo ex quadam observatione, quam Auctor facit ubi narrat quomodo Perpetua ad ferocissimam vaccam se pugnasse non senserit : « Illic Perpetua... quasi a somno expergita (adeo, » inquit Auctor, « in spiritu et in extasi fuerat) circumspicere coepit, et stupentibus omnibus ait : « Quando, inquit, producimur ad vaccam illam nescio. » Quo enim illa observatio pertinet, « adeo in spiritu et in exstasi fuerat, » nisi ad stabiliendam Montanistarum de exstasi doctrinam ? Verum equidem est, exstasis nomen in bonam partem aliquam fuisse a Patribus usurpatum ; iis tamen temporibus quibus
The third, and this too a very weighty argument, I take from a certain observation which the Author makes where he relates how Perpetua did not perceive that she had fought against the most savage cow: "There Perpetua... as if roused from sleep (so much," says the Author, "had she been in the spirit and in ecstasy) began to look around, and, while all were amazed, said: "When, she said, we are to be led out to that cow, I do not know." For to what does that observation, "so much had she been in the spirit and in ecstasy," pertain, unless to establishing the doctrine of the Montanists on ecstasy? It is indeed true that the name of ecstasy was used by the Fathers in some good sense; yet in those times in which
Editors' notes and page, col. 81
Footnotes
(35) ‹anchor: not visible on the page-foot image› · call in col 81
Τῆς ἐπικαλουμένης νέας προφητείας, etc. Epist. ad Caricum et Ponticum, apud Euseb., lib. v, capite 19.
"Of the so-called new prophecy," etc. Letter to Caricus and Ponticus, in Eusebius, book 5, chapter 19.
(printed under page 93)
(36) ‹anchor: not visible on the page-foot image› · call in col 81
Καὶ καταλαβὼν τὴν κατὰ πόντον (leg. τόπον) Ἐκκλησίαν ὑπὸ τῆς νέας ταύτης, οὐχ ὡς αὐτοί φασι, προφητείας, etc. Lib. i, Adv. Cataprhyg. Apud Euseb., ibid., cap. 16.
"And having found the Church in Pontus (read: in that place) [stirred up] by this new — not, as they call it, prophecy," etc. Book 1, Against the Cataphrygians. In Eusebius, in the same work, chapter 16.
(printed under page 93)
(37) ‹anchor: not visible on the page-foot image› · call in col 81
Cap. 1.
Chapter 1.
(printed under page 93)
(38) ‹anchor: not visible on the page-foot image› · call in col 81
Cap. 24.
Chapter 24.
(printed under page 93)
(39) ‹anchor: not visible on the page-foot image› · call in col 81
Cap. 22.
Chapter 22.
(printed under page 93)
(40) ‹anchor: not visible on the page-foot image› · call in col 81 or 82
Capite ultimo.
In the last chapter.
(printed under page 93)
(41) ‹anchor: not visible on the page-foot image› · call in col 81 or 82
Epist. inter Cyprianic. 75.
Letter 75 among the Cyprianic letters.
(printed under page 93)
(42) ‹anchor: verbis edidit› · call in col 81
Lib. de Anima cap. 19.
The book On the Soul, chapter 19.
(printed under page 93)
(43) ‹anchor: non senserit› · call in col 81
In Actis nº 20.
In the Acts, number 20.
(printed under page 93)
Page
- running head: 81 PRO SS. PERPETUA, FELICI (cut off at the image edge)
- marginal letters: A nes et prophetias plurimi faciebant; B prophetiae. » Et lib. de Resurrect. carnis; C editor : « Visiones novas et prophetias; D in exstasi fuerat, » nisi ad stabiliendam Montani-
- old-edition numerals: 79 after et (before prophetiis)
Montanistarum haeresis potissimum grassabatur, in deteriorem ferme partem acceptum est, et ut mentis alienationem, furorem, amentiamque significat. Unde cum ea tempestate Catholicos inter et Montanistas, Tertulliano teste, disputaretur, an verae prophetiae extasis conveniret, affirmantem opinionem Montanistae, negantem Catholici propugnabant. « Defendimus, » inquit Tertullianus, « in causa novae prophetiae, gratiae exstasin, id est amentiam convenire........ de quo inter nos et Psychicos quaestio est. » Hinc scripti eidem Tertulliano pro Montanistis adversus Ecclesiam, ut est apud Hieronymum περὶ ἐκστάσεως libri; contra vero Miltiadi, ut est apud Eusebium, adversus eosdem Montanistas hoc titulo, Περὶ τοῦ μὴ δεῖν προφήτην ἐν ἐκστάσει λαλεῖν, « Quod non deceat prophetam in exstasi loqui. » In quem Eusebii locum scite Valesius observat: Catholicos hoc praecipue objecisse Montanistis, qui se prophetico spiritu plenos esse jactabant, quod in exstasi prophetarent: cum tamen, nec in Novo nec in Veteri Testamento, prophetas in exstasi unquam prophetasse legamus. Ecquis igitur tam obesis naribus erit, cui non Montanismus in praemissis Auctoris nostri verbis suboleat? Equidem non ea mihi mens est, in omnem scriptorem, exstases inter Dei charismata recensentem, invidiam Montanismi conferre; non me latet, hoc nomen in bonam, etiam ab antiquissimis Patribus, quandoque partem acceptum. Praeter nocturnas visionis, immissas a Spiritu sancto per dies innocentibus pueris extases habemus ex Cypriano, in quem nulla hac de re transferri potest pravae opinionis suspicio: « Praeter nocturnas visiones, per dies quoque impletur apud nos Spiritu sancto puerorum innocens aetas, quae in extasi videt compilatore ratio est, qui non ut Cyprianus et alii deinceps antiqui Patres, sedatis Montanistarum tumultibus, sed gliscentibus in dies factionibus ac d⟨i⟩scordiis, laudata monumenta litteris consignavit, quo certe tempore, aut nomine exstasis abstinendum erat, aut ita utendum, ut omnis ab eo pravae significationis invidia, aut suspicio removeretur.
the heresy of the Montanists was chiefly rampant, it was taken almost always in the worse sense, and as signifying alienation of mind, frenzy and madness. Hence, since at that time it was disputed between the Catholics and the Montanists, as Tertullian attests, whether ecstasy befitted true prophecy, the Montanists championed the affirmative opinion, the Catholics the negative. "We maintain," says Tertullian, "in the cause of the new prophecy, that ecstasy, that is, madness, befits grace........ about which there is a dispute between us and the Psychics." Hence books On Ecstasy were written by the same Tertullian for the Montanists against the Church, as is found in Jerome; but on the other side by Miltiades, as is found in Eusebius, against the same Montanists under this title, Περὶ τοῦ μὴ δεῖν προφήτην ἐν ἐκστάσει λαλεῖν, "That a prophet ought not to speak in ecstasy." On which passage of Eusebius Valesius aptly observes that the Catholics chiefly objected this against the Montanists, who boasted that they were full of the prophetic spirit, that they prophesied in ecstasy: whereas we read neither in the New nor in the Old Testament that prophets ever prophesied in ecstasy. Who, then, will have so dull a nose that Montanism does not smell to him in the foregoing words of our author? For my part I have no intention of bringing the odium of Montanism upon every writer who counts ecstasies among the gifts of God; I am not unaware that this word was sometimes taken in a good sense, even by the most ancient Fathers. Besides nocturnal visions, we have from Cyprian, upon whom no suspicion of a perverse opinion on this matter can be cast, ecstasies sent by the Holy Spirit by day upon innocent boys: "Besides nocturnal visions, by day also the innocent age of boys among us is filled with the Holy Spirit, which in ecstasy sees compiler is the reasoning, who, not like Cyprian and other ancient Fathers after him, when the tumults of the Montanists had been quelled, but when factions and discords were growing daily, committed the aforesaid records to writing, at which time certainly one had either to abstain from the word ecstasy, or to use it in such a way that all odium or suspicion of a perverse meaning was removed from it.
III. Nunc mihi adoriendus est Dodwellus, cujus, ut jam dixi, ea sententia est, Actorum compilatorem, non modo catholicae communionis, et alieno a Montanistis fuisse animo, sed etiam ut eorum novas prophetias falsi convinceret, laudata monumenta studuisse publica luce donare. Hanc autem habet hujusce suae mirae profecto opinionis rationem
III. Now I must take on Dodwell, whose opinion, as I have already said, is that the compiler of the Acts was not only of the Catholic communion and of a mind estranged from the Montanists, but that he was even eager to bring the aforesaid records to public light in order to convict their new prophecies of falsehood. Now he gives this reason for this truly strange opinion of his:
Editors' notes and page, col. 82
Footnotes
(44) ‹anchor: inquit Tertullianus› · call in col 82
Lib. iv, cont. Marcion., cap 22.
Book 4 Against Marcion, chapter 22.
(printed under page 93)
(45) ‹anchor: apud Hieronymum› · call in col 82
Catal. in Appollonio, et in Tertulliano.
The Catalogue (On Illustrious Men), under Apollonius and under Tertullian.
(printed under page 93)
(46) ‹anchor: apud Eusebium› · call in col 82
Lib. v, cap. 17 ex Asterii Urb. lib. iii, adv. Cataph.
Book 5, chapter 17, from Asterius Urbanus, book 3 Against the Cataphrygians.
(printed under page 93)
(47) ‹anchor: opinionis suspicio› · call in col 82
Epist. 16, al. 10.
Letter 16 (otherwise 10).
(printed under page 93)
Page
- running head: …ETUA, FELICITATE ET SOCIIS. 82 (left end of the running head cut off at the image edge)
- marginal letters: A ‹bus Montanistarum haeresis›; B ‹δεῖν προφήτην ἐν ἐκστάσει›; C ‹Cypriano, in quem nulla›; D ‹a Montanistis fuisse animo›
- old-edition numerals: 80 after ‹antiquissimis Patribus,›
- other: the word rationem was split at the column break and stands whole here (joined on receipt); check that the English reads whole across the break into col 83
- other (Q1a): the English of rationem now ends whole in col 82 ("Now he gives this reason for this truly strange opinion of his:"); col 83's English still opens with a stray "-tion:" fragment, to be removed in col 83's file.
- other (Q1a): the Cyprian quotation breaks off after "quae in extasi videt" and the text resumes mid-sentence at "compilatore ratio est": a dislocation in the printing, set as printed.
- other (Q1a): misprints kept as printed: visionis (for visiones, "Praeter nocturnas visionis"); Appollonio (for Apollonio, footnote 45).
: « Maximilla de se praedixerat, post se prophetissam aliam non futuram, sed consummationem. Verba ejus apud Epiphanium illa sunt : Μετ' ἐμὲ προφῆτις οὐκέτι ἔσται, ἀλλὰ συντέλεια. Sub imperii Marci finem excessisse Maximillam verissillimum est. Cum enim ab ejus excessu ad suum, quo scribebat, annum annos XII sive XIV inchoatum numeret Asterius Urbanus, non alio illa, quam ad Commodi imperium aptius referri posse, existimant eruditi. Contra Catholici, vel hinc illos prophetiae praetextus falsi convincendos putant, quod suae prophetiae, vel ex confesso, finis foret aliquando statuendus, verum prophetiam perpetuam fore, et ad mundi usque consummationem revera permansuram. Qua ratiocinatione ita abfuerunt a negandis suorum temporum prophetiis, ut in quacumque Ecclesia non fuissent prophetae, ea ne esset quidem pro Ecclesia habenda. »
« Maximilla had foretold of herself that after her there would be no other prophetess, but the consummation. Her words in Epiphanius are these: 'After me there will no longer be a prophetess, but the consummation.' That Maximilla departed towards the end of the reign of Marcus is most true. For since Asterius Urbanus counts twelve or fourteen years, begun, from her departure to his own year, in which he was writing, the learned judge that this can be referred more fittingly to no other reign than that of Commodus. The Catholics, on the contrary, think that from this very fact they are to be convicted of a false pretext of prophecy, because an end of their prophecy was, even by their own admission, to be fixed at some time, but prophecy would be perpetual and would in fact endure right up to the consummation of the world. By this reasoning they were so far from denying the prophecies of their own times that, in any Church in which there had not been prophets, that Church was not even to be held for a Church. »
Ita argumentatus est Asterius Urbanus : « Nam si quidem, ut praedicant, post Quadratum et Ammiam Philadelphensem, mulieres illae Montani in prophetiae gratiam successerunt, ostendant nobis quinam inter ipsos Montano ac mulierculis successerint. Etenim prophetiae donum in omni Ecclesia ad ultimum usque Domini adventum permanere debere auctor est Apostolus. »
Thus did Asterius Urbanus argue: « For if indeed, as they proclaim, those women of Montanus succeeded to the grace of prophecy after Quadratus and Ammia of Philadelphia, let them show us who among them succeeded Montanus and the little women. For the Apostle is the authority that the gift of prophecy must remain in every Church right up to the last coming of the Lord. »
Ad eamdem formam argumentatur vetus ille auctor, quicunque fuit, martyrum contemporaneus, Actorum Perpetuae et Felicitatis. Is ubi, allato Joelis loco, probasset, ita non deficere a veteris Testamenti illas novi Testamenti prophetias, ut sunt potius ex adverso sub novo Testamento potiores exspectandae, haec deinde subjungit in illam, quam dixi, sententiam : « Itaque et nos, qui sicut prophetias ita et visiones novas, etc. » Eo omnino spectat tota ea disputatio, ne fraudi esset secuturis visionibus, quod ultimis Ecclesiae temporibus illas Deus revelare dignatus sit, id ne esset, hoc sibi probandum sumpsit, ultimis esse illas praecipue temporibus, semperque ad consommationem usque exspectandas. Poterant ea fortassis adversus ethnicos dicta videri : poterant etiam adversus Montanistas. Contra Montanistas potius dicta crediderim, quia quae dixerat, ea Scripturarum testimonio confirmavit. Id sane manifestum est, quae hic protulerat, esse apud suos in confesso, quod a Montanista scribi omnino non poterat. »
To the same form argues that ancient author, whoever he was, a contemporary of the martyrs, of the Acts of Perpetua and Felicity. When he had proved, having adduced the passage of Joel, that those prophecies of the New Testament fall so little short of the Old Testament that on the contrary greater ones are rather to be expected under the New Testament, he then adds these words to the sense I have stated: « And so we too, who as [we acknowledge] prophecies so also new visions, etc. » That whole discussion aims entirely at this: that it should not be to the prejudice of the visions to follow that God deigned to reveal them in the last times of the Church; that this might not be so, he took it upon himself to prove that they belong especially to the last times, and are always to be expected right up to the consummation. These things could perhaps seem to have been said against the heathen; they could also [seem to have been said] against the Montanists. I would rather believe they were said against the Montanists, because what he had said he confirmed by the testimony of the Scriptures. This at least is plain, that what he had put forward here was admitted among his own people, which could not at all have been written by a Montanist. »
« Novetur enim imprimis, scripta esse ab auctore anno Dom. CCII, id est anno ab obitu Maximillae circiter XXIII : decessisse enim illam diximus anno Marci ultimo, id est Dom. CLXXIX ; atqui ea si vera fuisset prophetissa, non jam alius erat propheta exspectandus. Qui igitur alios adhuc exspectavit, semper exspectandos existimavit, fieri non potest,
« For let it be noted first of all that these things were written by the author in the year of the Lord 202, that is, in about the twenty-third year from the death of Maximilla; for we have said that she died in the last year of Marcus, that is, of the Lord 179; but if she had been a true prophetess, no other prophet was any longer to be expected. He, therefore, who still expected others thought that they were always to be expected; it cannot be
Editors' notes and page, col. 83
Footnotes
(48) ‹anchor: not visible on the page-foot image› · call in col 83
Hæresi xlviii, § 2.
Heresy 48, § 2.
(printed under page 94)
(49) ‹anchor: not visible on the page-foot image› · call in col 83
Apud Euseb.. Hist. Eccles., cap. 16, 17.
In Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History, chapters 16 and 17.
(printed under page 94)
(50) ‹anchor: not visible on the page-foot image› · call in col 83
Εἰ γὰρ μετὰ Καδρᾶτον καὶ τὴν ἐν φιλαδελφείᾳ Ἀμμίαν, ὥς φασιν, αἱ περὶ Μοντανὸν διεδέξαντο γυναῖκες τὸ προφητικὸν χάρισμα, τοὺς ἀπὸ Μοντανοῦ, καὶ τῶν γυναικῶν τίνες παρ' αὐτοῖς διεδέξαντο, δειξάτωσαν· δεῖν γὰρ εἶναι τὸ προφητικὸν χάρισμα ἐν πάσῃ τῇ Ἐκκλησίᾳ μέχρι τῆς τελείας παρουσίας ὁ Ἀπόστολος ἀξιοῖ.
"For if, as they say, the women around Montanus succeeded Quadratus and Ammia in Philadelphia in the prophetic gift, let them show who among them succeeded those from Montanus and the women; for the Apostle holds that the prophetic gift must remain in the whole Church until the final coming."
(printed under page 94)
Page
- running head: 83 DISSERTATIO APOLO[...] (cut off at the image edge)
- marginal letters: A nem : « Maximilla de se praedixerat; B runt a negandis suorum temporum prophetiis; C sunt potius ex adverso sub novo Testamento; D a Montanista scribi omnino non poterat
- old-edition numerals: 81 after loco,
ut illam pro vera prophetissa habuerit, nec proinde Montanista esse potuit. Quanquam enim ea haeresis postea in varias deinde sectas distributa fuerit, in eo tamen omnes conveniebant, primas illas mulierculas pro prophetissis fuisse agnoscendas. Notetur secundo, ut sensu benignissimo Maximillae verba interpretemur, et de mulieribus prophetissis, non de viris prophetis intelligamus: ne ita quidem hanc praefationem a Montanista scribi potuisse. Perpetuae enim prophetissae visiones erat complexurus. Quanquam certum sit, hanc interpretationem ad mentem Maximillae accommodari non posse. Quae enim, post se συντέλειαν fore dixerat, eam omnem prorsus prophetiae usum exclusuram necesse erat. Tertio, cum hac ipsa argumentatione, ante annos ad minimum decem, in secta illa refellenda usus fuerat Asterius Urbanus, quis credat, eadem argumentatione usurum sectae patronum? Quarto, id etiam ex eodem Urbano constat, de facto illos omnem suam prophetarum successionem in Maximilia terminasse, nec alium quemvis post illam admisisse scucessorem. Eadem argumentatione usus Epiphanius, post illius obitum neminem alium a Montanistis ad sua usque tempora agnitum esse confirmat. Fieri igitur non potest, ut montanista Saturum Perpetuamque in prophetarum album retulerit. Id saltem ex illa aliorum argumentatione concedat lector necesse est, qui ita argumentatur, non esse eo nomine pro montanista aestimandum. Nec tamen aliud proferunt, qui aliter sentiunt viri sane eruditi. » Haec Dodwellus, quae tamen quamvis erudite, ac subtiliter disputata, extorquere a me neutiquam potuerunt, ut illis assensum accommodarem. His enim in rebus, quibuscunque nostris subtilibus atque eruditis observationibus praevalere debent rerum gestarum indubiae fidei monumenta, ex quibus, ut modo ostendam, manifeste constat, nihil in tota hac Dodwelli disputatione inesse virium atque soliditatis ad montanismi suspicionem ab auctore nostro amoliendam.
that he held her to be a true prophetess, and therefore could not have been a Montanist. For although that heresy was afterwards divided into various sects, yet on this they all agreed, that those first little women were to be acknowledged as prophetesses. Let it be noted secondly that, even if we interpret Maximilla's words in the most benign sense and understand them of women prophetesses, not of men prophets, not even so could this preface have been written by a Montanist. For he was about to include the visions of Perpetua, a prophetess. And yet it is certain that this interpretation cannot be fitted to Maximilla's meaning. For since she had said that after her there would be the consummation, that necessarily excluded every use of prophecy whatsoever. Thirdly, since Asterius Urbanus had used this very argument at least ten years before in refuting that sect, who would believe that a patron of the sect would use the same argument? Fourthly, it is also established from the same Urbanus that in fact they ended their whole succession of prophets with Maximilia and admitted no other successor whatever after her. Using the same argument, Epiphanius confirms that after her death no one else was acknowledged by the Montanists down to his own times. It cannot therefore be that a Montanist enrolled Saturus and Perpetua in the register of prophets. This at least the reader must concede from that argument of others: that he who argues thus is not on that account to be reckoned a Montanist. Nor indeed do the very learned men who think otherwise put forward anything else." Thus Dodwell; but these arguments, however learnedly and subtly debated, could by no means wring from me my assent to them. For in these matters the records of events of undoubted trustworthiness must prevail over any subtle and learned observations of ours whatever; and from these, as I shall presently show, it is clearly established that there is nothing in this whole disputation of Dodwell's with the force and solidity to remove the suspicion of Montanism from our author.
IV. His igitur duobus fundamentis tota haec eruditi viri disputatio nititur. Primo, sub imperii Marci finem excessisse Maximillam, tribus circiter ac viginti annis, antequam martyrium Perpetua et Felicitas, earumque socii subirent. Secundo, persuasum fuisse Montanistis, nullum post Maximillae obitum prophetam futurum, multo autem minus aliam post eam prophetidem exspectandam. Fieri proinde non posse, ut Actorum scriptor, qui Saturum et Perpetuam prophetiae ac coelestium revelationum donis insignes, eademqne charismata, ad consummationem usque in Ecclesia permansura credidit, Montanistarum fuerit erroribus imbutus. Mihi vero neutrum horum quae vir doctus assumit, admitti posse videtur.
IV. On these two foundations, then, this whole disputation of the learned man rests. First, that Maximilla died towards the end of the reign of Marcus, about twenty-three years before Perpetua and Felicity and their companions underwent martyrdom. Secondly, that the Montanists were persuaded that after Maximilla's death there would be no prophet, and much less was another prophetess to be expected after her. It could not therefore be, [he argues,] that the writer of the Acts, who believed Saturus and Perpetua to be distinguished by the gifts of prophecy and of heavenly revelations, and that the same charismata would remain in the Church right up to the consummation, was imbued with the errors of the Montanists. To me, however, neither of these things which the learned man assumes seems admissible.
Editors' notes and page, col. 84
Page
- running head: TATIO APOLOGETICA 84
- marginal letters: A ut illam pro vera prophetissa; B decem, in secta illa refellenda; C putata, extorquere a me; D prophetam futurum, multo autem
- old-edition numerals: 82 after modo
Et ad primum illud quod attinet de obitu Maximillae, equidem scio multos in ea versari opinione, illum esse in annum Marci ultimum conferendum. Sed, ut alibi ostendi et jampridem Valesius observavit, inde eorum error profluxit, quod Asterium, qui se quatuordecim annis post Montani et Maximillae obitum, libros suos scripsisse testatur, Apollonio vetustiorem esse crediderint, a quo memoriae proditum est quadraginta annis antequam scriberet, Montanum prophetiam suam invexisse. At non res ita se habuit. « Etenim, » ut Valesius observat, « Apollonius, Montano adhuc superstite, cum insanis suis vatibus Priscilla et Maximilla, librum suum composuit, ut ex his fragmentis quae profert Eusebius elicitur, i⟨d⟩que non uno loco; ut cum dixit, ἡ πφοφῆτις ἡμῖν εἰπάτω τὰ κατὰ Ἀλέξανδρον τὸν λέγοντα ἑαυτὸν μάρτυρα, ᾧ συνεστιᾶται, ᾧ προσκυνοῦσι, καὶ αὐτῷ πολλοί. Et paulo post de eodem Alexandro loquens ait, ὃν ὁ προφήτης συνόντα πολλοῖς ἔτεσιν ἀνοεῖ. Ex quibus apparet verbis, et Alexandrum et Montanum ipsum ac Maximillam adhuc vixisse, cum haec scriberet Apollonius. Neque vero ait Apollonius quadraginta annos effluxisse ab obitu Montani ad tempus quo ista scribebat; sed id tantum dicit, quadraginta annis antequam ipse ad scribendum accederet, Montanum pseudoprophetiam suam invexisse. » Quare cum, Severo imperante et superstite adhuc Maximilla, libros suos Apollonius elucubrarit, memoratos Asterio quatuordecim a Maximillae obitu quietis imperii et Ecclesiae pacis annos, a Caracallae post mortem patris initiis ad Alexandri priores annos esse ducendos, et Maximillam anno Domini plus minus CCXII obiisse, loco superius laudato demonstravi. His ita animadversis facile corruunt quae Dodwellus falsae de Maximillae interitu epochae superstruxit. Perpetuam enim atque Felicitatem anno CCIII, sub ipsa pene Severianae persecutionis initia, martyres occubuisse, verosimillina eruditorum, quos inter et Dodwellus, opinio est. Unde Perpetuae martyrium Maximillae interitum annis ad minus decem praecessit: adeoque scriptor montanista ejus prophetias agnoscere potuit, ac venerari, eamque ut prophetissam colere, quamvis non ignoraret, im⟨o⟩ et inconcusse ac firmiter crederet nullam post Maximillam fore prophetissam.
And as to that first point, which concerns the death of Maximilla, I know indeed that many hold the opinion that it is to be assigned to the last year of Marcus. But, as I have shown elsewhere and as Valesius long ago observed, their error arose from this, that they believed Asterius, who testifies that he wrote his books fourteen years after the death of Montanus and Maximilla, to be older than Apollonius, by whom it is recorded that Montanus introduced his prophecy forty years before he wrote. But the matter did not stand so. "For," as Valesius observes, "Apollonius composed his book while Montanus was still living, together with his mad seers Priscilla and Maximilla, as is gathered from these fragments which Eusebius brings forward, and that in more than one place; as when he said, 'Let the prophetess tell us about Alexander, who calls himself a martyr, with whom she feasts, whom they worship, and many [do so] to him.' And a little after, speaking of the same Alexander, he says, 'whom the prophet, though he has been with him for many years, does not know.' From which words it appears that both Alexander and Montanus himself and Maximilla were still alive when Apollonius was writing these things. Nor indeed does Apollonius say that forty years had passed from the death of Montanus to the time at which he was writing these things; but he says only this, that Montanus introduced his false prophecy forty years before he himself set about writing." Wherefore, since Apollonius worked out his books in the reign of Severus and while Maximilla was still living, I have shown in the place cited above that the fourteen years of quiet for the empire and of peace for the Church after the death of Maximilla, mentioned by Asterius, are to be reckoned from the beginnings of Caracalla after the death of his father to the first years of Alexander, and that Maximilla died in the year of the Lord 212, more or less. These things being thus noted, what Dodwell built upon a false date for the death of Maximilla easily collapses. For that Perpetua and Felicity fell as martyrs in the year 203, almost at the very beginning of the Severan persecution, is the most probable opinion of the learned, among whom is Dodwell too. Hence the martyrdom of Perpetua preceded the death of Maximilla by at least ten years: and so a Montanist writer could acknowledge her prophecies, and venerate them, and honour her as a prophetess, although he was not unaware, nay rather believed unshakably and firmly, that there would be no prophetess after Maximilla.
V. Deinde, si arbitremur vera esse quae de Maximillae obitu Dodwellus statuit, eam scilicet anno Marci ultimo excessisse, necesse profecto est, ut falsa omnino sint quae secundo loco tradit de Montanistarum in hanc sententiam consensione, quod nulla post Maximillam futura esset in Ecclesia prophetissa. Etenim tam clare et aperte demonstrari potest, Montanistas, alias post Maximillam (si ejus mors in annum Marci ultimum conjiciatur) prophetissas
V. Next, if we should judge true what Dodwell has laid down concerning the death of Maximilla, namely that she departed in the last year of Marcus, it is surely necessary that what he reports in the second place, about the agreement of the Montanists in this opinion, that there would be no prophetess in the Church after Maximilla, be altogether false. For it can be shown so clearly and openly that the Montanists, after Maximilla (if her death is put in the last year of Marcus), acknowledged other prophetesses,
Editors' notes and page, col. 85
Footnotes
(51) ‹anchor: not visible on the page-foot image› · call in col 85
Dissert. De capit. crimin. absolv., sect. 2.
Dissertation On the Acquittal of Capital Crimes, section 2.
(printed under page 95)
(52) ‹anchor: not visible on the page-foot image› · call in col 85
Annot. ad Euseb. lib. v, cap. 18.
Annotations on Eusebius, book 5, chapter 18.
(printed under page 95)
(55) ‹anchor: not visible on the page-foot image; the number, printed (55) at the foot of col 85, is evidently a misprint for (53)› · call in col 85
Apud Euseb., loc. cit.
In Eusebius, in the place cited.
(printed under page 95)
(54) ‹anchor: not visible on the page-foot image› · call in col 85 or 86
Cap. 9
Chapter 9.
(printed under page 95)
Page
- running head: 85 PRO SS. PERPETUA, FELICI[TATE …] (cut off at the image edge)
- marginal letters: A ‹Et ad primum illud›; B ‹ξανδρον τὸν λέγοντα›; C ‹tris initiis ad Alexandri›; D ‹V. Deinde, si arbitremur›
- old-edition numerals: 83 after ‹Perpetuae›
agnovisse, ut mirum sit, hoc virum doctum jecisse opinionis suae fundamentum. Annon ad Montanistas defecerat Tertullianus, cum librum scripsit de Anima? Annon ab obitu Maximillae triginta ferme annis, si illa Aurelii ultimo excessit, hunc librum elucubravit? et tamen alias se ibi, post insanam illam mulierem, pseudoprophetissas agnoscere profitetur. « Est hodie soror apud nos revelationum charismata sortita, quas in Ecclesia inter dominica solemnia per exstasin in spiritu patitur, conversatur cum angelis, aliquando etiam cum Domino, et videt, et audit sacramenta, et quorumdam corda dignoscit, et medicinas desiderantibus submittit. Jam vero prout Scripturae leguntur, aut psalmi canuntur, aut allocutiones proferuntur, aut petitiones delegantur, ita inde materiae visionibus subministrantur: forte nescio quid de anima disserueramus, cum ea soror in spiritu esset. Post transacta solemnia, dimissa plebe, quo usu solet nobis renuntiare quae viderit (nam et diligentissime digeruntur ut etiam probentur), Inter caetera, inquit, ostensa est mihi anima corporaliter, etc. » En egregiam post Maximillam Montanistarum prophetissam! Quid quod in eodem libro Perpetuae revelationes, non minus quam Passionis auctor, agnoscit atque commendat, adeoque Perpetuam, non minus quam Actorum collector, in prophetarum album referendam existimavit? « Perpetua fortissima martyr in revelatione gloriae paradisi, solos illic commartyres suos vidit. » Et tamen Perpetua vix nata erat, cum Maximilla obiit, si sub imperii Marci finem vivere desiit, anno scilicet CLXXIX: anno enim CCIII quo martyr occubuit, annorum erat, ut in Actis habetur, circiter viginti duorum. Quid etiam quod in eodem pariter libro tam longe abest, ut credat, post Montanum, et Maximillam prophetiae spiritum in Ecclesia defecisse; quin potius eos sibi viam ad nova charismata suscipienda aperuisse significet, qui eadem in pseudoprophetis illis neutiquam fuerant aspernati; et hanc perpetuam atque indeficientem divinorum charismatum redundantiam, cum Apostoli in eodem loco, tum alibi Joelis testimoniis, haud secus quam Actorum scriptor adstruat, atque confirmet? « Nam quia spiritalia charismata agnoscimus, post Joannem quoque prophetiam meruimus et consequi. Et hodie soror, etc., » relataque insanae vatis visione, subjungit: « Haec visio est; Deus testis, et Apostolus charismatum in Ecclesia futurorum idoneus sponsor. » Quid denique quod in libro de Jejuniis adversus Psychicos hoc eos nomine vellicat, quod divinae gratiae charismatis terminos constituerent, seu palos, ut loquitur terminales? Quod utique in ipsos Montanistas retorqueri nullo negotio potuisset, si eisdem gratiae
so that it is a wonder that this learned man laid this as the foundation of his opinion. Had Tertullian not gone over to the Montanists when he wrote the book On the Soul? Did he not compose this book some thirty years after the death of Maximilla, if she departed in the last [year] of Aurelius? And yet there he professes that he acknowledges other pseudo-prophetesses after that mad woman. "There is today among us a sister who has been allotted gifts of revelations, which she experiences in the Church amid the Lord's-day solemnities through ecstasy in the spirit; she converses with angels, sometimes even with the Lord, and she both sees and hears mysteries, and discerns the hearts of certain people, and supplies remedies to those who desire them. Now according as the Scriptures are read, or psalms are sung, or addresses are delivered, or petitions are offered, so from there matter is supplied for her visions: as it happened, we had been discoursing something or other about the soul when that sister was in the spirit. After the solemnities were over and the people dismissed, according to the custom by which she is wont to report to us what she has seen (for they are also most carefully set in order so that they may also be tested), Among other things, she says, a soul was shown to me in bodily form, etc." Behold an excellent prophetess of the Montanists after Maximilla! What of the fact that in the same book he acknowledges and commends the revelations of Perpetua, no less than the author of the Passion does, and so judged that Perpetua, no less than the compiler of the Acts did, should be entered on the roll of the prophets? "Perpetua, the most valiant martyr, in the revelation of the glory of paradise saw there only her fellow martyrs." And yet Perpetua was scarcely born when Maximilla died, if she ceased to live towards the end of the reign of Marcus, that is, in the year 179: for in the year 203, in which she fell as a martyr, she was, as is stated in the Acts, about twenty-two years of age. What also of the fact that in the same book likewise he is so far from believing that after Montanus and Maximilla the spirit of prophecy failed in the Church, that he rather indicates that they opened for themselves the way to receiving new gifts who had in no way spurned those same gifts in those pseudo-prophets; and that he establishes and confirms this perpetual and unfailing abundance of divine gifts both by the testimonies of the Apostle in the same place and elsewhere by those of Joel, just as the writer of the Acts does? "For since we acknowledge spiritual gifts, we have also been found worthy to obtain prophecy after John. And today a sister, etc.," and, having related the vision of the mad prophetess, he adds: "This is the vision; God is witness, and the Apostle is a fit guarantor of the gifts that were to be in the Church." What, finally, of the fact that in the book On Fasts against the Psychics he taunts them on this score, that they set limits to the gift of divine grace, or stakes, as he says, boundary stakes? Which could certainly have been turned back without any trouble against the Montanists themselves, if they had set limits to the same gifts of grace
Editors' notes and page, col. 86
Footnotes
(55) ‹anchor: eodem libro› · call in col 86
Cap. 59.
Chapter 59.
(printed under page 95)
(56) ‹anchor: tum alibi› · call in col 86
Lib. Resurrect. carnis, sub fin,
The book On the Resurrection of the Flesh, near the end.
(printed under page 95)
Page
- running head: [...]CTUA, FELICITATE ET SOCIIS. 86
- marginal letters: A ‹tissas agnovisse, ut mirum sit›; B ‹petitiones delegantur, ita inde›; C ‹imperii Marci finem vivere›; D ‹mus et consequi. Et hodie soror›
- old-edition numerals: 84 after ‹Actorum›
donis fines in Maximilla posuissent : « sed rursus, inquit, palos terminales figitis Deo, sicut de gratia, ita de disciplina ; sicut de charismatibus, ita et de solemnibus, ut proinde officia cessaverint, quemadmodum et beneficia ejus. »
at Maximilla: « but again, he says, you fix boundary stakes for God, as concerning grace, so concerning discipline; as concerning the spiritual gifts, so also concerning the solemn observances, so that accordingly His requirements have ceased, just as His benefits too. »
Haec mecum cogitanti in mentem venit an Montanistis in Africa perspecta omnia forte non essent, quae Maximilla in Asia oracula fuderat. Sed ab hac me cogitatione revocavit Firmiliani ad Cyprianum epistola, ex qua constat, etiam in Asia, alias post Maximillam inter Montanistas surrexisse prophetissas : « Ante viginti, inquit, et duos fere annos temporibus post Alexandrum imperatorem, multae istic conflictationes et pressurae acciderunt, vel in commune omnibus hominibus, vel privatim Christianis.... In hac autem perturbatione constitutis fidelibus.... emersit istic subito quaedam mulier, quae in extasi constituta, propheten se praeferret, et quasi sancto Spirititu plena sic ageret. Ita autem principalium daemoniorum impetu ferebatur, ut per longum tempus sollicitaret et deciperet fraternitatem, ac mirabilia quaedam et portentosa perficiens, et facere se terram moveri polliceretur.... Quibus mendaciis et jactationibus subegerat mentem singulorum, ut sibi obedirent et quocunque praeciperet, ac duceret, sequerentur faceret quoque mulierem illam, cruda hieme, nudis pedibus per asperas nives ire nec vexari in aliquo aut laedi illa discursione ; diceret etiam, se in Judaeam et Hierosolymam festinare, fingens tanquam inde venisset, etc. » Haec ideo lato calamo exscripsi, ut quisquis intelligat, quam egregias Montanistae, etiam in Asia, post Maximillam habuerint prophetissas. Sane si tempora convenirent, hanc omnino ipsam esse crederes Maximillam, adeo in illam omnia concinant, quae de Maximilla ex Asterio Urbano et aliis scriptoribus Eusebius refert. Nam praeter jam dicta, et utriusque spiritum coarguere et confutare Catholici aggressi sunt; et sicut Maximilla, ut ait Tertullianus « non alium Deum praedicabat nec aliquam » ejusdem Tertulliani judicio, « fidei aut spei regulam evertebat, » ita ista, « multos, » ut est apud Firmilianum, baptizavit, « usitata et legitima verba interrogationis usurpans, ut nil discrepare ab ecclesiastica regula videretur. » Et paulo ante de eadem femina dixerat, « etiam hoc frequenter ausam esse, ut et invocatione non contemptibili sanctificare se panem, et Eucharistiam facere simularet et sacrificium Domino non sine sacramento solitae praedicationis offerret. » Quae omnia montanistici spiritus characteres sunt, et suis prophetissis a Montano fuisse permissa, ab antiquis scriptoribus memoriae proditum est. Constat igitur proterea non esse aliquem e Montanistarum catalogo expungendum, quod aliam post Maximillam agnoverit prophetissam ; quamvis enim insana haec vates id de se praedicaverit : Μετ' ἐμὲ
As I was pondering these things by myself, it came into my mind whether perhaps all the oracles that Maximilla had poured forth in Asia were not known to the Montanists in Africa. But I was called back from this thought by the letter of Firmilian to Cyprian, from which it is established that in Asia too other prophetesses arose among the Montanists after Maximilla: « About twenty-two years ago, he says, in the times after the emperor Alexander, many struggles and afflictions befell here, either in common to all men or privately to Christians.... But while the faithful were placed in this disturbance.... there suddenly emerged here a certain woman who, placed in ecstasy, presented herself as a prophetess and acted as though filled with the Holy Spirit. And she was so carried along by the onslaught of the chief demons that for a long time she troubled and deceived the brotherhood, performing certain wonderful and portentous things, and she promised that she would cause the earth to be moved.... By these lies and boasts she had so subdued the mind of individuals that they obeyed her and followed wherever she commanded and led; [the spirit] also made that woman go in the raw winter with bare feet through the rough snows and not be troubled or hurt in any way by that running about; she also said that she was hastening to Judaea and Jerusalem, pretending as though she had come from there, etc. » I have copied these words out at such length so that anyone may understand what remarkable prophetesses the Montanists had, in Asia too, after Maximilla. Indeed, if the times agreed, you would believe this woman to be Maximilla herself, so fully does everything that Eusebius reports of Maximilla from Asterius Urbanus and other writers accord with her. For besides what has already been said, the Catholics also undertook to convict and refute the spirit of each; and just as Maximilla, as Tertullian says, « did not preach another God, nor » in the judgement of the same Tertullian « overturn any rule of faith or hope, » so this woman, as is found in Firmilian, baptized « many, » « usurping the customary and lawful words of the interrogation, so that she seemed to differ in nothing from the ecclesiastical rule. » And a little before he had said of the same woman « that she also frequently dared this: that with an invocation not to be despised she pretended to sanctify bread and to make the Eucharist, and offered sacrifice to the Lord not without the sacrament of the customary proclamation. » All these are characteristics of the Montanist spirit, and it has been handed down to memory by ancient writers that they were permitted by Montanus to his prophetesses. It is therefore established that no one is on this account to be struck from the catalogue of the Montanists because he acknowledged another prophetess after Maximilla; for although this mad seer proclaimed this of herself: After me
Editors' notes and page, col. 87
Footnotes
(57) ‹anchor: not visible on the page-foot image› · call in col 87
Cap. undecimo.
Chapter 11.
(printed under page 96)
(58) ‹anchor: not visible on the page-foot image› · call in col 87
Inter Cyprianic lxxv.
Number 75 among the Cyprianic letters.
(printed under page 96)
(59) ‹anchor: ait Tertullianus› · call in col 87 (note printed at the foot of col 88)
Lib. de Jejuniis, cap. 1.
The book On Fasting, chapter 1.
(printed under page 96)
Page
- running head: 87 DISSERTATIO APOLO[GETICA] (cut off at the image edge)
- marginal letters: A donis fines in Maximilla posuissent; B fidelibus.... emersit istic subito; C quisquis intelligat, quam egregias; D frequenter ausam esse, ut et invocatione
- old-edition numerals: 85 after eadem
προφῆτις οὐκέτι ἔστα⟨ι⟩, etc., attamen fieri potuit (et id frequentissime sectariis accidit) ut ab haec tam manifesta mendacia animum noluerint advertere, aut aliam propheten intellexeriat, quae novam et perfectiorem doctrinam ac disciplinam inveheret quo sensu novos ipsi se Montanistarum patriarchae prophetas nuncuparunt, quam novam judicio suo inchoarunt post Apostolos prophetiam. Ut ut sit, patet jam, puto, Dodwellum infirmo nimium niti tibicine, cum Actorum collectorem Montanistarum ideo catalogo eximit, quod Perpetuam, post Maximillam, propheten existimaverit, cum eam Tertullianus quoque professus montanista eodem loco ac numero habuerit.
there will no longer be a prophetess, etc., yet it could have happened (and this very often befalls sectaries) that they were unwilling to turn their mind to such manifest lies, or that they understood another prophetess, one who would bring in a new and more perfect doctrine and discipline, in the sense in which the patriarchs of the Montanists themselves called themselves new prophets, the new prophecy which, in their own judgement, they began after the Apostles. However that may be, it is now plain, I think, that Dodwell leans on an all too feeble prop when he removes the compiler of the Acts from the catalogue of the Montanists on the ground that he held Perpetua, after Maximilla, to be a prophetess, since Tertullian too, an avowed Montanist, held her in the same place and rank.
VI. Hinc autem, ut superius dixi, Basnagius primnm suum adversus sanctos martyres ducit argumentum. « Ex Actorum, inquit, collectore vero simillima nobis conjectura nascitur, Perpetuam eosque martyres qui se mortis socios ipsi addidere de grege montanistarum fuisse. Nemo sane familiae hujus catholicorum Acta martyrum luci dedisset, quos utpote Psychicos contemptui habebant. Constat etiam, Perpetuam, Felicitatem, Saturum eamdem cum Actorum auctore fidem profiteri, ut ex verbis ipsius exploratum est: » Et nos itaque quod au⟨d⟩ivimus et contrectavimus, annuntiamus et vobis, fratres et filioli, ut et vos qui interfuistis, rememoremini gloriae Domini: et qui nunc cognoscitis per auditum, communionem habeatis cum sanctis martyribus. » Atqui collector Actorum suo se indicio montanistam prodit. Deinde Tertullianus Catholicis infensissimus, Montanique defensor acerrimus, magnis Perpetuam laudibus afficit, ejusque visionibus utitur ad probandum, solos ante diem judicii solemnis martyres in coelum recipi: « Quomodo, inquit, Perpetua fortissima martyr, etc. » Eo gravius id argumenti, quod Tertullianus et Perpetuae coaetaneus et incola Carthaginis, ubi Perpetua vitam cum morte commutavit, ignorare non potuerit cujusnam sectae esset, sive mulier illa, sive passionis ejus collector. Est autem certo certius, Tertullianum neque Psychicorum alicui tot tantaque praeconia voluisse tribui, multo autem minus verba ipsius, auctoritatem que adhiberi ad probandam, quam adstruebat, sententiam. »
VI. From here, however, as I said above, Basnage draws his first argument against the holy martyrs. « From the compiler of the Acts, he says, there arises for us a most probable conjecture that Perpetua and those martyrs who added themselves to her as companions in death were of the flock of the Montanists. No one of this family would indeed have brought to light Acts of martyrs of the Catholics, whom, as being Psychics, they held in contempt. It is also established that Perpetua, Felicity and Saturus professed the same faith as the author of the Acts, as is ascertained from his own words: » And so what we have heard and handled we announce to you also, brothers and little sons, so that both you who were present may call to mind the glory of the Lord, and you who now come to know it by hearing may have communion with the holy martyrs. » But the compiler of the Acts betrays himself as a Montanist by his own testimony. Next, Tertullian, most hostile to the Catholics and a most vehement defender of Montanus, bestows great praises on Perpetua and uses her visions to prove that martyrs alone are received into heaven before the solemn day of judgement: « How, he says, Perpetua, most valiant martyr, etc. » This argument is the weightier because Tertullian, being both a contemporary of Perpetua and an inhabitant of Carthage, where Perpetua exchanged life for death, could not have been ignorant of what sect she belonged to, whether that woman or the compiler of her passion. Moreover, it is more certain than certain that Tertullian would not have wished so many and such great praises to be bestowed on any of the Psychics, and much less that such a one's words and authority be employed to prove the opinion he was building up. »
Ut hoc argumentum, quod aliquam, praecipue mihi, primo adspectu, molestiam creare posse videtur, penitus dissipetur atque evertatur, aliqua sunt mihi circa Montanistas observanda, ex quibus non animadversis omnem illud verisimilitudinem ducit. Primum illud sit, Catholicos non fuisse a Montanistis, qui non omnino desiperent, ut e. g. a Tertulliano, pro haereticis existimatos. Id primo constat ex hujus libro de Monogamia, ubi statim initio Psychicos ab haereticis distinguit: « Haeretici nuptias auferunt, Psychici ingerunt. »
In order that this argument, which at first sight seems capable of causing some trouble, especially to me, may be thoroughly dispersed and overturned, certain points must be observed by me concerning the Montanists, from the failure to notice which it draws all its probability. Let the first be this: that the Catholics were not regarded as heretics by those Montanists who were not altogether out of their minds, as for example by Tertullian. This is established in the first place from his book On Monogamy, where at the very beginning he distinguishes the Psychics from the heretics: « The heretics take away marriage, the Psychics press it upon us. »
Editors' notes and page, col. 88
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- running head: [DISSER]TATIO APOLOGETICA 88 (left edge cut off in the image)
- marginal letters: A ‹προφῆτις οὐκέτι›; B ‹VI. Hinc autem›; C ‹dicio montanistam prodit›; D ‹Ut hoc argumentum›
- old-edition numerals: 86 after ‹animadversis›
Si quaeras quomodo id esse potuerit, ratio in promptu est, quam paulo inferius idem subjungit, quod tota Montanistarum a Catholicis differentia, ipsius judicio, non fidei, sed disciplinae res esset; hac enim ratione Paracletum suum ad haereseos suspicioue liberare conatur. « Adversarius enim spiritus ex diversitate praedicationis appareret, primo regulam adulterans fidei et ita ordinem adulterans disciplinae: quia cujus gradus prior est, ejus corruptela antecedit, id est fidei quae prior est disciplina. Ante quis de Deo haereticus sit, necesse est et tunc de instituto. Paracletus autem multa habens edocere, quae in illum distulit Dominus, secundum praefinitionem, ipsum primo Christum, contestabitur, qualem credimus toto cum ordine Dei creatoris, et ipsum glorificabit, et de ipso commemorabit: et sic de principali regula agnitus, illa multa, quae sunt disciplinarum, revelabit, fidem dicente pro eis integritate praedicationis, licet novis, quia nunc revelantur. » Eadem ratione et in lib. de Jejuniis objectam a Catholicis Montano haereseos notam depellere conatus est, eamdemque dijudicandi haereses regulam tradidit. Cum enim invectae per Montanum disciplinae et institutioni a Catholicis opponeretur, quod « aut pseudo-prophetia esset, si spiritalis vox solemnia illa constituit, aut haeresis, si humana praesumptio adinvenit, » ita respondit: « Indubitate et haeresis et speudo-prophetia divinitatis diversitate judicabuntur apud nos, unici Dei creatoris et Christi ejus antistites. » Similia habet libro de Virginibus velandis pariter sub initium, ubi luculentius exponit praemissis locis memoratam regulam fidei, quam qui adulterat, haereticus est: qui servat, quamvis ordinem adulteret aut innovet disciplinae, haereticus ipsius judicio censeri non debet: esse autem hujusmodi, quae Montanus Apostolorum praedicationi atque institutis adjecit; ordinata ea scilicet esse ad perficiendam, manente tamen eadem fidei regula, disciplinam: non esse propterea Montano de vetustate praescribendum; aut Montanistas ob nova haec instituta inter haereticos numerandos; aut, deinceps videbimus, ad apostolicarum ecclesiarum communione alienos esse censendos: « Regula quidem fidei una omnimo est, sola immobilis, et conformabilis, credendi silicet in unum Deum omnipotentem, mundi conditorem, et Filium ejus Jesum Christum, natum ex virgine Maria, crucifixum sub Pontio Pilato, tertia die resuscitatum a mortuis, receptum in coelis, sedentem nunc ad dexteram Patris, venturum judicare vivos et mortuos, per carnis etiam resurrectionem. Hac lege fidei manente, caetera jam disciplinae et conversationis, admittunt novitatem correctionis... Quae est ergo Paracleti administratio, nisi haec, quod disciplina dirigitur, etc. » Postea sequitur de communicatione quam se Montanistae cum Ecclesiis apostolicis habere jactabant
If you ask how this could have been, the reason is ready to hand, which the same [author] adds a little further on: that the whole difference between the Montanists and the Catholics was, in his judgement, a matter not of faith but of discipline; for by this reasoning he tries to free his Paraclete from the suspicion of heresy. 'For an adversary spirit would be apparent from the difference of its preaching, first adulterating the rule of faith and so adulterating the order of discipline: because whatever has the prior rank, its corruption comes first, that is, the corruption of faith, which is prior to discipline. One must be a heretic concerning God before one is one concerning an institution. But the Paraclete, having many things to teach which the Lord deferred to Him, according to what was foreordained, will first bear witness to Christ Himself, such as we believe Him, together with the whole order of God the Creator, and will glorify Him, and will call Him to remembrance; and thus, recognized by the principal rule, He will reveal those many things which belong to disciplines, the integrity of the preaching vouching for them, though they are new, since they are being revealed only now.' By the same reasoning, in the book On Fasting also, he tried to drive off the mark of heresy charged against Montanus by the Catholics, and handed down the same rule for judging heresies. For when it was objected by the Catholics against the discipline and institution introduced by Montanus that 'it was either pseudo-prophecy, if a spiritual voice established those solemnities, or heresy, if human presumption invented them', he answered thus: 'Without doubt both heresy and pseudo-prophecy will be judged among us, the overseers of the one God the Creator and of His Christ, by a difference of divinity.' He has similar things in the book On the Veiling of Virgins, likewise near the beginning, where he sets out more clearly the rule of faith mentioned in the passages cited above: that whoever adulterates it is a heretic; that whoever keeps it, even though he adulterates or innovates the order of discipline, ought not in his judgement to be counted a heretic; and that of this kind are the things which Montanus added to the preaching and institutions of the Apostles, namely, that they were ordained for perfecting discipline, the same rule of faith nevertheless remaining; that therefore no prescription from antiquity should be raised against Montanus; nor should the Montanists be counted among heretics on account of these new institutions; nor, as we shall see later, should they be deemed strangers to the communion of the apostolic churches: 'The rule of faith indeed is altogether one, alone immovable and conformable, namely that of believing in one God almighty, Founder of the world, and in His Son Jesus Christ, born of the Virgin Mary, crucified under Pontius Pilate, raised from the dead on the third day, received into the heavens, now sitting at the right hand of the Father, who will come to judge the living and the dead, through the resurrection of the flesh also. While this law of faith remains, the other things, of discipline and manner of life, now admit the novelty of correction... What then is the administration of the Paraclete but this, that discipline is directed, etc.' Afterwards follows [the matter] of the communion which the Montanists boasted they had with the apostolic churches
Editors' notes and page, col. 89
Footnotes
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Capite undecimo.
In chapter 11.
(printed under page 97)
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- marginal letters: A Si quaeras quomodo id esse potuerit; B creatoris, et ipsum glorificabit; C sub initium, ubi luculentius; D conditorem, et Filium ejus
- old-edition numerals: 87 after correctionis...
ob consensionem in eamdem fidem, eademque fidei sacramenta. de qua deinceps videbimus. Interim idem conficio argumentum ex his quae docet in principio libri contra Praxeam, ubi quamvis aperte fateatur, se, ob Paracleti agnitionem atque defensionem a Psychicis esse disjunctum, attamen eamdem dijudicandi haereses regulam tradit, ex qua plane consequens est, hanc Montanistas inter et Pyschicos dissensionem, non iis in rebus positam fuisse, quae fidem ipsius judicio laederent, aut ex quibus possent haereses pullulare: « Nos vero, et semper et nunc magis, ut instructiores per Paracletum deductorem scilicet omnis veritatis, unicum quidem Deum credimus, sub hac tamen dispensatione, quam οἰκονομίαν dicimus, ut unici Dei sit, et Filius sermo ipsius, qui ex ipso processerit, per quem omnia facta sunt et sine quo factum est nihil. Hunc missum a Patre in Virginem, et ex ea natum hominem et Deum filium hominis et Filium Dei, et cognominatum Jesum Christum. Hunc passum, hunc mortuum, et sepultum secundum Scripturas, et resuscitatum a Patre, et in coelos resumptum, sedere ad dexteram Patris, venturum judicare vivos et mortuos. Qui exinde miserit secundum promissionem suam a Patre Spiritum sanctum Paracletum, sanctificatorem fidei eorum, qui credunt in Patrem et Filium et Spiritum sanctum. Hanc regulam ab initio Evangelii decucurrisse etiam ante priores quosque haereticos, nedum ante Praxeam hesternum, probabit tam ista posteritas omnium haereticorum, quam ipsa novellitas Praxeae hesterni. Quo peraeque adversus universas haereses jam hinc praejudicatum sit, id esse verum quodcunque primum: id esse adulterum quodcunque posterius. » Profecto non ignorabat Tertullianus, imo id aperte fatebatur, novam esse Montani prophetiam, novam ipsius praedicationem, ejus instituta ab initio Evangelii minime decucurrisse, sed in posteriora haec tempora, uti Montanistae effutiebant, fuisse a Christo dilata. Unde non alia ratione potuit a Montano suo haereseos sive adulterii haeretici culpam infamiamque amovere, quam dicendo, inductas ab eo hesterna die traditiones, non fidei regulam adulterare, sed perficere disciplinam; adeoque ad disciplinam, non ad fidem pertinuisse controversias Montanistas inter et Catholicos excitatas; et neque hos, neque illos in haereticorum censum fuisse referendos, quod salva fidei regula, in iis quae conversationis et disciplinae sunt, invicem dissiderent. Idem etiam constat, ut alia plurima omittam, ex toto libro de Praescriptionibus adversus haereticos, quo certe titulo nequaquam Psychicos, sive Catholicos comprehendit, cum nihil magis adversus haereticos urgeat, quam veteres et apostolicas traditiones, et apostolicarum Ecclesiarum auctoritatem; imo hoc ei propositum fuerit, ut ex ipso discimus, omnes haereticorum sectas hoc solo titulo arguere:
on account of agreement in the same faith and the same sacraments of the faith. of which we shall see presently. Meanwhile I draw the same argument from what he teaches at the beginning of the book Against Praxeas, where, although he openly admits that he has been separated from the Psychics on account of his acknowledgement and defence of the Paraclete, he nevertheless hands down the same rule for judging heresies, from which it plainly follows that this dissension between the Montanists and the Psychics did not lie in those matters which, in his judgement, would injure the faith, or from which heresies could sprout: « We, however, both always and now the more, as being better instructed through the Paraclete, the guide, that is, into all truth, believe indeed in one only God, yet under this dispensation, which we call oikonomia, that the one only God should have also a Son, His Word, Who proceeded from Him, through Whom all things were made and without Whom nothing was made. That He was sent by the Father into the Virgin, and was born of her, man and God, Son of Man and Son of God, and was named Jesus Christ. That He suffered, that He died and was buried according to the Scriptures, and was raised again by the Father, and taken back up into the heavens, that He sits at the right hand of the Father and will come to judge the living and the dead. That He thereafter sent from the Father, according to His promise, the Holy Spirit the Paraclete, the sanctifier of the faith of those who believe in the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. That this rule has run down from the beginning of the Gospel, even before all the earlier heretics, much less before Praxeas of yesterday, will be proved as much by the very lateness of all the heretics as by the novelty itself of Praxeas of yesterday. By which let it be prejudged from here on, equally against all heresies, that whatever is first is true, and whatever is later is adulterated. » Assuredly Tertullian was not unaware, nay he openly admitted it, that the prophecy of Montanus was new, his preaching new, and that his institutions had by no means run down from the beginning of the Gospel, but, as the Montanists babbled, had been deferred by Christ to these later times. Hence by no other reasoning could he remove from his Montanus the guilt and infamy of heresy or of heretical adulteration than by saying that the traditions introduced by him only yesterday did not adulterate the rule of faith but perfected discipline; and thus that the controversies stirred up between the Montanists and the Catholics pertained to discipline, not to faith; and that neither these nor those were to be reckoned among the heretics, since, with the rule of faith kept intact, they differed from one another in matters that belong to conduct and discipline. The same is also evident, to pass over very many other things, from the whole book On the Prescriptions against Heretics, under which title he certainly does not at all include the Psychics, or Catholics, since he presses nothing more against the heretics than the ancient and apostolic traditions and the authority of the apostolic Churches; nay, this was his purpose, as we learn from himself, to convict all the sects of heretics by this title alone:
Editors' notes and page, col. 90
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- marginal letters: A ob consensionem in eamdem fidem; B et Filius sermo ipsius; C Quo peraeque adversus; D hos, neque illos
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: editors' matter: whole column is the editors' dissertation on Tertullian and Montanism (first words: ob consensionem in eamdem fidem), set in full; it contains a quotation from Tertullian, Against Praxeas 2. "nihil" is followed by a raised dot, set as a full stop. Greek οἰκονομίαν is printed in a worn type and set as read. No full-width line seen. Left column partly visible at the image edge and not set.
« Sed alius, inquit, libellus hunc gradum sustinebit adversus haereticos, etiam sine retractatu doctrinarum revincendos, quod hoc sint de praescriptione novitatis. « Est autem, ut ipse etiam Basnagius docet, laudatus liber a Tertulliano conscriptus, postquam ad Montanistas defecerat. Et est scriptus adversus omnes haereses, ut idem ipse Tertullianus alibi diserte testatur: « Sed plenius ejusmodi praescriptionibus adversus ommes haereses alibi jam usi sumus. » Cum igitur nihil occurrat, in eo libro, quod Catholicos possit offendere, imo quod non ex eorum sententia prolatum sit, adeo ut multorum opinio fuerit, eum fuisse a Tertulliano, antequam Montani dogmata amplecteretur, elucubratum; consequens est Psychicos seu Catholicos non fuisse a Tertulliano inter haereticos computatos.
"But another little book," he says, "will sustain this stage of the argument against the heretics, who are to be refuted even without a treatment of their doctrines, on the ground that they are this by the prescription of novelty." "Now the book cited was written by Tertullian, as Basnage himself also teaches, after he had gone over to the Montanists. And it was written against all heresies, as the same Tertullian himself expressly testifies elsewhere: "But we have already made fuller use elsewhere of prescriptions of this kind against all heresies." Since, therefore, nothing is met with in that book which could offend Catholics, indeed nothing which is not set forth according to their own view, so much so that it has been the opinion of many that it was composed by Tertullian before he embraced the doctrines of Montanus, it follows that the Psychics, or Catholics, were not counted by Tertullian among the heretics.
VII. Secundo notandum est, quod et ex praecedentibus sponte fluit, et quae jam dicta sunt luculentius adhuc confirmat: Montanistas, quamvis conversatione et disciplina ab apostolicarum Ecclesiarum institutionibus moribusque differrent, se tamen non esse arbitratos in iis in quibus fidei et christianae religionis summa vertitur, ab earum communione alienos. Id ex eodem Tertulliano, et iisdem ferme locis compertum est. Libro enim de Virginibus velandis, postquam docuit Catholicos et Montanistas in unam fidei regulam conspirare, et Paracletum non fidem adulterasse, sed disciplinae supremam admovisse manum, statim subjungit: « Per Graeciam et quasdam barbarias ejus plures Ecclesiae virgines suas abscondunt. Est et sub hoc coelo institutum istud alicubi, ne qui gentilitati Graecanicae aut barbaricae consuetudinem illam adscribat. Sed eas ego Ecclesias proposui, quas et ipsi Apostoli, vel apostolici viri condiderunt, et puto ante quosdam. Habent igitur et illae eamdem consuetudinis auctoritatem, tempora et antecessores opponunt, magis quam posterae istae. Quid observabimus, quid diligemus? Non possumus respuere consuetudinem, quam damnare non possumus, utpote non extraneam, quia non extraneorum, cum quibus scilicet communicamus jus pacis, et nomen fraternitatis. Una nobis, et illis fides, unus Deus, idem Christus, eadem lavacri sacramenta. Semel dixerim, una Ecclesia sumus. Jta nostrum est, quodcunque nostrorum est. » Sed nihil luculentius ad id probandum afferri potest iis, quae in eamdem sensentiam subtilissime disputat in libro de Praescriptionibus adversus haereses, quem, uti dixi, jam montanista composuit. Aliqua ex eo libro loca, quamvis prolixiora, adhuc afferre operae pretium existimavi, quia rem plane conficiunt, et optimo in lumine collocant. Ait igitur ad convincendos haereticos hoc solum esse disputandum: « Quibus competat fides ipsa, cujus
VII. Secondly, it must be noted, as follows of its own accord from what has gone before and confirms still more clearly what has already been said, that the Montanists, although in their manner of life and discipline they differed from the institutions and customs of the apostolic Churches, nevertheless did not consider themselves estranged from their communion in those matters in which the sum of the faith and of the Christian religion turns. This is learned from the same Tertullian, and from almost the same passages. For in the book On the Veiling of Virgins, after he has taught that Catholics and Montanists agree in one rule of faith, and that the Paraclete did not adulterate the faith but put the finishing hand to discipline, he immediately adds: "Throughout Greece and certain barbarian regions of it many Churches keep their virgins covered. And this practice is established in places under this sky too, lest anyone should ascribe that custom to Greek or barbarian heathenism. But I have put forward those Churches which the Apostles themselves, or apostolic men, founded, and, I think, before certain people. Those Churches too, then, have the same authority of custom; they put forward their times and their predecessors more than these later ones. What shall we observe, what shall we choose? We cannot reject a custom which we cannot condemn, since it is not foreign, because it is not of foreigners, with whom, that is, we share the right of peace and the name of brotherhood. We and they have one faith, one God, the same Christ, the same sacraments of the washing. To say it once for all, we are one Church. Thus whatever belongs to our people is ours." But nothing clearer can be brought forward to prove this than what he argues most subtly to the same effect in the book On the Prescriptions against Heresies, which, as I have said, he composed when already a Montanist. I have thought it worth while further to bring forward some passages from that book, although rather lengthy, because they settle the matter completely and set it in the best light. He says, then, that in order to convict the heretics this alone is to be disputed: "To whom the faith itself belongs, whose
Editors' notes and page, col. 91
Footnotes
(61) ‹anchor: not visible on the page-foot image› · call in col 91
Lib. i Advers. Marcion., cap. 1.
Book 1 Against Marcion, chapter 1.
(printed under page 98)
(62) ‹anchor: not visible on the page-foot image› · call in col 91
Anno D. 200, num. ix. Vid. et Pagium, An. 195, num. iv.
Year of the Lord 200, number 9. See also Pagi, year 195, number 4.
(printed under page 98)
(63) ‹anchor: not visible on the page-foot image› · call in col 91
Lib. de Carne Christi, cap. 2.
The book On the Flesh of Christ, chapter 2.
(printed under page 98)
(64) ‹anchor: not visible on the page-foot image› · call in col 91
Vid. Pamel. in Vita Tertull. ad An. 203; t. I, col, 65, conf. Aug. Noeselt. Dissert., t. I, col. 171-177.
See Pamelius in the Life of Tertullian, at the year 203; volume 1, column 65; compare August Noesselt, Dissertation, volume 1, columns 171–177.
(printed under page 98)
(65) ‹anchor: esse disputandum› · call in col 91
Cap. 19.
Chapter 19.
(printed under page 98)
(66) ‹anchor: not visible on the page-foot image› · call in col 91 or 92
Cap. 20.
Chapter 20.
(printed under page 98)
Page
- running head: DISSERTATIO APOLO[cut off at image edge]
- marginal letters: A « Sed 88 alius, inquit; B Catholicos non fuisse a Tertulliano; C virgines suas abscondunt; D probandum afferri potest iis
- old-edition numerals: 88 after Sed
- other: the word cujus was split at the column break and stands whole here (joined on receipt); check that the English reads whole across the break into col 92
sint Scripturae, a quo et per quos et quando et quibus sit tradita disciplina, qua fiunt Christiani. Ubi enim apparuerit esse veritatem disciplinae et fidei christianae, illic erit veritas Scripturarum, et expositionum, et omnium traditionum christianarum. » Deinde subjungit quod Apostoli, a Christo edocti, « et consecuti promissam vim Spiritus sancti ad virtutes, et eloquium, primo per Judaeam contestata fide in Jesum Christum, et Ecclesiis institutis, dehinc in orbem profecti, eamdem doctrinam ejusdem fidei nationibus promulgaverunt, et proinde Ecclesiam apud unamquamque civitatem condiderunt, a quibus traducem fidei et semina doctrinae caeterae exinde Ecclesiae mutuatae sunt et quotidie mutuantur, ut Ecclesiae fiant, ac per hoc, et ipsae apostolicae deputantur, ut soboles apostolicarum Ecclesiarum. Omne genus ad originem suam censeatur necesse est. Itaque tot ac tantae Ecclesiae una est illa ab Apostolis prima, ex qua omnes: sic omnes primae et omnes apostolicae, dum una omnes probant unitatem, dum est illis communicatio pacis, et appellatio fraternitatis, et contesseratio hospitalitatis; quae jura non alia ratio regit, quam ejusdem sacramenti una traditio. Hanc igitur dirigimus praescriptionem: si Dominus Jesus Christus Apostolos misit ad praedicandum, alios non esse recipiendos praedicatores quam quos Christus instituit.... Quid autem praedicaverint, id est quid illis Christus revelaverit, et hic prescribam non aliter probari debere, nisi per easdem Ecclesias, quas ipsis Apostoli condiderunt, ipsi eis praedicando tam viva (quod aiunt) voce, quam per epistolas postea. Si haec ita sunt, constat proinde omnem doctrinam, quae cum illis Ecclesiis apostolicis matricibus et originalibus fidei conspiret, veritati deputandam, id sine dubio tenentem quod Ecclesiae ab Apcstolis, Apostoli a Christo, Christus a Deo suscepit: reliquam vero omnem doctrinam de mendacio praejudicandam, quae sapiat contra veritatem Ecclesiarum, et Apostolorum, et Christi, et Dei. Superest ergo uti demonstremus, an haec nostra doctrina, cujus regulam supra edidimus, de Apostolorum traditione censeatur, et ex hoc ipso an caeterae de mendacio veniant. Communicamus cum Ecclesiis apostolicis, quod nulla doctrina diversa: hoc est testimonium veritatis. » Et infra, adversus haereses quae se de vetustate jactabant, seseque imperitis, quod sub Apostolis fuissent, pro apostolicis venditabant: id, ait, illis incumbere, ut ostendant aliquem se, vel ex Apostolis, vel ex apostolicis viris, qui tamen cum apostolis perseveraverit, suae habere institutionis auctorem, aut saltem apostolicarum Ecclesiarum communione potiri: « Caeterum si quae audent
the Scriptures are, from whom and through whom and when and to whom was handed down the discipline by which people become Christians. For where it appears that the truth of the Christian discipline and faith is, there will be the truth of the Scriptures, and of the interpretations, and of all the Christian traditions. » Next he adds that the Apostles, taught by Christ, « and having obtained the promised power of the Holy Spirit for miracles and for utterance, first bore witness throughout Judaea to faith in Jesus Christ and founded churches there, then, setting out into the world, promulgated the same doctrine of the same faith to the nations, and accordingly founded a Church in every city, from which the other Churches thereafter borrowed the shoot of faith and the seeds of doctrine, and borrow them daily, so that they may become Churches; and through this they too are reckoned apostolic, as the offspring of apostolic Churches. Every kind must necessarily be classed according to its origin. Therefore so many and such great Churches are that one first [Church] from the Apostles, from which all [derive]: thus all are first and all are apostolic, while all together prove their unity, while there is among them the communication of peace, and the title of brotherhood, and the token-bond of hospitality; and these rights are governed by no other principle than the one tradition of the same sacrament. This prescription, therefore, we lay down: if the Lord Jesus Christ sent the Apostles to preach, no preachers other than those whom Christ appointed are to be received.... But what they preached, that is, what Christ revealed to them, here too I shall prescribe must be proved in no other way than through the same Churches which the Apostles themselves founded, they themselves preaching to them both by living voice (as they say) and afterwards by letters. If these things are so, it is accordingly established that every doctrine which agrees with those apostolic Churches, the wombs and sources of the faith, is to be reckoned to the truth, as holding without doubt what the Churches received from the Apostles, the Apostles from Christ, Christ from God; but that all other doctrine is to be prejudged as coming from falsehood, which savours of what is contrary to the truth of the Churches, and of the Apostles, and of Christ, and of God. It remains therefore for us to show whether this doctrine of ours, whose rule we have set out above, is to be reckoned as from the tradition of the Apostles, and from this very fact whether the others come from falsehood. We communicate with the apostolic Churches, because [our] doctrine is in no way different: this is the testimony of truth. » And further on, against the heresies which boasted of their antiquity and passed themselves off to the unlearned as apostolic because they had existed under the Apostles, it is incumbent on them, he says, to show that they have as the author of their institution someone either from among the Apostles or from among apostolic men, one, however, who persevered with the apostles, or at least that they enjoy communion with the apostolic Churches: « But if any dare
Editors' notes and page, col. 92
Footnotes
(66) ‹anchor: a Christo edocti› · call in col 92
Cap. 20.
Chapter 20.
(printed under page 98)
(67) ‹anchor: dirigimus præscriptionem› · call in col 92
Cap. 21.
Chapter 21.
(printed under page 98)
(68) ‹anchor: communione potiri› · call in col 92
Cap. 32.
Chapter 32.
(printed under page 98)
Page
- running head: TATIO APOLOGETICA (cut off at the left edge of the image; the visible part of the head)
- marginal letters: A jus sint Scripturae; B per hoc, et ipsae apostolicae; C eis praedicando tam viva; D Et infra, adversus haereses
- old-edition numerals: 89 after jus
- other (Q1a): misprints kept as printed: Apcstolis (for Apostolis); prescribam (for praescribam).
inserere se aetati apostolicae, ut ideo videantur ab Apostolis traditae, quia sub Apostolis fuerunt, possumus dicere : Edant ergo origines Ecclesiarum suarum, evolvant ordinem episcoporum suorum, ita per successiones ubi initio decurrentem, ut primus ille episcopus aliquem ex Apostolis, vel apostolocis viris, qui tamen cum apostolis perseveraverit, habuerit auctorem et antecessorem. Hoc enim modo Ecclesiae apostolicae census suos deferunt : sicut Smyrnaeorum Ecclesia habens Polycarpum ab Joanne collocatum refert ; sicut Romanorum Clementem a Petro ordinatum edit ; proinde utique et caeterae exibent quos ab Apostolis in episcopatum constitutos, apostolici seminis traduces habeant. Confingant tale aliquid haeretici. Quid enim illis post blasphemiam illicitum est ? Sed etsi confinxerint, nihil promovebunt. Ipsa enim doctrina eorum cum apostolica comparata ex diversitate et contrarietate sua pronuntiabit, neque Apostoli alicujus auctoris esse, neque apostolici. Quia sicut Apostoli non diversa inter se docuissent, ita et apostolici non contraria Apostolis edidissent, nisi illi qui ab Apostolis desciverunt, et aliter praedicaverunt. Ad hanc itaque formam provocabuntur ab illis Ecclesiis, quae licet nullum ex Apostolis, vel apostolicis auctorem suum proferant, ut multo posteriores, quae denique quotidie instituuntur, tamen in eadem fide conspirantes, non minus apostolicae deputantur pro consanguinitate doctrinae. Ita omnes haereses ad utramque formam a nostris Ecclesiis provocatae probent se quaqua putant apostolicas. Sed adeo nec sunt, nec possunt probare quod non sunt ; nec recipiuntur in pacem, et in communicationem ab Ecclesiis quoquo modo apostolicis, scilicet ob diversitatem sacramenti nullo modo apostolicae. » Sed nihil luculentius iis, quae non multo inferius de praecipuis Ecclesiis apostolicis et praesertim Romana, disserit in haec verba : « Age jam, qui voles curiositatem melius exercere in negotio salutis tuae, percurre Ecclesias apostolicas, apud quas ipsae adhuc cathedrae Apostolorum suis locis praesidentur, apud quas ipsae authenticae litterae eorum recitantur, sonantes vocem, et repraesentantes faciem uniuscujusque. Proxime est tibi Achaia, habes Corinthum. Si non longe es a Macedonia, habes Philippos, habes Thessalonicenses. Si potes in Asiam tendere, habes Ephesum ; si autem Italiae adjaces, habes Romam, unde nobis quoque auctoritas praesto est : statu felix Ecclesia, cui totam Apostoli doctrinam cum sanguine suo profuderunt, ubi Petrus passioni dominicae adaequatur ; ubi Paulus Joannis exitu coronatur ; ubi apostolus Joannes, posteaquam in oleum igneum demersus, nihil passus est, in insulam relegatur. Videamus quid dixerit, quid docuerit, quid cum Africanis quoque Ecclesiis contesserarit : unum Deum novit creatorem universitatis,
to insert themselves into the apostolic age, so that they may seem to have been handed down by the Apostles because they existed under the Apostles, we can say: Let them then produce the origins of their churches, let them unroll the order of their bishops, running down through successions from the beginning in such a way that that first bishop had as his authority and predecessor one of the Apostles, or of the apostolic men who nevertheless persevered with the apostles. For in this way the apostolic churches report their registers: just as the church of the Smyrnaeans, having Polycarp, records that he was placed there by John; just as that of the Romans sets forth Clement as ordained by Peter; so in like manner the rest also exhibit those whom, appointed to the episcopate by the Apostles, they have as transmitters of the apostolic seed. Let the heretics invent something of the kind. For what is forbidden to them after blasphemy? But even if they have invented it, they will gain nothing. For their very doctrine, compared with the apostolic, will declare by its own diversity and contrariety that it has as its author neither any Apostle nor any apostolic man. For just as the Apostles would not have taught things differing among themselves, so too apostolic men would not have put forth things contrary to the Apostles, except those who departed from the Apostles and preached otherwise. To this test, therefore, they will be summoned by those churches which, although they produce none of the Apostles or of apostolic men as their author, being much later, indeed being founded daily, yet, agreeing in the same faith, are no less reckoned apostolic by reason of the kinship of their doctrine. So let all heresies, summoned by our churches to both tests, prove themselves apostolic in whatever way they think themselves so. But in fact they neither are, nor can they prove what they are not; nor are they received into peace and into communion by the churches that are in any way apostolic, namely on account of the diversity of their sacrament, which is in no way apostolic." But nothing is clearer than what he discusses a little further on concerning the principal apostolic churches, and especially the Roman, in these words: "Come now, you who would exercise your curiosity better in the business of your salvation, run through the apostolic churches, among which the very chairs of the Apostles still preside in their places, among which their own authentic letters are read aloud, sounding the voice and representing the face of each one. Achaia is nearest to you: you have Corinth. If you are not far from Macedonia, you have Philippi, you have the Thessalonians. If you can travel into Asia, you have Ephesus; but if you lie near Italy, you have Rome, from which authority is ready to hand for us too: a church happy in its standing, to which the Apostles poured out their whole doctrine together with their blood, where Peter is made equal to the Lord's passion; where Paul is crowned with the death of John; where the apostle John, after he had been plunged into fiery oil and suffered nothing, is banished to an island. Let us see what it has said, what it has taught, what token of fellowship it has exchanged with the African churches too: it knows one God, creator of the universe,
Editors' notes and page, col. 93
Footnotes
(69) ‹anchor: hæc verba› · call in col 93
Cap. 36.
Chapter 36.
(printed under page 99)
Page
- running head: 93 PRO SS. PERPETUA, FELICIT (cut off at the image edge)
- marginal letters: A ‹inserere se aetati apostolicae›; B ‹tum est ? Sed etsi confinxerint›; C ‹probent se quaqua putant apostolicas›; D ‹lippos, habes Thessalonicenses›
- old-edition numerals: 90 after ‹suorum,›
et Cbristum Jesum ex Virgine Maria Filium Dei creatoris, et carnis resurrectionem : legem et prophetas cum evangelicis et apostolicis litteris miscet, et inde potat fidem eam, aqua signat, sancto Spiritu vestit, Eucharistia pascit, martyrio exhortatur, et ita adversus hanc institutionem neminem recipit. Haec institutio, non dico jam quae futuras haereses praenuntiabat, sed de qua haereses prodierunt. Sed non fuerunt ex illa, ex quo factae sunt adversus illam. Etiam de olivae nucleo mitis, et optimae et necessariae, asper oleaster exoritur : etiam de papavere fici gratissimae et suavissimae, ventosa et vana caprificus exsurgit. Ita et haereses de nostro fructificaverunt, non nostrae, degeneres veritatis grano, et mendacio sylvestres. » Potuisstne a Baronio, Bellarmino, et aliis qui Domanae Ecclesiae addictissimi habentur, quidam de illa aut magnificentius aut illustrius praedicari? Quis crederet haec haeretico homini, et ab Ecclesia Romana extorri excidere potuisse, quibus omnes poenitus adversus ejusdem Ecclesiae doctrinam haereses profligantur ? Nemo prorsus, qui non adverterit ad ea quae hactenus ex hoc auctore deduximus, non id scilicet in mentem venisse Montanistis, se ob novam prophetiam ac disciplinam ab Ecclesiarum apostolicarum communione in iis quae fidei sunt, et in quibus summa vertitur religionis, excidisse. Attamen quia non omnes consentiunt, librum de Praescriptionibus a Tertuliano, dum inter Catholicos versaretur, non fuisse compositum, addam ex lib. IV cont. Marcion., quem constat, postquam simultates cum Psychicis, ut ait, habere coeperat, fuisse ab eo concinnatum, simile de Ecclesiis apostolicis, et praesertim Romana, testimonium adulterum scilicet et haereticum esse habendum quidquid in rebus fidei ab earum traditione recedit, et extraneum esse existimandum quidquid cum illis non in una eademque fide communicat. « In summa si constat, id verius quod prius, id prius quod et ab initio, ab initio quod ab Apostolis, pariter utique constabit, esse ab Apostolis traditum quod apud Ecclesias Apostolorum fuerit sacrosanctum. Videamus quod lac a Paulo Corinthii hauserint ; ad quam regulam Galatae sint recorrecti ; quid legant Philippenses, Thessalonicenses, Ephesii ; quid etiam Romani de proximo sonent, quibus Evangelium et Petrus et Paulus sanguine quoque suo signatum reliquerunt. Habemus et Joannis alumnas Ecclesias. Nam et si Apocalypsim ejus Marcion respuit, ordo tamen episcoporum ad originem recensus, in Joannem stabit auctorem. Sic et caeterarum generositas recognoscitur. Dico itaque apud illas, nec solas jam apostolicas, sed apud universas quae illis de societate sacramenti confoederantur, id Evangelium Lucae ab initio editionis stare quod cum maxime tuemur. » Haec profecto, et his similia quae apud eum passim occurrunt
and Christ Jesus, from the Virgin Mary, the Son of God the Creator, and the resurrection of the flesh; she joins the law and the prophets with the evangelical and apostolic writings, and from there she drinks that faith, seals with water, clothes with the Holy Spirit, feeds with the Eucharist, exhorts to martyrdom, and so admits no one against this institution. This is the institution, I do not now say which foretold future heresies, but from which heresies came forth. But they were not of it, from the time they were made against it. Even from the kernel of the gentle olive, both excellent and necessary, the rough wild olive springs up; even from the seed of the most pleasing and sweetest fig, the windy and empty wild fig rises up. So too heresies have borne fruit from our stock, not ours, degenerate from the grain of truth and wild through falsehood." Could anything about her have been proclaimed more magnificently or more illustriously by Baronius, Bellarmine and others who are held to be most devoted to the Roman Church? Who would believe that these words, by which all heresies against the doctrine of that same Church are utterly routed, could have fallen from a heretical man, an exile from the Roman Church? Absolutely no one who has paid attention to what we have so far drawn from this author, namely that it did not occur to the Montanists that they had, on account of the new prophecy and discipline, fallen away from the communion of the apostolic Churches in the things that belong to the faith and on which the sum of religion turns. However, since not all agree that the book On Prescriptions was not composed by Tertullian while he was living among the Catholics, I will add from book 4 against Marcion, which it is agreed was composed by him after he had begun to have quarrels with the Psychics, as he says, a similar testimony about the apostolic Churches, and especially the Roman, namely that whatever in matters of faith departs from their tradition must be held adulterous and heretical, and that whatever does not communicate with them in one and the same faith must be reckoned foreign. "In sum, if it is established that that is truer which is earlier, that that is earlier which is even from the beginning, that that is from the beginning which is from the Apostles, it will equally be established that that has been handed down by the Apostles which has been held sacrosanct among the Churches of the Apostles. Let us see what milk the Corinthians drank from Paul; to what rule the Galatians were corrected; what the Philippians, Thessalonians and Ephesians read; what the Romans also, close at hand, sound forth, to whom both Peter and Paul left the Gospel sealed also with their own blood. We have also the Churches nurtured by John. For even if Marcion rejects his Apocalypse, yet the order of bishops, traced back to its origin, will rest on John as its author. In this way the noble descent of the others too is recognized. I say therefore that among them, and not now only the apostolic ones, but among all which are federated with them in the fellowship of the sacrament, that Gospel of Luke has stood from the beginning of its publication which we most especially defend." These things, assuredly, and things similar to these which occur here and there in him
Editors' notes and page, col. 94
Footnotes
(70) ‹anchor: ut ait› · call in col 94
Vid. cap. 23.
See chapter 23.
(printed under page 99)
(71) ‹anchor: fide communicat› · call in col 94
Cap. 5.
Chapter 5.
(printed under page 99)
Page
- running head: ...TUA, FELICITATE ET SOCIIS. 94 (cut off at the left edge of the image)
- marginal letters: A tatis,et Cbristum Jesum; B Baronio, Bellarmino, et aliis; C cum Psychicis, ut ait; D Evangelium et Petrus et Paulus
- old-edition numerals: 91 after institutionem
etiam in iis libris quos constat, postquam ad Montani dogma delapsus est, ab eo fuisse promulgatos, scribere nunquam ausus fuisset, qui se non existimasset in iisdem cum Ecclesiis apostolicis fidei dogmatibus communicare. Non ignorabat profecto Tertullianus, novam ab Ecclesia Romana damnari prophetiam, et inciplinam reprobari, quam Montanus invexerat; et tamen Romanae Ecclesiae, et caeterarum apostolicarum auctoritatem ubique praedicat, mirumque in modum extollit, eosque a Christianismo, ab Apostolicis et a Christo alienos esse decernit, qui non in unam eamdemque fidem cum Ecclesiis apostolicis conspiraverint. Quod profecto certissimo est argumento, non fuisse Montanistis persuasum, se ab Ecclesisiae catholicae communione in iis quae fidei sunt, excidisse.
even in those books which, it is agreed, were published by him after he had slipped into the doctrine of Montanus, [he] would never have dared to write, if he had not considered himself to be in communion with the apostolic Churches in the same dogmas of faith. Tertullian was certainly not unaware that the new prophecy was being condemned by the Roman Church, and the discipline which Montanus had brought in was being rejected; and yet everywhere he proclaims the authority of the Roman Church and of the other apostolic ones, and extols it in a wonderful manner, and declares that those are strangers to Christianity, to the Apostolic [Churches] and to Christ, who have not agreed together in one and the same faith with the apostolic Churches. This is certainly a most sure proof that the Montanists were not persuaded that they had fallen away from the communion of the Catholic Church in those things which belong to faith.
Denique, ut innumera praetermittam quae huc in eamdem sententiam afferri possent, veram Christi Ecclesiam non fuisse Tertulliani judicio ad solam Montanistarum sectam coarctatam, sed Catholicos quoque ad unum idemque Ecclesiae corpus pertinuisse, cujus membra quamvis non easdem omnino sectarentur morum institutiones eadem nihilominus fide, iisdemque sacramentis inter se colligarentur; ea luculenter ostendunt, quae de Christiani nominis Ecclesiaeque amplitudine adversus ethnicos disputat: « Hesterni sumus, et vestra omnia implevimus: urbes, insulas, castella, municipia, conciliabula, castra ipsa, tribus, decurias, palatium senatum, forum; sola vobis relinquimus templa. Cui bello non idonei, non prompti fuissemus, etiam impares copiis, qui tam libenter trucidamur, si non apud istam disciplinam magis occidi liceret, quam occidere? Potuimus et inermes, nec rebelles, sed tantummodo discordes solius divortii invidia adversus vos dimicasse. Si enim tanta vis hominum in aliquem orbis remoti sinum abrupissemus a vobis, suffudisset utique dominationem vestram tot qualiumcunque amissio civium; imo etiam et ipsa destitutione punisset; procul dubio expavissetis ad solitudinem vestram, ad silentium rerum, et stuporem quemdam quasi mortuae urbis quaesissetis quibus in ea imperassetis. Plures hostes quam cives vobis remausissent, nunc enim pauciores hostes habetis prae multidine Christianorum pene omnium civium, pene omnes cives Christianos habendo. Sed hostes maluistis vocari generis humani potius quam erroris humani. » Haec de solis Montanistis intelligi sane non possunt. Nunquam enim haec secta adeo pomoeria sua dilatavit. Sed neque de Christianis prout etiam haeretici hoc nomine continentur.
Finally, to pass over countless things which could be brought in here to the same effect, that in Tertullian's judgement the true Church of Christ was not confined to the sect of the Montanists alone, but that the Catholics too belonged to one and the same body of the Church, whose members, although they did not follow altogether the same rules of conduct, were nevertheless bound together among themselves by the same faith and the same sacraments, is clearly shown by what he argues against the heathen concerning the extent of the Christian name and of the Church: « We are of yesterday, and we have filled everything of yours: cities, islands, fortresses, towns, meeting-places, the camps themselves, tribes, decuries, palace, senate, forum; we leave you only the temples. For what war would we not have been fit, not ready, even if unequal in forces, we who are so willingly slaughtered, if in this discipline it were not more permitted to be killed than to kill? Even unarmed, and not rebels, but merely dissenters, we could have fought against you by the ill will of separation alone. For if so great a multitude of men had broken away from you into some recess of the distant world, the loss of so many citizens, of whatever sort, would surely have put your dominion to shame; indeed it would even have punished it by the very desertion; without doubt you would have taken fright at your solitude, at the silence of things, and at a kind of stupor as of a dead city; you would have sought whom you might rule in it. More enemies than citizens would have remained to you, for as it is you have fewer enemies because of the multitude of Christians, almost all the citizens, having almost all your citizens Christians. But you have preferred that [we] be called enemies of the human race rather than of human error. » These things certainly cannot be understood of the Montanists alone. For this sect never extended its bounds so far. Nor yet of Christians in the sense in which heretics too are included under this name.
Editors' notes and page, col. 95
Footnotes
(72) ‹anchor: ethnicos disputat› · call in col 95
Apolog., cap. 37.
Apology, chapter 37.
(printed under page 100)
(73) ‹anchor: not visible on the page-foot image› · call in col 95 or 96
Ibid., cap. 46.
In the same work, chapter 46.
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(74) ‹anchor: not visible on the page-foot image› · call in col 95 or 96
Lib. de Jejuniis, cap. 40.
The book On Fasting, chapter 40.
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- running head: 95 DISSERTATIO APOLO (cut off at the image edge)
- marginal letters: A ‹etiam in iis libris›; B ‹munione in iis quae›; C ‹mus, etiam impares copiis›; D ‹Christianos habendo. Sed›
- old-edition numerals: 92 after ‹damnari›
Haereticos enim Christianorum numero, eodem libro, aperte submovit : « Sed dicet aliquis, etiam de nostris excedere quosdam a regula disciplinae: desinunt tum Christiani haberi penes nos.» Haec igitur Ecclesia, cujus per totum librum inculpatos sanctissimosque mores describit, atque tuetur, et e cujus sinu multos, ait, id temporis innumerosque martyres prodiisse, quorum sanguis semen erat Christianorum, neque haereticos complectebatur, neque solos Montanistas, sed vel maxime Catholicos, qui ut est apud eumdem Tertullianum, de multitudine gloriabantur, et e quibus constat, innumeros prae aliis sectis fuisse martyres coronatos. Attamen cum, Tertulliani judicio, quo tempore Apologeticum promulgavit, nempe in medio aestu persecutionis, ipsi quoque Montanistae Catholicorum numero censerentur, manifestum est, ex iis et veris Catholicis unam eamdemque, ex ejus sententia Christi Ecclesiam constitisse, quae licet ubique non easdem omnino morum institutiones usurparet : unum tamen idemque religionis corpus censenda esset, quod in eadem fidei dogmata conspiraret, iisdemque fidei sacramentis uteretur.
For in the same book he openly removes heretics from the number of Christians: "But someone will say that some even of our own depart from the rule of discipline: then they cease to be held Christians among us." This Church, therefore, whose blameless and most holy morals he describes and defends throughout the whole book, and from whose bosom, he says, many and innumerable martyrs had come forth at that time, whose blood was the seed of Christians, embraced neither heretics nor the Montanists alone, but above all the Catholics, who, as is found in the same Tertullian, gloried in their multitude, and from among whom, it is established, innumerable martyrs were crowned, beyond the other sects. Yet since, in Tertullian's judgement, at the time when he published the Apologeticum, namely in the very heat of the persecution, the Montanists too were themselves reckoned among the number of the Catholics, it is manifest that, in his view, one and the same Church of Christ consisted of them and the true Catholics; which, although it did not everywhere adopt altogether the same institutions of conduct, was nevertheless to be reckoned one and the same body of religion, in that it agreed in the same dogmas of faith and used the same sacraments of faith.
VIII. Tertio notandum est, id quod etiam ex praemissis sponte sua profiscitur, Catholicorum martyres fuisse a Montanistis pro veris martyribus aestimatos, et ad eorum quoquomodo communionem viam affectasse. Catholicos quidem martyres a Montanistarum communione abhorruisse, memoriae prodidit Asterius Urbanus, non item Montanistas Catholicorum martyrum communionem esse aversatos : « Quamobrem, inquit, quotiescunque Ecclesiae viri ad martyrium pro vera fide subeundum vocati, una cum quibusdam de Phrygum haeresi, qui martyres dicuntur, casu quodam coierint, semper ab illis dissentiunt : et communionem eorum sollicite vitantes, gloriosum martyrii exitum consequuntur ; quippe qui Montani et muliercularum spiritui assensum commodare nefas ducant. Atque id verum esse constat ex iis quae nostra aetate in urbe Apamea, quae ad Meandrum sita est, gesta sunt a Caio et Alexandro martyribus, oriundis Eumenia. » Hujus quoque rei manifesta nobis ex eodem Tertulliano suppetunt argumenta : imprimis ex libro ad Martyras, qui cum furente persecutione editus fuerit, nullum dubium est quin ad eorum classem pertineat, quos dum in Montani castris militaret, elucubravit. Certum autem imprimis est hunc librum veris, ex Tertulliani quoque sententia, Christi martyribus fuisse nuncupatum, ut quos innumeris laudibus cumulat, et benedictos passim
VIII. Thirdly, it is to be noted, as also follows of its own accord from what has gone before, that the martyrs of the Catholics were esteemed by the Montanists as true martyrs, and that [the Montanists] sought by whatever means a way to their communion. That the Catholic martyrs indeed shrank from communion with the Montanists, Asterius Urbanus has handed down to memory, but not likewise that the Montanists turned away from communion with the Catholic martyrs: "Therefore," he says, "whenever men of the Church, called to undergo martyrdom for the true faith, have by some chance come together with certain of the heresy of the Phrygians who are called martyrs, they always keep apart from them, and, carefully avoiding communion with them, attain the glorious end of martyrdom; for they hold it wicked to lend assent to the spirit of Montanus and the little women. And that this is true is evident from what was done in our own time in the city of Apamea, which lies on the Meander, by the martyrs Caius and Alexander, natives of Eumenia." Clear proofs of this matter too are supplied to us from the same Tertullian: first of all from the book To the Martyrs, which, since it was published while the persecution was raging, there is no doubt belongs to the class of those that he composed while he was serving in the camp of Montanus. And it is certain above all that this book was addressed to true martyrs of Christ, in Tertullian's view also, so that those whom he heaps with countless praises, and everywhere calls blessed
Editors' notes and page, col. 96
Footnotes
(75) ‹anchor: esse aversatos› · call in col 96
Ὅθεν τοι καὶ ἐπειδὰν οἱ ἐπὶ τὸ τῆς κατὰ ἀλήθειαν πίστεως μαρτύριον κληθέντες ἀπὸ τῆς Ἐκκλησίας τύχωσι μετά τινων τῶν ἀπὸ τῆς τῶν Φρυγῶν αἱρέσεως λεγομένων μαρτύρων, διαφέρονταί τε πρὸς αὐτοὺς, καὶ μὴ κοινωνήσαντες αὐτοῖς τελειοῦνται, διὲ τὸ μὴ βούλεσθαι συγκαταθέσθαι τῷ διὰ Μοντανοῦ καὶ τῶν γυναικῶν πνεύματι, καὶ ὅτι τοῦτο ἀληθὲς καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν ἡμετέρων χρόνων ἐν Ἀπαμείᾳ τῇ πρὸς Μαιάνδρῳ τυγχάνει γεγενημένον, ἐν τοῖς περὶ Γάϊον καὶ Ἀλέξανδρον ἀπὸ Εὐμενείας, μαρτυρήσαντι, πρόδηλον. Apud Euseb., lib. v, cap, 16.
"Hence, whenever those called from the Church to the martyrdom of the true faith happen to be with any of the so-called martyrs of the Phrygian heresy, they hold aloof from them and are perfected without communicating with them, because they will not assent to the spirit that spoke through Montanus and the women; and that this is true, and happened in our own times at Apamea on the Maeander, is plain in the case of Gaius and Alexander of Eumenia, who were martyred there." In Eusebius, book 5, chapter 16.
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- marginal letters: A ‹Haereticos enim Christianorum numero›; B ‹nempe in medio aestu persecutionis›; C ‹Catholicorum martyrum communionem esse aver-›; D ‹editus fuerit, nullum dubium est›
- old-edition numerals: 63 after ‹quibus›
appelllat: « Inter carnis alimenta benedicti martyres designati. Imprimis ergo benedicti, etc. Quo vos benedicti de carcere, etc. Sic nunc benedicti, etc. Proinde vos benedictae, etc. Haec benedicti non sine causa, etc. » Secundo, tertium est, hos, quos tantis benedictionibus cumulat, et ad coelum usque laudibus effert, non montanistas fuisse martyres, sed catholicos, aut ex his saltem plurimam eorum partem constitisse. Id constat ex capite primo, ubi eos ad mutuam pacem his verbis adhortatur: « Quam pacem quidam in Ecclesia non habentes a martyribus in carcere exorare consueverunt. Et ideo eam etiam propterea in vobis habere, et custodire debetis, ut si forte, et aliis praestare possitis. » Hic enim Catholicorum mos fuit, ut communione ob crimina capitalia dejecti, martyrum opem implorarent. Porro Catholici ad Montanistas, quibus sciebant ejusmodi Ecclesiae catholicae morem et consuetudinem improbari minime confugissent. Tertio, certum est martyres, ad quos ejusmodi librum Tertullianus destinavit, a sua communione alienos neutiquam credidisse. Eos enim rogat, quod inter alimenta carnis, quae illis Ecclesia subministrabat, et hoc ab eo munusculum acciperent, quod ad saginandum spiritum faceret; quod certe mutuae communionis indubium est argumentum. Certum denique est Ecclesiam quae laudatos martyres alimentis carnis tanquam pia mater fovebat, veram Christi Ecclesiam, Tertulliani quoque judicio fuisse: « Inter carnis alimenta benedicti martyres designati quae vobis et domina mater Ecclesia de uberibus suis, et singula fratres de opibus suis propriis in carcere subministrant, capite aliquid et a nobis, quod faciat ad spiritum quoque educandum. » Atqui catholica Ecclesia nisi de catholicis martyribus sollicita non fuisset. Praeterea inter praecipua Ecclesiae Romanae dotes, ex quibus illam, ut supra videmus, summopere commendat, hanc etiam recenset, quod suos ad martyrium adhortaretur: Martyrio, inquit, adhortatur. Quae vero laus, aut gloria fuisset non genuinos, sed adulteros Christo martyres parere? aut quis dubitet an veros Christi martyres in honore Tertullianus habuerit, et eorum communionem exoptarit? Postremo, eorum martyrum, quorum fidem, constantiam, et multitudinem cum in Apologetico, tum in libro ad Scapulam, et alibi frequentissime praedicat, maximam partem fuisse Catholicorum, nec Basnagius, puto, inficias iturus est: nisi forte velit eximiam hanc Catholicae, adeoque verae Christi Ecclesiae laudem detrahere, quod fecundissima fuerit sanctorum martyrum parens.
"Among the nourishments of the flesh, blessed martyrs-designate. First of all, then, blessed ones, etc. Since you, blessed ones, from prison, etc. So now, blessed ones, etc. Therefore you, blessed women, etc. These things, blessed ones, not without cause, etc." Second, it is certain that those whom he heaps with so many blessings and extols with praises up to heaven were not Montanist martyrs but Catholics, or that at least the greatest part of them consisted of Catholics. This is evident from the first chapter, where he exhorts them to mutual peace in these words: "This peace some who do not have it in the Church have been accustomed to beg from the martyrs in prison. And therefore you ought to have it in yourselves and guard it for this reason too, so that you may perhaps be able to bestow it on others as well." For it was the custom of the Catholics that those cast out of communion for capital crimes should implore the help of the martyrs. Moreover, Catholics would by no means have had recourse to Montanists, by whom they knew such a custom and practice of the Catholic Church was disapproved. Third, it is certain that the martyrs to whom Tertullian addressed this book by no means believed him to be estranged from their communion. For he asks them that, among the nourishments of the flesh which the Church supplied to them, they would also receive from him this little gift, which would serve to fatten the spirit; and this is certainly an undoubted proof of mutual communion. Finally, it is certain that the Church which, like a devoted mother, cherished the praised martyrs with nourishments of the flesh was, in Tertullian's judgement too, the true Church of Christ: "Among the nourishments of the flesh, blessed martyrs-designate, which both our lady mother the Church from her breasts and the brethren individually from their own resources supply to you in prison, take something from us also, which may serve for nourishing the spirit too." But the Catholic Church would not have been solicitous except for Catholic martyrs. Furthermore, among the chief endowments of the Roman Church, on account of which, as we saw above, he commends her most highly, he lists this one also, that she exhorted her own to martyrdom: "She exhorts," he says, "to martyrdom." But what praise or glory would it have been to bring forth for Christ not genuine but adulterous martyrs? Or who would doubt that Tertullian held the true martyrs of Christ in honour and longed for their communion? Lastly, that the greatest part of those martyrs whose faith, constancy and multitude he proclaims both in the Apology and in the book To Scapula and very frequently elsewhere were Catholics, not even Basnage, I think, will deny: unless perhaps he wishes to take away from the Catholic, and therefore true, Church of Christ this outstanding praise, that she was the most fruitful mother of holy martyrs.
IX. His animadversis, nullam, puto, in Basnagii propositis argumentis superesse difficultatem. Quis enim miretur (si ad ea, de quibus hactenus disseruimus, animum advertit); quis, inquam, miretur,
IX. These things having been observed, no difficulty, I think, remains in the arguments put forward by Basnage. For who would wonder (if he turns his mind to the matters we have so far discussed); who, I say, would wonder that
Editors' notes and page, col. 97
Footnotes
(76) ‹anchor: not visible on the page-foot image› · call in col 97
Cap. 1.
Chapter 1.
(printed under page 101)
(77) ‹anchor: not visible on the page-foot image› · call in col 97
Cap. 2.
Chapter 2.
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Cap. 3.
Chapter 3.
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Cap. 4.
Chapter 4.
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- running head: 97 PRO SS. PERPETUA, FELICIT
- marginal letters: A ‹appelllat (76): « Inter carnis alimenta benedicti›; B ‹jecti, martyrum opem implorarent. Porro Catho-›; C ‹vobis et domina mater Ecclesia de uberibus suis›; D ‹getico, tum in libro ad Scapulam, et alibi frequen-›
- old-edition numerals: 94 after ‹adhortatur:›
auctorem montanistam catholicorum acta martyrum in lucem edere voluisse, et ad habendum cum illis communionem sues fuisse adhortatum ? An id magis mirandum, quam quod ad eos, auctor similiter montanista, librum eorum laudibus refertum communionis utique symbolum, destinarit ? aut quod apostolicarum Ecclesiarum communionem quarum inter praecipua membra martyres computantur, tantopere commendarit ? Quis etiam miretur Tertullianum magnis Perpetuam laudibus affecisse, fortissimaeque martyris praeconio exornasse ? Annon magis mirandum, quod catholicos martyres, in libro ipsis nuncupato, tot benedictionibus cumularit, quod eorum certaminis « agonothetem » esse dixerit « Deum vivum, xystarchum Spiritum sanctum, coronam aeternitatis bravium, angelicae substantiae politiam in coelis, gloriam in saecula saeculorum? » Quis denique miretur, Perpetuae visionibus uti eum voluisse ad probandum, solos ante diem judicii solemnis martyres in coelum recipi ? Non est profecto id magis mirandum, quam quod Rutilii martyris in libro adversus Ecclesiam promulgato cum multa laude meminerit ejusque exemplo usus fuerit ad probandum, fugiendam non esse persecutionem quia nihil fuga prosit, si Deus nolit. « Rutilius sanctissima martyr, cum totiens, inquit, fugisset persecutionem de loco in locum, etiam periculum (ut putabat) nummis redemisset, post totam securitatem, quam sibi prospexerat, ex inopinato apprehensus, et praesidi oblatus, tormentis dissipatus, credo, pro fugae castigatione, dehinc ignibus datus, passionem, quam vitarat. misericordiae Dei retulit. Quid aliud voluit Dominus nobis demonstrare hoc documento, quam fugiendum non esse, quia nihil fuga prosit, si Deus nolit ? » Non hunc, puto, Basnagius dicturus est martyrem montanistam, cum sibi licitum esse crediderit saluti suae fuga consulere et periculum pretio redimere ; quae illicita ex Montani disciplina habebantur; et tamen tot tantaque in eum congerit praeaonia, ejusque exemplum, ut sanctissimi martyris, adhibet ad probandam quam adstruebat sententiam. Mavili etiam martyris Adrumetini cum laude meminit in libro ad Scapulam, ejusque exemplo utitur ad probandam quam adstruebat sententiam : quod nulla videlicet civitas, nullus persecutor impune laturi essent christiani sanguinis effusionem : « Tibi quoque optamus admonitionem solam fuisse, quod cum Adrumeticum Mavilum ad bestias damnasses, et statim haec vexatio subsecuta est, et nunc ex eadem causa interpellatio sanguinis. » Et huuc igitur Basnagjus audebit tam levi conjectura, quod a Tertulliano laudatus fuerit, e Montanistarum secta martyrem pronuntiare ? Psychicos non adeo, ut ostendi, contemptui habebant Montanistae, ut eos ab haereticis non distinguerent,
a Montanist author wished to bring the acts of Catholic martyrs to light, and exhorted his own people to hold communion with them? Is that more to be wondered at than that an author, likewise a Montanist, addressed to them a book filled with their praises, which is certainly a token of communion? or that he so greatly commended the communion of the apostolic Churches, among whose chief members the martyrs are counted? Who, moreover, would wonder that Tertullian bestowed great praises on Perpetua and adorned that most valiant martyr with commendation? Is it not more to be wondered at that he heaped so many blessings on Catholic martyrs in a book addressed to them, that he said the "agonothete" of their contest was "the living God, the xystarch the Holy Spirit, the prize the crown of eternity, the citizenship of angelic substance in the heavens, glory unto the ages of ages"? Who, finally, would wonder that he wished to use the visions of Perpetua to prove that only martyrs are received into heaven before the day of the solemn judgement? It is surely no more to be wondered at than that, in a book published against the Church, he made mention of the martyr Rutilius with much praise and used his example to prove that persecution is not to be fled, because flight profits nothing if God does not will it. "Rutilius, a most holy martyr," he says, "though he had so often fled persecution from place to place, and had even bought off the danger (as he thought) with money, after all the security he had provided for himself, was unexpectedly seized and brought before the governor, torn apart by tortures, I believe as chastisement for his flight, then given to the flames, and so rendered to the mercy of God the passion which he had avoided. What else did the Lord wish to show us by this lesson than that one must not flee, because flight profits nothing if God does not will it?" Basnage, I think, will not call this man a Montanist martyr, since he believed it lawful for himself to look to his safety by flight and to buy off danger with a price, things which were held unlawful under the discipline of Montanus; and yet he heaps so many and such great praises on him, and employs his example, as that of a most holy martyr, to prove the opinion he was maintaining. He also makes mention with praise of the martyr Mavilus of Hadrumetum in the book To Scapula, and uses his example to prove the opinion he was maintaining, namely that no city, no persecutor, would go unpunished for the shedding of Christian blood: "For you too we wish it had been only a warning that, when you had condemned Mavilus of Hadrumetum to the beasts, this affliction also followed at once, and now, from the same cause, the plea of blood." And will Basnage then dare, on so slight a conjecture as that he was praised by Tertullian, to declare this man a martyr of the sect of the Montanists? The Montanists did not, as I have shown, hold the Psychics in such contempt as not to distinguish them from heretics, or that
Editors' notes and page, col. 98
Footnotes
(80) ‹anchor: not visible on the page-foot image› · call in col 98
Capite tertio.
In chapter 3.
(printed under page 101)
(81) ‹anchor: cum totiens, inquit› · call in col 98
Lib. de Fuga persecut., cap. 5.
The book On Flight in Persecution, chapter 5.
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Cap. 3.
Chapter 3.
(printed under page 101)
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- running head: UA, FELICITATE ET SOCIIS. (cut off at left edge; column number 98)
- marginal letters: A ‹tur, auctorem montanistam›; B ‹bravium, angelicae substantiae›; C ‹tione, dehinc ignibus datus›; D ‹persecutor impune laturi›
- old-edition numerals: 95 after ‹xystarchum›
ut in iis quae sunt fidei, alienae eos communionis esse conscerent, ut eorum denique martyres ludibrio pariter haberent: neque Tertullianus quanquam Catholicis infensissimus et Montani defensor acerrimus, eo unquam vesaniae processit ut iis qui in Catholicae Ecclesiae sinu martyres occubuissent, aut martyrii coronam detraheret, aut meritas laudes praeconiaque invideret.
in matters of faith they judged them to be of another communion, and that finally they held their martyrs in derision likewise: yet Tertullian, though most hostile to the Catholics and a most fierce defender of Montanus, never went so far in madness as either to strip the crown of martyrdom from those who had fallen as martyrs in the bosom of the Catholic Church, or to begrudge them their deserved praises and commendations.
X. Quo id minus miremur in Montanistis, similiter haereticorum exempla non desunt. Quaatis enim laudibus Socrates et Sozomenus, licet Novatiani, catholicos non solum martyres, sed etiam doctores non exornant? Neque eos dico martyres qui, antequam Novatianus schisma conflaret, in Ecclesia catholica floruerunt: sed eos, qui deinceps exorti sunt, et a quibus laudati scriptores optime noverant, Novatianos inter haereticos computari. Quibus enim praeconiis Hosium, Athanasium, Alexandrum C. P., magnum Basilium Gregorium Theologum, aliosque id generis doctores catholicos non afficiunt? Quam iidem non tribuunt Nicaenis Patribus auctoritatem? Quam magnae huic synodo reverentiam, honoremque non deferunt? quamvis Catharos seu Novatianos inter haereticos numerarit. Quid porro dicam de iis qui sub Juliano Apostata, sub Valente imperatore ariano, et in Perside sub Sapore, martyribus, passi sunt? quantis a Socrate et Sozomeno laudibus celebrantur? annon eos veros inter ac genuinos Christi martyres numerant? annon eorum Acta, quantum ipsorum in scribendis historiis institutum patiebatur, in lucem proferunt? annon eamdem illis, quam antiquis martyribus tribuunt auctoritatem, quamvis non ignorarent non eos Navatianae fuisse, sed catholicae communionis? Et porro mirabimur, si auctor montanista catholicorum quorumdam Acta martyrum collegerit, ac litteris consignarit? si Tertullianus fortissimos eos martyres nuncuparit, et eorum revelationibus auctoritatem aliquam honoremque detulerit? idque adversus eorum orthodoxiam gravissimum esse praejudicium, et eos proinde catholicorum numero martyrum eximendos et Montanistis relinquendos, arbitrabimur? Id si ita est, expungantur etiam oportet e Catholicorum diptychis tot sanctissimi doctores, imo et ipsi Nicaeni Patres, tot fortissimi martyres, tot etiam religiosissimi monachi, quorum laudes nec Socrates nec Sozomemus tacuerunt; expungantur, inquam, e catholicarum ecclesiarum diptychis, et Novatianis accenseantur, propterea quod in eos Novatiani scriptores tot tantaque praeconia contulerint.
X. That we may wonder at this the less in the Montanists, examples of heretics acting likewise are not lacking. For with what great praises do Socrates and Sozomen, though Novatians, not adorn Catholics, not only martyrs but also doctors? Nor do I mean those martyrs who flourished in the Catholic Church before Novatian kindled his schism, but those who arose afterwards, and by whom, as the said writers knew very well, the Novatians were counted among the heretics. For with what commendations do they not honour Hosius, Athanasius, Alexander of Constantinople, Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian, and other Catholic doctors of that kind? What authority do these same men not attribute to the Nicene Fathers? What reverence and honour do they not pay to that great synod, although it numbered the Cathari or Novatians among the heretics? What further shall I say of those who suffered as martyrs under Julian the Apostate, under the Arian emperor Valens, and in Persia under Sapor? With what great praises are they celebrated by Socrates and Sozomen? Do they not number them among the true and genuine martyrs of Christ? Do they not bring their Acts to light, so far as the plan they had adopted in writing their histories allowed? Do they not attribute to them the same authority that they attribute to the ancient martyrs, although they were not unaware that these were not of the Novatian but of the Catholic communion? And shall we then be surprised if a Montanist author collected certain Acts of Catholic martyrs and committed them to writing? if Tertullian called them most valiant martyrs, and paid some authority and honour to their revelations? and shall we judge that this is a most grave prejudice against their orthodoxy, and that they are therefore to be removed from the number of Catholic martyrs and left to the Montanists? If that is so, then there must also be struck from the diptychs of the Catholics so many most holy doctors, nay even the Nicene Fathers themselves, so many most valiant martyrs, so many most devout monks too, whose praises neither Socrates nor Sozomen passed over in silence; let them be struck, I say, from the diptychs of the Catholic churches and be reckoned among the Novatians, because Novatian writers bestowed so many and such great commendations upon them.
XI. At ego non solum ex auctore montanista nullum creari posse existimo sanctis martyribus praejudicium, quin et gravissimum inde pro illis conticere mihi videor argumentum. Non enim scriptor montanista dissimulasset, aut verbis solum ambiguis et obscuris indicasset, fortissimos athletas
XI. But I not only think that no prejudice against the holy martyrs can arise from a Montanist author, but I even seem to myself to draw from it a most weighty argument in their favour. For a Montanist writer would not have concealed, or indicated only in ambiguous and obscure words, that the most valiant athletes
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In præfat.
In the preface.
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- old-edition numerals: 96 after C. P.,
sectae suae martyres exstitisse, hos novam prophetiam fructus germinasse, ad ejusmodi certamina duriore quam invexerat, disciplina Montanum imbelles quoque feminas instituisse. Quinino haec aliaque hujusmodi palam apertisque verbis praedicasset, et opportune importune nulla non ferme pagina lectoribus inculcasset. An nescimus quae sit his de rebus haereticorum jactantia ? quam inde soleant inaniter superbire, similive arrepta occasione in Catholicos impudentissime debacchari ? Exemplo esse potest auctor Donatista, qui sanctorum Saturnini, Dativi et sociorum martyrum Acta litterarum monumentis consignavi. Quamvis enim laudati martyres e Donatistarum secta non fuerint, cum nisi sedata persecutiene praetextu traditionis conflatum schisma non sit ; attamen quia passi sunt ne divinas Scripturas persecutoribus traderent, et traditores videbantur exemplo suo praedamnasse, suaque communione ejecisse: mirum quam inde se jactet, quave impudentia in Catholicos insurgat petulantissimus scriptor ! « Devicto, » inquit, atque prostrato diabolo, victricem palmam in passione gestantes, sententiam in traditores, atque in eorum consortes, qua illos ab Ecclesiae communione rejecerant, cuncti martyres proprio sanguine consignabant. Fas enim non fuerat, ut in Ecclesia Dei simul essent martyres et traditores. » Aliquidne in auctore Montanista simile occurrit ? Mirum quam modeste, quam verecunde se gerat ? Ait quidem se novas visiones et prophetias agnoscere, atque honorare : sed Perpetuae Saturique visiones ac coelestes revelationes litteris mandaturus, non ideo Catholicis insultat, qui novos prophetas recipere recusabant. Suos quidem ad habendamcum martyribus communionem adhortatur : sed non ideo illos a Catholicorum communione, novos prophetas reprobantium (quod auctor Donatista faci⟨t⟩) deterret. Unde autem haeretico homini tanta modestia ! nisi quia optime noverat se non montanistarum, sed catholicum gesta martyrum litteris commendare.
martyrs of his sect had existed, that the new prophecy had brought forth these fruits, that Montanus, by the harsher discipline which he had introduced, had trained even unwarlike women for contests of this kind. Nay rather, he would have proclaimed these and other such things openly and in plain words, and would have impressed them on his readers in season and out of season on almost every page. Do we not know what the boasting of heretics is on these matters? how vainly they are accustomed to pride themselves on them, or, seizing a like occasion, to rage most shamelessly against the Catholics? An example can be the Donatist author who committed to written record the Acts of the holy martyrs Saturninus, Dativus and their companions. For although the martyrs mentioned were not of the sect of the Donatists, since the schism was not stirred up on the pretext of the surrender [of the Scriptures] until the persecution had abated; nevertheless, because they suffered rather than hand over the divine Scriptures to the persecutors, and seemed by their example to have condemned the traditors in advance and to have cast them out of their communion, it is remarkable how he boasts of this, and with what shamelessness that most insolent writer rises up against the Catholics! 'The devil having been vanquished,' he says, 'and laid low, bearing the victorious palm in their passion, all the martyrs sealed with their own blood the sentence against the traditors and against their associates, by which they had cast them out of the communion of the Church. For it had not been lawful that martyrs and traditors should be together in the Church of God.' Does anything similar occur in the Montanist author? Is it not remarkable how modestly, how bashfully he conducts himself? He says indeed that he acknowledges and honours new visions and prophecies; but, when about to commit to writing the visions and heavenly revelations of Perpetua and Saturus, he does not on that account insult the Catholics, who refused to receive the new prophets. He does indeed exhort his own people to hold communion with the martyrs; but he does not on that account deter them from the communion of the Catholics, who rejected the new prophets (as the Donatist author does). But whence such modesty in a heretical man! unless because he knew very well that he was committing to writing the deeds of martyrs who were not Montanists but Catholics.
CAPUT III.
Chapter III.
INTERNIS BASNAGII ADVERSUS NOSTROS MARTYRES ARGUMENTIS GENERALE RESPONSUM ADHIBETUR.
A general reply is offered to Basnage's internal arguments against our martyrs.
I. Interna Basnagii adversus sanctos martyres argumenta. II. Actorum potius compilatori fides deroganda esset, quam sanctorum martyrum orthodoxia in dubium revocanda. III. Rationes adducuntur, quibus Actorum γνησιότης in controversiam vocari posset. Prima ratio ex quibusdam verbis exoticis quae in Perpetuam, a qua maxima eorum pars scripta perhibetur, minime quadrant. IV. Secunda ratio ex styli similitudine quae unum et eumdem scriptorem refert, cum tamen a tribus diversis scripta fuisse dicantur. V. Neque Tertulliani. neque synchroni scriptoris auctoritas impediret, quo minus de Actorum fide dubitaremus, si aliquid reapse continerent quod catholicos martyres dedeceret.
I. Basnage's internal arguments against the holy martyrs. II. Credit would rather have to be withdrawn from the compiler of the Acts than the orthodoxy of the holy martyrs called into doubt. III. Reasons are adduced by which the genuineness of the Acts could be brought into controversy. The first reason, from certain outlandish words which do not at all suit Perpetua, by whom the greatest part of them is said to have been written. IV. The second reason, from the similarity of style, which points to one and the same writer, although they are said to have been written by three different people. V. Neither the authority of Tertullian nor that of a contemporary writer would prevent our doubting the credibility of the Acts, if they really contained anything unbecoming to Catholic martyrs.
I. Externa, ut vocant, argumenta duobus praedentibus
I. The external arguments, as they call them, we have pursued in the two
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capitulis prosecuti sumus, interna sequentibus capitibus examinabimus. De his in hunc modum disserit eruditus Basnagius : « His argumentis, » externis scilicet, « insita praestant. Quippe eo se modo Perpetua gerit, quasi Spiritum sanctum veluti monile quoddam in arca inclusum sua haberet ad nutum, ejus illustrationibus quando vellet usura ad arbitrium. Audiantur verba ejus cap. I, 3 : « Dixit mihi frater meus : Domina soror, jam in magna dignitate es ; et tanta, ut postules visionem, et ostendatur tibi an passio sit, an commeatus Et ego quae me sciebam fabulari cum Domino, cujus beneficia tanta experta eram, fidenter repromisi ei dicens : Crastina die tibi renuntiabo. » Miram sane fiduciam et sola Montani familia dignam ! Neque satis cum gravitate decentiaque oblata Perpetuae visa conjunguntur. Homo in habitu pastoris, « de caseo quod ⟨m⟩ulgebat, dedit Perpetuae quasi buccellam. » Hinc colligit sibi mortem imminere. Notabilius, illud, quod cap. III, 2, Perpetua narrat . « Exivit quidam contra me Aegyptius foedus specie, cum adjutoribus suis pugnaturus mecum. Veniunt et ad me adolescentes decori adjutores et favitores mei : et exspoliata sum, et facta sum masculus. » Procedit igitur cum Aegyptio ad pugnam Perpetua sexu mutato, victoriae pretium acceptura « ramum viridem, in quo erant mala aurea. Et petiit silentium, et dixit : Hic Aegyptius si hanc vicerit, occidet illam gladio ; et si hunc vicerit, accipiet ramum istum. Et recessit. Et accessimus ad invicem, et coepimus mittere pugnos. Ille mihi pedes apprehendere quoerebat: ego autem illi calcibus faciem caedebam. » Haeccine sunt Spiritu Sancto digna? similiane prophetis obtulit unquam? Scilicet ea visa sunt, quibus saorum Joelis accommodetur oraculum? Montani prorsus redolent officinam somnia ejusmodi, extasis ejus simillima, qua Tertullianus probat animam esse « aerii coloris, et formae per omnia humanae. »
preceding chapters, we shall examine the internal [arguments] in the following chapters. On these the learned Basnage argues in this manner: « The intrinsic [arguments] surpass these arguments, » that is, the external ones. « For Perpetua conducts herself as though she had the Holy Spirit at her beck and call, like some necklace shut up in a chest, ready to use His illuminations at her discretion whenever she wished. Let her words in ch. 1, 3 be heard: « My brother said to me: Lady sister, you are already in great dignity; and so great that you may ask for a vision, and it may be shown to you whether it is to be a passion or a release And I, who knew that I conversed with the Lord, Whose great benefits I had experienced, confidently promised him, saying: Tomorrow I will report back to you. » A marvellous confidence indeed, and worthy only of the family of Montanus! Nor are the visions offered to Perpetua sufficiently joined with gravity and decorum. A man in the dress of a shepherd « from the cheese which he was milking gave Perpetua as it were a morsel. » From this she gathers that death is imminent for her. More notable is that which Perpetua narrates in ch. 3, 2: « There came out against me a certain Egyptian, foul in appearance, with his helpers, to fight with me. There come also to me handsome young men, my helpers and supporters: and I was stripped, and I was made a male. » So Perpetua, her sex changed, goes forth to the fight with the Egyptian, to receive as the prize of victory « a green branch, on which were golden apples. And he asked for silence, and said: This Egyptian, if he defeats her, will kill her with the sword; and if she defeats him, she will receive this branch. And he withdrew. And we approached each other, and began to throw punches. He sought to seize my feet; but I struck his face with my heels. » Are these things worthy of the Holy Spirit? Did He ever offer such things to the prophets? Are these, forsooth, the visions to which the sacred oracle of Joel is to be fitted? Dreams of this kind smell altogether of the workshop of Montanus, very like that ecstasy of his by which Tertullian proves that the soul is « of an airy colour, and of a form human in all respects. »
II. His omnibus difficultatibus hoc primum adhibeo generale responsum, quod si quidem objecta Perpetuae visa aliquid reapse aut Spiritu sancto, aut martyre indignum continerent, Actorum potius sinceritas, quam martyrum orthodoxia in dubium esset revocanda. Hac primum responsione usus est et sanctus Augustinus. Cum enim sibi Perpetuae visio inferius examinanda, qua fratrem suum Dinocratem in poenis, deinde in refrigerio vidit, objiceretur, hoc primum respondit quod « nec Scriptura ipsa canonica est, nec illa sic scripsit vel quicunque illud scripsit, etc. » Quibus verbis dubitare videtur, an reapse Perpetua revelationes suas in litteras miserit: adeoque non omnem Actis et eorum editori fidem adhibere. Hic enim perspicue docet Perpetuam et Saturum, quae ad visiones et revelationes pertinent, suis ipsos manibus conscripsisse : « Haec, in⟨q⟩uit, sub initium, ordinem totum
II. To all these difficulties I first apply this general reply: that if the visions of Perpetua objected against us really contained anything unworthy either of the Holy Spirit or of a martyr, it is rather the genuineness of the Acts than the orthodoxy of the martyrs that ought to be called into doubt. Saint Augustine too used this reply first. For when the vision of Perpetua, to be examined below, in which she saw her brother Dinocrates in torments and then in refreshment, was objected against him, he first replied that « neither is the Scripture itself canonical, nor did she write thus, or whoever wrote it, etc. » In these words he seems to doubt whether Perpetua really committed her revelations to writing, and so [seems] not to place full credence in the Acts and their editor. For this [editor] plainly teaches that Perpetua and Saturus wrote down with their own hands the things which pertain to visions and revelations: « These things, he says, at the beginning, the whole course
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Lib. de Anima, cap. 9.
The book On the Soul, chapter 9.
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(85) ‹anchor: primum respondit› · call in col 101 (note printed at the foot of col 102)
Lib. i de Anima et ejus orig., cap, 10.
Book 1 On the Soul and Its Origin, chapter 10.
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martyrii sui jam hinc ipsa narrabit, sicut conscriptum manu sua, et suo sensu reliquit. Cum adhuc, inquit, cum persecutoribus essemus, et me pater avertere, etc. » Et infra : « Tum dixit mihi frater meus, etc. » Atque ita semper cum ipsa tum Saturus in propria persona loquuntur, Et cap. III, 2 : « Hoc usque in pridie muneris egi : ipsius autem muneris actum, si quis voluerit, scribat. » Et mox cap. IV, 1 : « Sed et Saturus benedictus hanc visionem suam edidit, quam ipse conscripsit. » Et infra, cap. V, 1 : « Haec visiones insigniores ipsorum martyrum beatissimorum, quas ipsi conscripserunt. » Et tandem cap. V, 3, se ait Perpetuae mandatum exsequi, et quae postea, ipso praesertim die muneris facta sunt, sicut ipsa desideraverat, posterorum memoriae commendare. « Quoniam ergo permisit, et permittendo voluit Spiritus sanctus ordinem ipsius muneris conscribi, etsi indigni ad supplementum tantae gloriae describendum, tamen quasi mandatum sanctissimae Perpetuae, imo fideicommissum ejus exsequimur, etc. » Qui ergo rem toties ab auctore contestatam, atque inculcatam in dubium revocat, omnem profecto ejus dictis fidem non habet. Nullibi autem sanctus Augustinus in controversiam vocat, fuerit ne Perpetua Ecclesiae mulier, an sectae montanisticae ; sed ubicunque illius meminit, meminit autem frequentissime, ut sanctissimam martyrem, et invictissimam celebrat. Unde ex Augustini sententia, Actorum potius fides, quam martyrum orthodoxia in dubium revocanda esset, si quidem in Actis aliquid occurreret quod aut Spiritum sanctum, aut veros Christi martyres dedeceret.
of her martyrdom she herself will narrate from this point on, just as she left it written by her own hand and according to her own understanding. While we were still, she says, with the persecutors, and my father [wished] to turn me away, etc. » And below: « Then my brother said to me, etc. » And so throughout, both she and Saturus speak in their own person. And chapter 3, 2: « I did this up to the day before the games; as for the action of the games themselves, let whoever wishes write it. » And soon after, chapter 4, 1: « But the blessed Saturus too has published this vision of his, which he wrote down himself. » And below, chapter 5, 1: « These are the more notable visions of the most blessed martyrs themselves, which they themselves wrote down. » And finally, chapter 5, 3, he says that he is carrying out Perpetua's charge, and committing to the memory of posterity what was done afterwards, especially on the very day of the games, just as she herself had desired. « Since, therefore, the Holy Spirit has permitted, and by permitting has willed, that the course of the games themselves be written down, although we are unworthy to describe what completes so great a glory, yet we carry it out as a charge of the most holy Perpetua, indeed as her trust, etc. » Whoever, therefore, calls into doubt a matter so often attested and impressed upon us by the author, plainly places no faith whatever in his words. Nowhere, moreover, does Saint Augustine call into question whether Perpetua was a woman of the Church or of the Montanist sect; but wherever he mentions her, and he mentions her very frequently, he celebrates her as a most holy and most invincible martyr. Hence, in Augustine's judgement, it would be the trustworthiness of the Acts rather than the orthodoxy of the martyrs that ought to be called into doubt, if indeed something were found in the Acts that was unbecoming either to the Holy Spirit or to true martyrs of Christ.
Et sane quot, licet antiqua, sanctorum martyrum aut apostolorum aut quorumlibet insignium virorum acta vel historiae, hoc potissimum argumento, aut in dubium revocantur, aut penitus exploduntur, et ad fabulas amandantur! Quot etiam antiqua monumenta, hoc eodem argumento, auctoribus quorum nomina praeferunt, abjudicantur ! Ita qui Barnabae aut Clementis, aut Ignatii Epistolas inter supposititios foetus recensent, hac praesertim ratione nituntur, quod in eis apostolici viri doctrina, spiritus item apostolici vis et majestas desideretur. Hac etiam ferme una ratione ducuntur, qui Hermae visiones, quamvis antiquis adeo celebratas, ut pene in Scripturarum canonem relatae ab eis fuerint, exsibilant atque explodunt ; quod nempe multa ipsorum judicio contineant Apostolorum discipulo non satis digna, et ab Apostolorum doctrina perquam aliena ; neque, ut verbis utar Basnagii, satis cum gravitate decentiaque oblata Hermae visa conjungantur. Nemo tamen criticorum eo hactenus audaciae processit, ut ob naevos aliquos, aut errata, aut etiam noxia doctrinae capita, quae sibi in hisce, aut ejusmodi monumentis deprehendere videbatur, de illorum sana fide atque orthodoxia dubitaret, quibus
And indeed, how many acts or histories of holy martyrs or apostles or of any distinguished men whatever, ancient though they are, are on this argument above all either called into doubt, or utterly hissed off the stage and banished among the fables! How many ancient monuments too, on this same argument, are adjudged not to belong to the authors whose names they bear! Thus those who reckon the Epistles of Barnabas, or of Clement, or of Ignatius among spurious offspring rely chiefly on this reason, that in them the teaching of an apostolic man, and likewise the force and majesty of an apostolic spirit, are found wanting. By almost this one reason too are they led who hiss off and reject the visions of Hermas, although these were so celebrated among the ancients that they were very nearly admitted by them into the canon of the Scriptures; namely, that in their judgement they contain many things not quite worthy of a disciple of the Apostles and quite foreign to the teaching of the Apostles; nor, to use the words of Basnage, are the sights presented to Hermas joined with sufficient gravity and propriety. Yet none of the critics has so far gone to such a pitch of audacity as, on account of some blemishes, or errors, or even harmful points of doctrine which he seemed to himself to detect in these or similar monuments, to doubt the sound faith and orthodoxy of those to whom
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ejusmodi opera Patres etiam antiquissimi tribuerunt Maluerunt scilicet laudatis Patribus eripere quae illorum indigna spiritu judicarunt, quam de illorum pietate ac religione indignum aliquid statuere, et secundum eorum contestatam virtutem de libris aut tributis ipsis visionibus arbitrum facere, quam ob libros aut visiones eorum famam et honorem in discrimen adducere: neque ideo pravam de sanctis quibusdam viris opinionem animo imbiberunt; quod prava judicarent, quae illis scripta tribuebantur; sed quae prava judicabant iis tribui noluerunt, de quibus fas non erat pravam animo imbibere opinionem. Cum igitur nefas esset et summae temeritatis de Perpetuae et sociorum martyrum religione ac recta fide per tot ab eorum martyrio saecula, universalis Ecclesiae judicio et veterum Patrum unanimi conseusione comprobata, controversiam movere. si quid in eorum actis offendit Basnagius, quod in catholicos martyres ipsius judicio non quadret, id potius, omne debuit ut adulterinum rejicere, quam de sanctis martyribus indignum aliquid constituere.
works of this kind the most ancient Fathers also attributed They preferred, that is, to take away from the Fathers they praised what they judged unworthy of their spirit, rather than to decide anything unworthy concerning their piety and religion, and to pass judgement on the books or the visions attributed to them according to their attested virtue, rather than to bring their reputation and honour into danger on account of books or visions: nor did they therefore conceive in their minds a bad opinion of certain holy men because they judged bad the writings that were attributed to them; but what they judged bad they refused to attribute to those of whom it was not right to conceive a bad opinion. Since, therefore, it would have been wrong and of the utmost rashness to raise a controversy about the religion and right faith of Perpetua and her fellow martyrs, approved through so many centuries since their martyrdom by the judgement of the universal Church and the unanimous consent of the ancient Fathers. if anything in their acts offended Basnage which, in his judgement, did not fit catholic martyrs, he ought rather to have rejected all of it as spurious than to determine anything unworthy concerning the holy martyrs.
III. Neque profecto, si huic quam Augustinus aperuit, insistere orbitae voluisset, pro ea qua pollebat ingenii vi et critico acumine, Basnagio defuissent argumenta quibus hanc opinionem utcunque fulcire et plausibilem efficere potuisset. Primo enim non sibi quisquam facile persuaderet, mulierem Africanam adeo fuisse Graecis litteris addictam ut ab iis in tam brevi scriptura saepius usurpandis, sibi nequiverit temperare. Haud me latet Graeca esse quamplurima verba, quae in vulgarem etiam, et popularem Latini sermonis usum transierunt: at non ejusmodi sunt quae a Perpetua in suis describendis visionibus usurpantur, imo fere inusitata, et quae in Latinis scriptoribus vix, aut nunquam occurrunt. Ita cap. I, 3: « Bene venisti, Tegnon. » Ubi Ruinartius admonet, quod τέκνον, etsi rarius, aliquando tamen filiam designat. Sed vellem Latinum scriptorem protulisset, qui τέκνον pro filia scripserit. Cap. II, 3, « Ostensum est mihi hoc in oromate. » Et cap. III, 2, « Video in oromate. » In quae loca haec annotat vir Cl. Luca Holstenius: « Hes exigit ut rescribatur horamate, nisi haec vox ita deformata in usu populari Afrorum erat. Est autem ραμα vox Graeca sonans visum, sive visionem. Usurpatur Actor cap. XII.9; Latini scriptores ea rarius usi sunt, tamen Aldhelmus, lib. de Virginitate, cap. 3, ubi de sancto Joanne evangelista loquitur, ait, eum « in Pathmo raptum in horomate, » ubi Meursius recte horamate substituit in Mantissa critica (sicque in Bibliotheca sanctorum Patrum editum reperio), frustra reprehensione Suvartio Analectorum lib. III. cap. 9, qui chroma ibi rescribendum, persuadere nequidquam conatur. Reperio etiam apud Alcuinum, lib. I de Vita sancti Willebrordi, capite 2, haec verba: « Mater, intempestae noctis quiete, coeleste in somnis vidit horama. » Quod ait vir doctissimus, latinos scriptores hac voce rarius esse usos, perspicuum est; sed quod indicare videtur
III. And indeed, had he been willing to keep to this track which Augustine opened, then, given the force of intellect and the critical acumen in which he excelled, Basnage would not have lacked arguments with which to prop up this opinion somehow and make it plausible. For in the first place, no one would easily persuade himself that an African woman was so devoted to Greek letters that she could not restrain herself from using them quite often in so short a writing. I am not unaware that there are very many Greek words which have passed into the common and popular usage of the Latin language as well: but such are not those which Perpetua uses in describing her visions; on the contrary, they are almost unused, and such as occur in Latin writers scarcely or never. Thus ch. 1, 3: "Welcome, Tegnon." Where Ruinart observes that τέκνον, although rather rarely, sometimes denotes a daughter. But I could wish he had brought forward a Latin writer who wrote τέκνον for filia. Ch. 2, 3, "This was shown to me in an oroma." And ch. 3, 2, "I see in an oroma." On these passages the distinguished Lucas Holstenius notes as follows: "The matter requires that horamate be written instead, unless this word was so deformed in the popular usage of the Africans. Now ραμα is a Greek word meaning a sight, or vision. It is used in Acts 12:9; Latin writers have used it rather rarely, yet Aldhelm, in the book On Virginity, ch. 3, where he speaks of Saint John the Evangelist, says that he was "caught up in Patmos in a horoma," where Meursius rightly substituted horamate in his Mantissa critica (and so I find it edited in the Bibliotheca of the holy Fathers), with Swertius, Analecta book 3, ch. 9, censuring in vain, who tries to no purpose to persuade that chroma should be written there. I find also in Alcuin, book 1 of the Life of Saint Willibrord, chapter 2, these words: "The mother, in the stillness of the dead of night, saw in her sleep a heavenly horama." What the most learned man says, that Latin writers used this word rather rarely, is evident; but what he seems to indicate
Editors' notes and page, col. 103
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- marginal letters: A ‹ejusmodi opera Patres etiam›; B ‹salis Ecclesiae judicio et veterum›; C ‹pularem Latini sermonis usum›; D ‹men Aldhelmus, lib. de Virginitate›
- old-edition numerals: 100 after ‹fulcire›
- other: editors' matter: whole column is a dissertation (Dissertatio apologetica on the Acts of Perpetua), ‹ejusmodi opera Patres etiam antiquissimi›; column begins mid-sentence; "tribuerunt Maluerunt" printed without stop and "movere. si" with lower-case s, kept as printed; first letter of "arbitrum" damaged/odd (looks like κ), set a; "Hes" could be a broken R rather than a true misprint, UNSURE; Greek "ραμα" printed with distorted letters and no initial omicron, UNSURE; mark over o in "Holstenius" taken as noise
eam in usu populari Afrorum fuisse, haud facile concesserim ; cum neque in Tertulliano ejusdem aevi scriptore, quanquam exoticis ejusmodi ac praecipue Graecis vocibus admodum delectetur, et frequentissime de visionibus ac revelationibus agat, occurrat; neque in supparibus scriptoribus, Cypriano et Pontio diacono, quanquam et ipsi varias subinde visiones referant ; neque item in Optato Milevitano, Augustino, Fulgentio, ac Victore Vitensi, quamvis non adeo castigata locutione, et a populari usu remotissima, utantur. Eodem capite III, 2, vox alia Graece significationis occurrit : « Aegyptium video in afa volutantem. » « Afa, » inquit in hunc locum laudatus Holstenius, « pulvis est, graeca significatione : est enim graecum nomen ἀφή, latine scriptum. Solebant autem pugiles certaturi inspergere uncta corpora pulvere, vel in eo humi jacente se volutare. Ovid., Metamorphos. 9 de duobus palestritis invicem sibi pulverem ad istum usum ministrantibus :
that it was in the popular usage of the Africans, I would not readily grant; since it occurs neither in Tertullian, a writer of the same age, although he greatly delights in exotic words of this kind, and especially Greek ones, and very frequently treats of visions and revelations; nor in the nearly contemporary writers Cyprian and Pontius the deacon, although they too relate various visions from time to time; nor likewise in Optatus of Milevis, Augustine, Fulgentius and Victor of Vita, although they use a diction not so very polished and very far removed from popular usage. In the same chapter III, 2, another word of Greek meaning occurs: 'I see the Egyptian rolling in the afa.' 'Afa,' says the Holstenius praised above on this passage, 'is dust, in the Greek meaning: for it is the Greek noun ἀφή, written in Latin. Now boxers about to fight were accustomed to sprinkle their oiled bodies with dust, or to roll themselves in it as it lay on the ground. Ovid, Metamorphoses 9, of two wrestlers supplying each other in turn with dust for that purpose:
Ille cavis hausto spargit me pulvere palmis / Inque vicem fulvae jactu flavescit arenae.
He sprinkles me with dust scooped up in his hollowed palms, / and in turn grows yellow with the throw of tawny sand.
« Quam arenam, unde flavescebant hic modo pugilum corpora, Martialis lib. VII, Epigram. 66, vocat hapen hoc versu :
'This sand, with which the bodies of the boxers were just now growing yellow, Martial, book VII, Epigram 66, calls hapen in this verse:
Et flavescit haphe. . . . . »
And grows yellow with haphe.'
Nescio tamen, an praeter Martialem apud alium Latinum scriptorem reperiatur; et poeta forsitan metri causa hanc vocem usurpavit. Capite item II, 3, Graecum aliud paulo post nomen legitur : « Et inter me el illum grande erat diadema. » De hac etiam voce haec habet Holstenius in notis : « Non dissimulo, si suscipioni esset indulgendum, videri non sine fundamento reponi posse diastema pro diadema. Nam diastematis vocem Latinis eo saeculo frequentatam intelligere licet ex L. Frontino lib. De Agror. Qualit., ubi sic scribit : Si tres circuli pares fuerint, inter se aequali diastemate connexi, Et Hygenus de Limit. constit., Quid quod nec illa ipsa regione solis conspectus recte potest deprehendi, nisi aequalibus ab ortu et occasu diastematibus, ferramentum ponatur. Item, terram punctum esse coeli et infra solem amplo diastemate spiritus sustineri. De hac tamen viri doctissimi observatione, haec subjungit Petrus Possinus : « Quae notat hic Holstenius de conjectura qua rescribendum suspicatur diastema pro diadema videntur hanc exceptionem pati, quod loca illa quae citat Frontini et Hygeni agrimensorum parum certo persuadeant, sanctam Perpetuam usam hoc loco ista voce quae erat propria artis agrimensoriae, ac consequenter aliena ab usu vulgari, praesertim mulierum in Africa. » Itaque ex constanti ac diserta mss. codicis lectione vocem diadema retineri vult, et idem ferme quod Limbi nomen hoc loco significare. Sed quae in hanc mentem erudite atque subtiliter disserit, non ostendunt hanc fuisse eo tempore hujus vocis usitatam ac popularem notionem
I do not know, however, whether it is found in any other Latin writer besides Martial; and perhaps the poet adopted this word for the sake of the metre. Likewise in chapter II, 3, another Greek noun is read a little later: 'And between me and him there was a great diadema.' On this word too Holstenius has this in his notes: 'I do not conceal that, if suspicion were to be indulged, it seems that diastema could be restored in place of diadema not without foundation. For one may understand that the word diastema was in frequent use among the Latins in that age from L. Frontinus, in the book On the Qualities of Lands, where he writes thus: If three circles are equal, joined to one another at an equal interval (diastemate), And Hygenus, On the Establishment of Boundaries: What of the fact that not even in that very region can the sight of the sun be rightly caught, unless the instrument is set at equal intervals (diastematibus) from east and west. Likewise, that the earth is the point of the heaven and is sustained below the sun by a wide interval (diastemate) of air. On this observation of that most learned man, however, Petrus Possinus adds this: 'What Holstenius notes here concerning the conjecture by which he suspects that diastema should be written in place of diadema seems to suffer this objection, that those passages which he cites from Frontinus and Hygenus, the land-surveyors, give little sure ground for believing that Saint Perpetua used in this place that word, which was proper to the surveyor's art and consequently foreign to common usage, especially that of women in Africa.' And so, on the strength of the constant and clear reading of the manuscript codex, he wishes the word diadema to be retained, and to mean in this place almost the same as the noun limbus. But what he argues learnedly and subtly to this effect does not show that this was at that time the usual and popular sense of this word
Editors' notes and page, col. 104
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- running head: TATIO APOLOGETICA 104 (left part of the head cut off at the image edge)
- marginal letters: A eam in usu populari Afrorum; B scriptum. Solebant autem pugiles; C item II, 3, Graecum aliud; D « Quae notat hic Holstenius
- old-edition numerals: 101 after Latinum
- other: the column is all editors' matter (the dissertation's discussion of the words afa and diadema in the Acts of Perpetua, beginning "eam in usu populari Afrorum") and is set in full. UNSURE: the breathing on the Greek ἀφή is unclear on the page. The "græcum" before nomen and the "Limit." have damaged type, read as graecum and Limit. "palestritis" is set as printed. "me el illum" is set as printed (possibly a t with a broken crossbar). The Ovid couplet is set as one line with " / ". Holstenius's quotation that opens « Non dissimulo has no visible closing ».
sicut modo Limbi nominis apud scholasticos, adeoque melius ac diastema in africanam foeminam convenire. Licet enim Tertullianus, Perpetuae coaevus, et Carthaginis incola, et postea sanctus Augustinus, saepius abdita haec animarum receptacula nominarint, nunquam ea tamen diademata nuncuparunt: quanquam ille, ut dictum est, exosticis et peregrinis, hic vero popularibus vocibus admodum delectarentur. Jam vero quis sibi facile persuadeat, mulierem ad martyrium festinantem, graecam affectasse eruditionem, aut inter carceris umbras et angustias, in brevi hoc commentario litteris consignando, de inusitatis vocibus excogitasse, et non magis eas quae in usu familiari habebantur, prout sponte sese ac statim ad mentem offerebant, usurpasse? Saturus quoque graecas litteras amat, adeo ut in brevi scriptiuncula, qua visionem suam exponit, graecis nequierit vocibus abstinere: « Et audivimus vocem unitam dicentium, Agios, agios, agios, sine cessatione. »
just as nowadays that of the name 'Limbus' among the scholastics, and that accordingly diastema too suits an African woman all the better. For although Tertullian, Perpetua's contemporary and an inhabitant of Carthage, and afterwards Saint Augustine, quite often named these hidden receptacles of souls, they nevertheless never called them diademata: although the former, as has been said, took great delight in exotic and foreign words, and the latter in popular ones. Now who could easily persuade himself that a woman hastening to martyrdom affected Greek learning, or that amid the shadows and straits of the prison, while committing this brief memoir to writing, she thought about unusual words, and did not rather use those which were in familiar use, just as they presented themselves to her mind of their own accord and at once? Saturus too loves Greek letters, so much so that in the brief little piece of writing in which he sets out his vision, he could not refrain from Greek words: « And we heard a united voice of people saying, Agios, agios, agios, without ceasing. »
IV. Secundo si Actorum editori fidem adhibemus, Acta non uno auctore constant, sed e trium scriptorum monumentis concinnata sunt, Perpetuae nimirum, Saturi, et eorumdem Actorum collectoris, qui et praefationem adjunxit, et quae ipso die muneris gesta sunt, in litteras misit. Verum si oculos propius admoveamus, eaque non oscitanter a nobis aut somniculose legantur, sed praesenti animo et ea qua per est attentione, unum statim eumdemque auctorem repraesentare videntur. Similia in omnibus verba, similes phrases, similes locutiones occurrunt; unus idemque stylus in omnibus deprehenditur. Auctor Epistolae Biturigibus scriptae ad Henricum Valesium id opus Tertulliano attribuit. Quod ut probaret, collatis multis Actorum locis cum aliis Tertulliani operibus ostendit eumdem omnino stylum, easdem loquendi formulas, ac etiam saepius eadem verba in utrisque reperiri. Sed hae loquendi formulae, hae phrases, haec verba, hic demum quicunque sit Tertullianicus stylus, non in iis tantum quae de suo auctor se adjecisse fatetur, sed in iis etiam quae ut Perpetuae et Saturi verba exhibet animadvertitur. Basnagius tamen laudatum opus Tertulliano his argumentis abjudicat: quod Tertulliano nullus veterum ea tribuit. Quia etiam stylus illo Tertulliani humilior est nec paribus ignibus micat. Denique Acta Perpetuae laudat ipse Tertullianus suppresso suo nomine, quod edit, dum operum suorum meminit. In prima istarum ratione, et ultima non multum momenti inest. Ad primam enim responderi facile posset: primo argumentum esse negativum, quod propterea non admodum urget. Secundo, ideo non fuisse id operis inter Tertulliani Opera recensitum, quod Actorum potius collector quam auctor haberetur. Postremam quoque rationem facile esset eludere, dicendo imprimis quod Tertullianus Acta non citat, sed Perpetuae visionem memorat, quam aliunde accepisse poterat, quam ex Actis. Deinde cum
IV. Secondly, if we give credence to the editor of the Acts, the Acts do not consist of one author, but have been put together from the records of three writers, namely of Perpetua, of Saturus, and of the compiler of these same Acts, who both added the preface and committed to writing the things that were done on the very day of the games. But if we bring our eyes closer, and they are read by us not yawningly or drowsily, but with an alert mind and with the attention that is fitting, they at once appear to present one and the same author. Similar words, similar phrases, similar expressions occur in all of them; one and the same style is detected in all. The author of the Letter written from Bourges to Henri de Valois attributes that work to Tertullian. To prove this, having compared many passages of the Acts with other works of Tertullian, he shows that entirely the same style, the same formulas of speech, and even quite often the same words are found in both. But these formulas of speech, these phrases, these words, in short this Tertullianic style, whatever it may be, is observed not only in those parts which the author admits he added of his own, but also in those which he presents as the words of Perpetua and Saturus. Basnage, however, denies the said work to Tertullian by these arguments: that none of the ancients attributed it to Tertullian. Also because the style is humbler than that of Tertullian and does not glitter with equal fires. Finally, that Tertullian himself praises the Acts of Perpetua while suppressing his own name, which he publishes when he mentions his own works. In the first of these reasons, and in the last, there is not much weight. For to the first it could easily be answered: first, that the argument is a negative one, which for that reason does not press very hard. Secondly, that this work was not listed among Tertullian's Works for this reason, that he was held to be the compiler rather than the author of the Acts. The last reason too it would be easy to evade, by saying first of all that Tertullian does not cite the Acts but mentions Perpetua's vision, which he could have received from elsewhere than from the Acts. Then, when he
Editors' notes and page, col. 105
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- running head: 105 PRO SS. PERPETUA, FELICIT[...] (cut off at image edge)
- marginal letters: A ‹sicut modo Limbi nominis›; B ‹ut in brevi scriptiuncula›; C ‹locutiones occurrunt; unus idemque›; D ‹micat. Denique Acta Perpetuae›
- old-edition numerals: 102 after ‹similes›
- other: whole column is editors' matter (dissertation on the Acts of Perpetua, continuing; first words ‹sicut modo Limbi›; section IV begins ‹Secundo si Actorum›); column begins mid-sentence; "foeminam" read from a blurred ligature, possibly printed fœ; "tamen" and "non" have damaged letters but are legible; "In prima istarum ratione" and "quod edit" set as printed though grammar is odd; printer's signature PATROL. III. not set; no full-width line
librum scripsit de Anima. Acta forsitan nondum ediderat, sed ea apud se retinebat suo tempore publicanda. Plus itaque momenti in secunda ratione est. Non enim negari potest, Actorum humilius esse dicendi genus neque Tertulliani cothurno incedere. At non Perpetua solum et Saturus, sed ipse quoque Actorum editor humilius repit. Unde quemadmodum phrases aliquas et verba Tertulliani verbis ac phrasibus similia, non minus Saturus et Perpetua quam passionis eorum editor, habent; ita non minus iste humilius dicendi genus, quam Perpetua et Saturus consectatur. Et siquidem auctor epistolae propter aliquam similitudinem suspicatus est, an Actarum editor ipse fuerit Tertullanus: multo magis propter unum ferme eumdemque orationis characterem, suspicio esse poterit, annon Acta ex unius ejusdemque auctoris manu profecta sint.
wrote the book On the Soul, perhaps he had not yet published the Acts, but was keeping them by him, to be published in due time. There is therefore more weight in the second argument. For it cannot be denied that the style of the Acts is rather lowly and does not stride on Tertullian's buskin. But not only Perpetua and Saturus, but the editor of the Acts himself also creeps along rather lowly. Hence, just as Saturus and Perpetua, no less than the editor of their passion, have certain phrases and words similar to the words and phrases of Tertullian, so this man, no less than Perpetua and Saturus, pursues the lowlier style. And if indeed the author of the letter, on account of some similarity, suspected whether the editor of the Acts was Tertullian himself, much more, on account of an almost one and the same character of language, could there be a suspicion whether the Acts did not proceed from the hand of one and the same author.
Haec non eo dicta velim, quod ejusmodi conjecturis admodum deferam, aut quod Actorum γνησιότητα in suspicionem adducere in animo reapse habeam, sed ut ostenderem, quibus argumentis confirmari posset opinio ejus, qui sibi in Perpetuae visionibus ac revelationibus aliquid videretur offendere, quod aut Spiritum sanctum aut catholicae communionis martyrem dedeceret: ac propterea ea omnia vellet, ut Montanistarum commenta, et confictas ab otiosis ac superstitiosis hominibus fabulas repudiare. Quod certe minoris audaciae foret, quam sanctos martyres Catholicorum diptychis expungere et in Montanistarum censum referre.
I would not wish these things said because I set great store by conjectures of this kind, or because I really have it in mind to bring the genuineness of the Acts under suspicion, but in order to show by what arguments the opinion of someone could be confirmed who thought he came upon something in the visions and revelations of Perpetua that would be unbecoming either to the Holy Spirit or to a martyr of the Catholic communion, and who therefore wished to reject all of it as fabrications of the Montanists and fables invented by idle and superstitious men. This would certainly be of less audacity than to strike holy martyrs out of the diptychs of the Catholics and enrol them in the census of the Montanists.
V. N⟨e⟩que vero aut Tertulliani auctoritate, aut ipsa Actorum vetustate ab incoepto, si opus esset, prosequendaque hac via deterrerer. Non equidem Tertulliani auctoritate: quamvis enim ea ad manus habuisse credatur, et pro genuinis atque indubiae fidei monumentis laudasse, de hoc tamen, ut dixi, non constat, cum ipsi commemoratam Perpetuae visionem aliunde potuerit accipere, Deinde, non multum in hacce controversia scriptoris hujus auctoritate deferendum est, cum nullius hisce in rebus criterii et judicii fuerit, ut qui sibi ab insanis, fanaticisque mulierculis turpissime imponi passus fuerit, et animam aerei coloris esse cradiderit, et formae per omnia humanae, quod eam sibi quaedam e Montanisturum secta pseudo-prophetes, ejusmodi coloribus, et lineamentis praeditam renuntiaverit.
V. Nor indeed would I be deterred, either by the authority of Tertullian or by the very antiquity of the Acts, from the undertaking and from pursuing this path, if there were need. Not, indeed, by the authority of Tertullian: for although he is believed to have had them at hand and to have praised them as genuine records of undoubted credit, yet of this, as I have said, there is no certainty, since he could have received the vision of Perpetua that he mentions from elsewhere. Next, not much deference is owed in this controversy to the authority of this writer, since he had no discernment or judgement in such matters, as one who let himself be most shamefully imposed upon by mad and fanatical silly women, and believed the soul to be of the colour of air and of a form human in every respect, because a certain false prophetess of the Montanist sect had reported it to him as endowed with such colours and lineaments.
Fuerint etiam ab auctore coaevo, ut fertur, et ipse in praefatione testatur, sanctorum martyrum Acta in litteras missa, et serae posteritati commendata: non inde tamen consequens esset, ea quae ad visiones pertinent, omnia esse avidis auribus, nulloque adhibito criterio excipienda. Quam facile est enim ut hisce in rebus et boni, viri fallantur, et male feriati homines cum otio suo, tum aliorum credulitate abutantur! Auctor, ut vidimus, montanista, quae de Perpetuae et Saturi visionibus habet,
Granted even that the Acts of the holy martyrs were committed to writing by a contemporary author, as is reported and as he himself testifies in the preface, and entrusted to late posterity: it would not follow from this that everything pertaining to the visions is to be received with eager ears and without applying any discernment. For how easy it is in such matters both for good men to be deceived, and for men ill employed to abuse both their own leisure and the credulity of others! The author, a Montanist, as we have seen, what he has about the visions of Perpetua and Saturus,
Editors' notes and page, col. 106
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- running head: [cut off at left edge]TUA, FELICITATE ET SOCIIS. 106
- marginal letters: A ‹librum scripsit de Anima›; B ‹Acta ex unius ejusdemque›; C ‹censum referre›; D ‹sibi quaedam e Montanisturum›
- old-edition numerals: 103 after ‹ipsa›
- other: column begins mid-sentence (librum) and ends mid-sentence (habet,); left-column fragments belong to col. 105 and are not set; "N⟨e⟩que" e damaged; "ediderat" and "est" printed with damaged d/e, read as such; "hacvia" printed without space, set "hac via"; "Deinde" capitalized after comma as printed; editors' matter set: the whole column is editors' dissertation prose (continuing from col. 105; paragraphs begin ‹librum scripsit›, ‹Haec non eo›, ‹V. Neque vero›, ‹Fuerint etiam›); no full-width line
omnia ad arbitrium confingere potnisset. Res in imis carceris latebris, et recessibus gestae narrantur. Quid Deo cum martyribus actum fuerit, ipse duntaxat Deus novit et martyres, qui jam excesserant. Quis ergo praestaret, ea quae Basnagio Montanistarum redolent officinam, esse martyribus reapse tribuenda, et non magis explodenda ut otiosi hominis, vanissimaeque sectae addicti deliramenta? Quo id proclivius de homine montanista in anima induceremus, faceret exemplum auctoris donatistae qui Marculi perditae hujus et schismaticae factionis pseudomartyris Acta litterarum monumentis commendavit. Quamvis enim scriptor et ipse coaevus fuerit, quanta sunt tamen quae mira licentia commentus est, et multo majore impudentia lectoribus in illis Actis obtrudit! Quas enim refert hujus hypocritae revelationes, catholico martyre haud prorsus indignas, quis, non ut audacissimi capitis commenta repudiet? Quo ergo libertate auctori donatistae in his quae de Marculi visionibus narrat, fidem abrogamus, quod haeretico homini non conveniant, eadem erga scriptorem montanistam, uti possemus, si quas refert Perpetuae et Saturi visiones in catholicos martyres non quadrarent.
could have fabricated everything at his own discretion. The events are related as having taken place in the deepest hiding-places and recesses of the prison. What passed between God and the martyrs, God Himself alone knows, and the martyrs, who had already departed. Who, then, would guarantee that the things which to Basnage smell of the workshop of the Montanists are really to be attributed to the martyrs, and are not rather to be hissed off as the ravings of an idle man devoted to a most empty sect? That we should the more readily bring ourselves to believe this of a Montanist man, the example of the Donatist author would bring about, who committed to written record the Acts of Marculus, pseudo-martyr of that abandoned and schismatic faction. For although the writer was himself also a contemporary, how many are the things which he invented with astonishing licence, and with far greater impudence thrusts upon his readers in those Acts! For the revelations of this hypocrite which he reports, by no means wholly unworthy of a Catholic martyr, who would not repudiate them as the inventions of a most audacious head? The same freedom, then, with which we deny credence to the Donatist author in what he relates about the visions of Marculus, on the ground that they do not befit a heretical man, we could use towards the Montanist writer, if the visions of Perpetua and Saturus which he reports did not fit Catholic martyrs.
Nollem equidem negare, Saturum et Perpetuam coelestibus inclaruisse revelationibus: sed an illae ipsae sint, quas scriptor montanista publici juris fecit, merito quispiam, si opus esset, in controversiam vocaret. Quidam eorum qui adversus Ignatianas epistolas calamum exseruerunt, aliquas a santo martyre conscriptas fuisse litteras non inficiantur. Quin et ultro admittunt, eas a Polycarpo fuisse coliectas earumque συναγωγὴν suae sanctum episcopum ad Philippenses epistolae subjunxisse: sed quas modo habemus vel ab Ignatio scriptas, vel a Polycarpo editas fuisse, non admittunt, quod multa ipsorum judicio contineant, quae fieri non potest ut epistolae vere ab Ignatio scriptae habuerint. Hac responsione Dallaeus Polycarpiani testimonii vim elevare conatur, qui etiam ab impostore confictas, genuinis Ignatii et a Polycarpo laudatis epistolis similes aliqua re fuisse largitur, Basnagius, qui sancto Ignatio, quae modo sub ejus nomine circunferuntur, non secus ac Dallaeus, abjudicat, quod multa contineant quae fieri non potest, ut epistolae vere ab ignatio scriptae habuerint: cur non eidem, ubi de Perpetuae revelationibus agebatur, orbitae institit? An non minoris temeritatis fuisset, admittere quidem fuisse Perpetuam coelestibus in carcere visionibus recreatam, sed casdem esse pernegare, quas editor montanista vulgavit, quod multa contineant quae fieri non potest ut immissae catholicis martyribus revelationes habuerint? Id, inquam, annon minoris temeritatis fuisset, quam montanismi catholicos martyres reos agere? Largiri etiam facile potuisset, quas ab impostore confictas existimaret
I should not indeed wish to deny that Saturus and Perpetua were made illustrious by heavenly revelations; but whether those are the very ones which the Montanist writer made public, someone might rightly, if there were need, call into dispute. Certain of those who have drawn the pen against the Ignatian epistles do not deny that some letters were written by the holy martyr. Indeed they even freely admit that these were collected by Polycarp, and that the holy bishop appended their collection to his own epistle to the Philippians; but they do not admit that those which we now have were either written by Ignatius or published by Polycarp, because in their judgement they contain many things which epistles truly written by Ignatius cannot possibly have contained. With this reply Daillé attempts to lessen the force of Polycarp's testimony, while he grants that those fabricated even by an impostor were in some respect similar to the genuine epistles of Ignatius praised by Polycarp. Basnage, who, no differently from Daillé, denies to Saint Ignatius those which now circulate under his name, because they contain many things which epistles truly written by Ignatius cannot possibly have contained: why did he not keep to the same track when the revelations of Perpetua were in question? Would it not have been of less rashness to admit indeed that Perpetua was refreshed in prison by heavenly visions, but to deny outright that they were the same as those which the Montanist editor published, because they contain many things which revelations sent to Catholic martyrs cannot possibly have contained? Would that, I say, not have been of less rashness than to arraign Catholic martyrs on a charge of Montanism? He could also easily have granted that those visions of Perpetua and Saturus which he judged to have been fabricated by an impostor
Editors' notes and page, col. 107
Footnotes
(86) ‹anchor: Hac responsione Dallaeus› · call in col 107
Apud Pearson. Vindiciar. p. 1. cap. 5.
In Pearson, Vindiciae [Ignatianae], part 1, chapter 5.
(printed under page 106)
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- running head: 107 DISSERTATIO APOLO[cut off at the image edge]
- marginal letters: A omnia ad arbitrium confingere; B pocritae revelationes, catholico; C inficiantur. Quin et ultro; D habuerint: cur non eidem
- old-edition numerals: 104 after ‹Polycarpo›
Perpetuae et Saturi visiones, iisque in ore famae tunc versabantur, similes aliqua re fuisse, sed non eas⟨d⟩em omnino quod ejus emunctissimis naribus quae modo exstant, Montanistarum redoleant officinam.
were similar in some respect to those which were then current on the lips of report, but not entirely the same, because those which now survive smell, to his most discerning nostrils, of the workshop of the Montanists.
Denique juxta hypothesim, quam in hoc capite persequor, quod montanismum reapse Perpetuae et Felicitatis Acta redoleanl, illud etiam largiri quis facile posset, Perpetuam et Saturum suas in carcere scripsisse revelationes; sed cum casu quodam, antequam vulgarentur, in manus hominis Montani superstitionibus implicati venissent, eas illum ad arbitrium interpolasse, et quibusdam in locis, ut magis libuit, figmentis haereticis inquinasse. In interpolatorem proinde, non autem in sanctos martyres, esse refundenda quae montanismum criticis peritioribus saperent.
Finally, on the hypothesis which I am pursuing in this chapter, that the Acts of Perpetua and Felicity do in fact smell of Montanism, one could also readily grant this: that Perpetua and Saturus wrote their revelations in prison, but that, since by some chance they had come, before they were made public, into the hands of a man entangled in the superstitions of Montanus, he interpolated them at his pleasure and in certain places, as it best pleased him, defiled them with heretical fictions. Accordingly, whatever might savour of Montanism to the more skilled critics is to be laid upon the interpolator, and not upon the holy martyrs.
CAPUT IV.
Chapter IV.
De visionum aliorumque coelestium donorum per priora Ecclesiae saecula, copia et ubertate disseritur. Veteres Christianos, et omnium opinione, genuinos Christi martyres non minori, quam Perpetuam, fiducia divinis hisce Spiritus sancti charissimatibus, usos fuisse demonstratur. I. Nihil in nostrorum martyrum Actis reapse occurrere quod Montani redoleat officinam. II. Sanctus Justinus M. sui temporis prophetas cum veteribus comparat. Unde conficitur non minori quam illos fiducia propheticum spiritum usurpgsse. III. De Montanistarum initiis. Nullus vetustissimorum scriptorum monlanistas ideo pro falsis prophetis habuit. quod veluti ad arbitrium Spiritus sancti revelationibus uterentur. IV. De charismatum per haec tempora varietate et copia insigne sancti Irenaei testimonium. V. Quam praesto fuerit veteribus Christianis, ad coercendos abigendosque daemones, virtus Spiritus sancti. VI. Potamiaenae, non minus quam Perpetuae, memorabile exemplum. VII. Quantum Cypriani vita visionibus ac revelationibus abandaverit, ex ejus epistolis, et Pontio diacono ostenditur. VIII Aliorum martyrum Acta iisdem Spiritus sancti donis referta IX. Perpetuae et socio⟨r⟩um martyrum aevo charismatum fontem, magis quam Cyprini temporibus exundassc.
The abundance and richness of visions and of the other heavenly gifts through the earlier ages of the Church is discussed. It is shown that the ancient Christians, and genuine martyrs of Christ in the opinion of all, made use of these divine charisms of the Holy Spirit with no less confidence than Perpetua. I. That nothing in fact occurs in the Acts of our martyrs which smells of the workshop of Montanus. II. Saint Justin Martyr compares the prophets of his own time with those of old. From which it is concluded that they laid claim to the prophetic spirit with no less confidence than those. III. On the beginnings of the Montanists. None of the most ancient writers held the Montanists to be false prophets for this reason, that they used revelations as if at the will of the Holy Spirit. IV. A remarkable testimony of Saint Irenaeus on the variety and abundance of charisms in these times. V. How readily available to the ancient Christians was the power of the Holy Spirit for restraining and driving away demons. VI. The memorable example of Potamiaena, no less than of Perpetua. VII. How greatly the life of Cyprian abounded in visions and revelations is shown from his letters and from Pontius the deacon. VIII. The Acts of other martyrs filled with the same gifts of the Holy Spirit. IX. That in the age of Perpetua and her fellow martyrs the fountain of charisms overflowed more than in the times of Cyprian.
I. Quum, ut saepius dixi, quae capite praecedenti in medium produxi, non in eam mentem accipi velim, quasi Actorum γνησιότητα in controversiam vocare, aut earumdem seditorem, etsi montanistam, in fraudis suspicionem adducere, in animo habeam: alia nunc nobis via, Augustino etiam duce, capessenda dandaque opera est ut omnem a Perpetuae visionibus, etiam prout in Actis referuntur, montanismi suspicionem amoliamur. Ut enim Acta nullis Montanistarum commentis inquinata esse negemus, et Perpetuae revelationes aliquid habere, quod Montani scholam officinamque redoleat, Ecclesiae auctoritas facit, quae non heri, aut nudiustertius, sed ab antiquis temporibus, ut ex Augustino constat, publicam eorum lectionem approbavit. Facit etiam auctoritas Patrum, qui nihil a fide alienum, nihil indecorum, nihil denique, quod Montanistarum redoleat officinam, in ipsis Perpetuae
I. Since, as I have said rather often, I would not wish what I brought forward in the preceding chapter to be taken in this sense, as if I had it in mind to call the genuineness of the Acts into controversy, or to bring their editor, even though a Montanist, under suspicion of fraud, another way must now be taken by us, with Augustine also as our guide, and effort must be given so that we may remove all suspicion of Montanism from the visions of Perpetua, even as they are related in the Acts. For that we should deny that the Acts are defiled by any fictions of the Montanists, and that the revelations of Perpetua have anything which smells of the school and workshop of Montanus, the authority of the Church brings about, which not yesterday or the day before, but from ancient times, as is clear from Augustine, approved their public reading. The authority of the Fathers also brings it about, who scented out nothing foreign to the faith, nothing unseemly, nothing finally which smells of the workshop of the Montanists, in the very revelations of Perpetua
Editors' notes and page, col. 108
Footnotes
(87) ‹anchor: ex Augustino constat› · call in col 108 · note printed with the number (83)
Enarr. in Ps. XLVII,
Enarrations on the Psalms, 47.
(printed under page 106)
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- running head: [DIS]TATIO APOLOGETICA 108 (running head cut off at left edge of image)
- marginal letters: A ‹Perpetuae et Saturi visiones›; B ‹sanctos martyres, esse refundenda›; C ‹testimonium. V. Quam praesto›; D ‹visionibus, etiam prout in Actis›
- old-edition numerals: 105 after ‹ad›
- other: the word Perpetuae was split at the column break and stands whole here (joined on receipt); check that the English reads whole across the break into col 109
revelationibus subodorati sunt quibus modo suspiaio imprudentissime aspergitur. Non erant Patres in rebus fidei subodorandis adeo obesis naribus, ut non statim bonum Christi odorem, et coelestium charismatum fragrantiam ab haereticarum fabularum ineptiarumque foetore discernerent Non modo nullus ostendi potest haereticus martyr, quem pro catholico Patres coluerint, sed neque etiam ulla catholicorum martyrum acta haereticis fabulis inquinata, quorum ad fidelium aedificationem publicam in Ecclesia lectionem esse voluerint. Ut boni pastores solliciti admodum erant, ut a noxiis atque inutilibus herbis oves averterent suas: neque credimus fraudem nulli per tot saecula animadversam, nunc tandem Basnagio suboluisse. Enitendum est igitur, ut injectas antiquis hisce et probatis veterum Patrum calculo monumentis haereticae pravitatis maculas detergamus, et inde etiam conflatam sanctis martyribus sceleris hujus invidiam depellamus. Quod me facile consecuturum esse confido, singula quaeque ad examen revocando, et ad severiores critices regulas expendendo, quae Basnagium in pravam hanc de sanctis martyribus opinionem adduxerunt. Primum, ut vidimus, inter insita et ex ipsis Actis et Perpetuae verbis collecta, adversus Martyres argumentum repetit ex eo quod initio capitis quarti Perpetua narrat in haec verba: « ⟨T⟩unc dixit mihi frater meus: Domina soror, jam in magna dignitate es, et tanta ut postules visionem, et ostendatur tibi an passio sit, an commeatus. Et ego quae me sciebam fabulari cum Domino, cujus beneficia tanta experta eram, fidenter repromisi ei dicens: Crestina die tibi renuntiabo. » Eo, inquit Basnagius, se modo Perpetua gerit, quasi Spiritum sanctum veluti monile quoddam in arca inclusum sua haberet ad nutum, ejus illustrationibus, quando vellet, usura ad arbitrium; recitatisque superioribus verbis, Miram, subjungit, fiduciam et sola Montanistarum familia dignam!
upon which suspicion is now most imprudently sprinkled. The Fathers were not of such dull nostrils in sniffing out matters of faith that they would not at once distinguish the good odour of Christ and the fragrance of heavenly charisms from the stench of heretical fables and absurdities. Not only can no heretic martyr be shown whom the Fathers venerated as a Catholic, but neither can any acts of Catholic martyrs defiled with heretical fables be shown which they wished to be publicly read in the Church for the edification of the faithful. As good shepherds they were very careful to turn their sheep away from harmful and useless herbs; nor do we believe that a fraud noticed by no one through so many centuries has now at last been scented out by Basnage. We must strive, therefore, to wipe away the stains of heretical depravity cast upon these ancient monuments, approved by the verdict of the old Fathers, and thereby also to drive off the odium of this crime that has been stirred up against the holy martyrs. This I trust I shall easily accomplish by calling to examination one by one, and weighing by the stricter rules of criticism, the things which led Basnage into this perverse opinion concerning the holy martyrs. First, as we have seen, among the things inserted into the Acts and gathered from Perpetua's own words, he draws an argument against the Martyrs from the fact that at the beginning of the fourth chapter Perpetua narrates in these words: "Then my brother said to me: Lady sister, you are now in great dignity, and so great that you may ask for a vision, and it may be shown to you whether it is to be a passion or a release. And I, who knew that I conversed with the Lord, Whose so great benefits I had experienced, confidently promised him in return, saying: Tomorrow I will report to you." "In this way," says Basnage, "Perpetua conducts herself, as if she had the Holy Spirit, like some necklace shut in a chest, at her beck and call, to use His illuminations at her pleasure whenever she wished"; and having recited the above words he adds: "An astonishing confidence, and worthy only of the family of the Montanists!"
Hoc argumento facile me expedirem, si innumera huc afferrem similis, si non etiam majoris fiduciae exempla, non modo ex recentiorum sanctorum historiis, sed e Theodorfti quoque historia religiosa, e Gregorii Dialogis, ex Joannis Moschi Prato spirituali, ex aliis hujusmodi quinti, sexti ac sequentium saeculorum voluminibus coacervata. Atquoniam mihi cum ejusmodi hominibus quaestio est, qui id generis monumentis omnem temere fidem abrogant, haec in praesentiarum missa faciam, et ad alia me exempla testimoniaque convertam, quibus ii tantum refragari audeant, qui aut
I could easily free myself from this argument if I brought here innumerable examples of similar, if not even greater, confidence, heaped up not only from the histories of more recent saints, but also from Theodoret's Religious History, from Gregory's Dialogues, from John Moschus's Spiritual Meadow, and from other volumes of this kind of the fifth, sixth and following centuries. But since my dispute is with men of the sort who rashly deny all credit to monuments of that kind, I shall for the present let these go, and turn to other examples and testimonies, which only those would dare to oppose who either
Editors' notes and page, col. 109
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- running head: 109 PRO SS. PERPETUA, FELICIT[...] (cut off at the image edge)
- marginal letters: A ‹petuae revelationibus subodorati›; B ‹Enitendum est igitur›; C ‹sciebam fabulari cum Domino›; D ‹ac sequentium saeculorum›
- old-edition numerals: 106 after ‹meus›
christianam religionem ludibrio habent, aut nullam penitus religionem colunt. Non est tamen cur a me aliquis exspectet ut omnia huc conferam coelestium visionum, propheticarum revelationum, aliorumque divinorum charismatum exempla quibus Ecclesia plurimum fuit tribus prioribus saeculis illustrata. Quanquam enim id multum juvaret ut intelligeremus, unde Perpetuae animum tanta fiducia incesserit (ex summa videlicet per ea tempora coelestium donorum ubertate, et pene quotidiano et communi, ac quibusvis justis exposito divinorum charismatum usu), attamen quia bene longam eruditamque de Visionibus ad Epistolam VIII Cypriani dissertationem texuit Henricus Dodwellus, inter Protestantes non infimi subsellii theologus, in qua veterum Patrum, initio sumpto ab apostolicis ad Cyprianum usque loca omnia in quibus de visionibus agunt, adversus eos asseruit ac vindicavit « qui, ut ait, quae legunt in illius saeculi auctoribus de visionibus, ea ad Montanum trahunt atque Montanistas; » ideo hoc ego labore in praesentia supersedebo, sed ea duntaxat cum ex antiquorum Patrum scriptis seligam testimonia tum ex martyrum sinceris Actis probatisque historiis exempla quae ad meum institutum propius accedere videbuntur, et ex quibus facile possit intelligi, Montanistarum familiae propriam non fuisse miram illam Perpetuae fiduciam, qua futuri eventus revelationem fratri spopondit.
hold the Christian religion in mockery, or practise no religion at all. Yet there is no reason for anyone to expect of me that I should gather here all the examples of heavenly visions, prophetic revelations and other divine charisms with which the Church was very greatly made illustrious in the first three centuries. For although that would help much towards our understanding whence so great a confidence entered Perpetua's mind (namely from the supreme abundance of heavenly gifts in those times, and from the almost daily and common use of divine charisms, open to any righteous people whatever), nevertheless, since Henry Dodwell, a theologian of no lowly rank among the Protestants, composed a quite long and learned dissertation On Visions on the eighth Letter of Cyprian, in which, starting from the apostolic [Fathers] and going down to Cyprian, he asserted and vindicated all the passages of the ancient Fathers in which they treat of visions, against those "who," as he says, "drag whatever they read about visions in the authors of that age to Montanus and the Montanists;" I shall therefore dispense with this labour for the present, but shall select only such testimonies from the writings of the ancient Fathers, and such examples from the genuine Acts of the martyrs and from approved histories, as will seem to come closer to my purpose, and from which it may easily be understood that that wonderful confidence of Perpetua, by which she promised her brother a revelation of the future outcome, was not peculiar to the sect of the Montanists.
II. Notanda sunt autem imprimis quaedam Justini martyris loca ex Dialogo cum Tryphone, in quo, ut Eusebius advertit: « Prophetiae dona adhuc sua aetate in Ecclesia viguisse, scribit. » Sed quomodo viguerint, productis sancti martyris testimoniis compertum magis habebimus atque exploratum. Ita enim ait: « Apud nos enim huc usque etiam prophetica exstant dona, unde et vos intelligere debetis quae olim in genere vestro fuere, ea esse in nos translata. » Et infrs, quam perspicuum esse docet, et in omnium oculis positum, nullum tum amplius exstare in Judaeorum gente prophetam: tam palam esse omnibus, ac manifestum, esse revera inter Christianos non viros tantum, sed etiam feminas, prophetiae spiritus secundum Joelis vaticinium afflatos: « Ita ut in genere vestro non amplius more veteri prophetae futuri essent: quod et oculis ipsi vestris cernere potestis. Post illum namque nullus omnino apud vos natus est propheta. » Et paulo post:
II. But first of all certain passages of Justin Martyr from the Dialogue with Trypho are to be noted, in which, as Eusebius observes, "he writes that the gifts of prophecy still flourished in the Church in his own age." But in what way they flourished we shall have more surely ascertained and established when the holy martyr's testimonies have been produced. For he speaks thus: "For among us even until now prophetic gifts exist, whence you too ought to understand that the things which were formerly in your race have been transferred to us." And further on he teaches that, as clear as it is and as set before the eyes of all that no prophet any longer existed then in the race of the Jews, so evident and manifest is it to all that there are in truth among the Christians not men only but women also inspired by the spirit of prophecy according to the prophecy of Joel: "So that in your race there would no longer be prophets after the ancient custom: which you can also see with your own eyes. For after Him no prophet at all has been born among you." And a little after:
« Est apud nos videre et feminas et masculos dona a Spiritu Dei habentes. » Hoc Justini martyris testimonio falsi imprimis convincitur Basnagius,
"It is possible among us to see both women and men having gifts from the Spirit of God." By this testimony of Justin Martyr Basnage is first of all convicted of falsehood,
Editors' notes and page, col. 110
Footnotes
(88) ‹anchor: Eusebius advertit› · call in col 110
Γράφει δὲ καὶ ὡς ὅτι μέχρι καὶ αὐτοῦ χαρίσματα προφητικὰ διέλαμπεν ἐπὶ τῆς Ἐκκλησίας, Lib. IV, Hist., cap. 18.
He writes too that even down to his own time prophetic gifts shone forth in the Church. Book 4 of the History, chapter 18.
(printed under page 107)
(89) ‹anchor: Ita enim ait› · call in col 110
Παρὰ γὰρ ἡμῖν καὶ μέχρι νῦν προφητικὰ χαρίσματά ἐστιν· ἐξ οὗ καὶ αὐτοὶ συνιέναι ὀφείλετε ὅτι τὰ πάλαι ἐν τῷ γένει ὑμῶν ὄντα εἰς ἡμᾶς μετετέθη.
For among us there are prophetic gifts even to this day; from which you yourselves ought to understand that what was formerly in your nation has been transferred to us.
(printed under page 107)
(90) ‹anchor: Joelis vaticinium afflatos› · call in col 110
Μηκέτι ἐν τῷ γένει ὑμῶν κατὰ τὸ παλαιὸν ἔθος προφήτας γενήσεσθαι, ὅπερ καὶ ὄψει ὑμῖν ἰδεῖν ἔστι· μετ' ἐκεῖνον γὰρ οὐδεὶς ὅλως προφήτης παρ' ὑμῖν γεγένηται.
That there would no longer be prophets in your nation after the ancient custom, which indeed you can see with your own eyes; for after him no prophet at all has arisen among you.
(printed under page 107)
(91) ‹anchor: Et paulo post› · call in col 110
Καὶ παρ' ἡμῖν ἔστιν ἰδεῖν καὶ θηλείας καὶ ἄρσενας χαρίσματα ἀπὸ τοῦ Πνεύματος τοῦ Θεοῦ ἔχοντας·
And among us one can see both women and men who have gifts from the Spirit of God.
(printed under page 107)
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- running head: [...]TUA, FELICITATE ET SOCIIS. 110 (start cut off at the image edge)
- marginal letters: A christianam religionem ludibrio; B logus, in qua veterum Patrum; C quo, ut Eusebius advertit; D phetae futuri essent
- old-edition numerals: 107 after Ita
dum ait, in Novo Testamento de solis Philippi evangelistae filiabus referri quod a numine actae oracula funderent. Nam sanctus Justinus, promiscuum, et commune fuisse tradit masculis et feminis prophetiae donum. Quanquam et illud non admodum verosimile videatur, Philippi filias, quamvis, ut scribit ad Victorem Polycrates, in Asia consenuerint, ad id usque temporis pervenisse. Asterius quoque Urbanus inter novi Testamenti catholicos prophetas, ut quos dicat nihil ad Montanistas pertinuisse, μηδὲν αὐτοῖς προσήκοντας, praeter Philippi filias, Ammiam quamdam philadelphensem recenset, spiritu, ut Montanistae jactarent, quo⟨d⟩ « post Quadratum et Ammiam philadelphensem mulieres illae Montani in prophetiae gratiam successerant. » In hos itaque novi Testamenti non prophetas modo, sed etiam prophetissas translata fuisse docet Justinus, prophetica dona quibus olim Synagoga inclaruerat; idque tanta perspicuitate atque evidentia, ut Judaeos ipsos hujusce rei testes appellet. Quod utique argumento est, non minori copia atque ubertate sese novis hisce prophetis, quam antiquis, propheticae spiritum infudisse. Jam vero an non eo se modo veteris Testamenti prophetae gerebant, quasi Spiritum sanctum veluti monile quoddam in pectore suo, ut in area inclusum sua haberent ad nutum, ejus illustrationibus usuri ad arbitrium? Annon de futuris eventibus a populo requisiti, eadem plane fiducia, qua Perpetua: se illi, crastina die, aut post breve tempus renuntiaturos spondebant? Quid ergo mirum, si novi Testamenti prophetis, ut Agabo, Silae Quadrato, Polycarpo et prophetissis, ut filiabus Philippi, Ammiae philadelphensi et deinde Perpetuae adeo familiarem fuisse dicamus, ut a Christianls interrogati, hac fiducia responderint: « Cras vobis renuntiabimus: » prophetae scilicet, aut prophetidis appellationem, non illi olim, aut illae tulisse videntur, qui semel tantum aut iterum prophetica fudissent oracula, sed qui prophetico spiritu familiariter, et pene dixerim ad arbitrium uterentur. Alioquin cum prophetica dona tanta olim in Ecclesia copia exundarent, cur aliqui tantum nec magno sane numero prophetae κατ' ἐξοχὴν dicti fuissent, ut quos Asterius apud Eusebium loco saepius laudato recenset, et Polycarpus dictus Ecclesiae Smyrnensi διδάσκαλος ἀποστολικὸς, καὶ προφητικός, Doctor apostolicus et propheticus?
when he says that in the New Testament it is reported only of the daughters of Philip the evangelist that, moved by the divine power, they poured forth oracles. For Saint Justin relates that the gift of prophecy was shared and common to males and females. Although this too may seem not very likely, that the daughters of Philip, although, as Polycrates writes to Victor, they grew old in Asia, lived on up to that time. Asterius Urbanus also, among the catholic prophets of the New Testament, whom he says had nothing to do with the Montanists, "in no way belonging to them", lists besides the daughters of Philip a certain Ammia of Philadelphia, in the spirit, as the Montanists boasted, that "after Quadratus and Ammia of Philadelphia those women of Montanus succeeded to the grace of prophecy." To these men, then, of the New Testament, and not only to prophets but also to prophetesses, Justin teaches that the prophetic gifts with which the Synagogue had once been illustrious were transferred; and this with such clarity and evidence that he calls the Jews themselves as witnesses of this matter. Which is certainly proof that the Spirit of prophecy poured Himself into these new prophets with no less abundance and richness than into the ancient ones. Now indeed, did not the prophets of the Old Testament conduct themselves in such a manner, as if they had the Holy Spirit like some necklace on their breast, enclosed as in a chest, at their beck, ready to use His illuminations at their discretion? Did they not, when asked by the people about future events, promise with exactly the same confidence as Perpetua that they would report back on the following day, or after a short time? What wonder, then, if we say that to the prophets of the New Testament, such as Agabus, Silas, Quadratus, Polycarp, and to the prophetesses, such as the daughters of Philip, Ammia of Philadelphia and afterwards Perpetua, [the Spirit] was so familiar that, when asked by Christians, they answered with this confidence: "Tomorrow we will report to you"? For, namely, it was not those men or those women who had poured forth prophetic oracles only once or twice that seem in former times to have borne the title of prophet or prophetess, but those who made use of the prophetic Spirit familiarly and, I might almost say, at their discretion. Otherwise, since prophetic gifts once overflowed in the Church in such abundance, why would only some, and indeed in no great number, have been called prophets par excellence, such as those whom Asterius lists in Eusebius in the passage often cited, and Polycarp, called by the Church of Smyrna an "apostolic and prophetic teacher", Doctor apostolic and prophetic?
Editors' notes and page, col. 111
Footnotes
(92) ‹anchor: not visible in the foot crop› · call in col 111
Anno D. 203, N. V.
In the year of the Lord 203, number 5.
(printed under page 108)
(93) ‹anchor: not visible in the foot crop› · call in col 111
Apud Euseb. lib. V Hist. Eccles., cap. 14.
In Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History, book 5, chapter 14.
(printed under page 108)
(94) ‹anchor: not visible in the foot crop› · call in col 111
Μετὰ Κόδρατον καὶ τὴν ἐν Φιλαδελφείᾳ Ἀμμίαν, αἱ περὶ Μοντανὸν διεδέξαντο γυναῖκες τὸ προφητικὸν χάρισμα. Apud Euseb. Hist. Eccles., cap. 17.
After Quadratus and Ammia in Philadelphia, the women around Montanus succeeded to the prophetic gift. In Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History, chapter 17.
(printed under page 108)
(95) ‹anchor: apostolicus et propheticus› · call in col 111
Epist. de illius martyrio. apud Euseb., lib. V, Hist. Eccles., cap. 15.
The letter on his martyrdom, in Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History, book 5, chapter 15.
(printed under page 108)
(96) ‹anchor: not visible in the foot crop› · call in col 111 or 112
Admonit, in acta sancti Justini M., n. 12.
Admonition on the Acts of St Justin Martyr, number 12.
(printed under page 108)
(97) ‹anchor: not visible in the foot crop› · call in col 111 or 112 · runs from the left column's foot into the right's
Τῶν δ' ἀμφὶ τὸν Μοντανὸν καὶ Ἀλκιβιάδην καὶ Θεόδοτον, περὶ τὴν Φρυγίαν ἄρτι τότε πρῶτον τὴν περὶ τοῦ προφητεύειν ὑπόληψιν παρὰ πολλοῖς ἐνφερομένων· πλεῖσται γὰρ οὖν καὶ ἄλλαι παραδοξοποιΐαι τοῦ θείου χαρίσματος εἰσέτι τότε κατὰ διαφόρους ἐκκλησίας ἐκτελούμεναι, πίστιν παρὰ πολλοῖς τοῦ κἀκείνους προφητεύειν παρεῖχον, καὶ δὴ διαφωνίας ὑπαρχούσης περὶ τῶν δεδηλωμένων, αὖθις οἱ κατὰ τὴν Γαλλίαν ἀδελφοί, τὴν ἰδίαν κρίσιν καὶ περὶ τούτων εὐλαβῆ καὶ ὀρθοδοξοτάτην ὑποτάττουσιν· ἐκθέμενοι καὶ τῶν παρ' αὐτοῖς τελειωθέντων μαρτύρων διαφόρους ἐπιστολάς· ἃς ἐν δεσμοῖς ἔτι ὑπάρχοντες, τοῖς ἐπ' Ἀσίας καὶ Φρυγίας ἀδελφοῖς διεχάραξαν, οὐ μὴν ἀλλὰ καὶ Ἐλευθέρῳ τῷ τότε Ῥωμαίων ἐπισκόπῳ, τῆς τῶν ἐκκλησιῶν εἰρήνης ἕνεκα πρεσβεύοντες. Lib. 5, cap. 3.
When those around Montanus, Alcibiades and Theodotus in Phrygia were then for the first time spreading among many the opinion that they prophesied (for very many other wonderful works of the divine gift, still being performed at that time in various churches, made many believe that these men too prophesied), and when dissension arose about them, the brethren in Gaul once more subjoined their own judgement on these men also, pious and most orthodox, setting out as well various letters of the martyrs perfected among them, which they had written while still in bonds to the brethren in Asia and Phrygia, and also to Eleutherus, then bishop of the Romans, acting as ambassadors for the peace of the churches. Book 5, chapter 3.
(printed under page 108)
Page
- running head: 111 DISSERTATIO APOLO[cut off at image edge]
- marginal letters: A ‹dum ait (92), in Novo Testamento›; B ‹menti non prophetas modo›; C ‹Quid ergo mirum, si novi Testamenti›; D ‹dictus Ecclesiae Smyrnensi›
- old-edition numerals: 108 after ‹Ammiae›
III. Non longe post Justini martyrium montanisticae factionis initia videntur esse collocanda, si, ut Ruinartius et alii volunt, anno CLXVII aut etiam serius sanctus martyr occubuit. Anno enim CLXXVII, quo Lugdunenses martyres passi sunt. nefariae sectae fundamenta, ut Eusebieus refert, jacta jam fuerant. Principio, ut ex eodem Eusebio constat, varia fuit eorum fortuna: alii eos ut veros prophetas celebrabant, alii quid de illis statuerent ancipites haerebant, adeo ut aliarum quoque ecclesiarum, et praesertim Gallicanae, de hac nova prophetia sententiam per litteras Asiani rogarint. Causam vero cur non statim ab omnibus repudiarentur, hanc fuisse tradit Eusebius, quod cum adhuc in Ecclesia divinae gratiae charismata affluerent, haud insolens videbatur, eos quoque, qui austerum vivendi genus extrinsecus consectabantur. coelestibus charismatis abundare: « Cum Montanus inquit Eusebius, et Alcibiades ac Theodotus tunc primum in Phrygia, opinione hominum, tanquam prophetae celebrari coepissent (multa quippe divinae gratiae miracula in pluribus ecclesiis etiam tum fieri solita fidem plurimis faciebant, eos quoque prophetare), cumque illorum hominum causa dissensio orta esset, qui in Galtia erant fratres, privatum de his judicium suum, religiosum imprimis et cum recta fide consentiens, rursus eidem epistolae subjunxerunt, prolatis interfectorum apud se martyrum variis epistolis quas illi dum in vinculis adhuc essent, partim ad fratres in Asia et Phrygia degentes, partim ad Eleutherum Romanae urbis episcopum scripserant, pro pace Ecclesiarum quasi legatione fungentes. » Haec de Montanistarum initiis Eusebius; ex quibus nemo facile intelligit, eam per haec tempora in Ecclesia fuisse divinorum charismatum ubertatem, ut ex eo firma conjectura capi non posset, aliquos e prophetarum albo expungendos esse, quod cum magna fiducia propheticum spiritum usurparent. Ejusdem libri capite decimo sexto et seqq. aliquot illius aevi scriptores memorat, qui Montanistas gravissimis scriptis exagitarunt, ut Apollinarem Hieropolitanum. Asterium Urbanum, Miltiadem, Apollonium, Serapionem, Aelium, Publium Julium Develti Coloniae Thraciae episcopum, et ex quibusdam longas bene ῥήσεις affert, in quibus cernere est, quo signorum genere veteres illi Patres adulterinum Montani spiritum deprehenderent. Praeter pravos eorum mores, et vaticiniorum falsitatem illud imprimis, ut
III. Not long after the martyrdom of Justin the beginnings of the Montanist faction seem to have to be placed, if, as Ruinart and others hold, the holy martyr died in the year 167 or even later. For in the year 177, in which the martyrs of Lyons suffered, the foundations of the wicked sect, as Eusebius reports, had already been laid. At first, as is clear from the same Eusebius, their fortune was varied: some celebrated them as true prophets, others hesitated, uncertain what they should decide about them, so much so that the Asians asked by letter for the opinion of other churches too, and especially of the Gallican, about this new prophecy. The reason why they were not at once repudiated by all, Eusebius relates, was this: that since the gifts of divine grace still abounded in the Church, it did not seem unusual that those too who outwardly pursued an austere manner of life should abound in heavenly gifts. "When Montanus," says Eusebius, "and Alcibiades and Theodotus first began in Phrygia, in men's opinion, to be celebrated as prophets (for the many miracles of divine grace which were even then customarily wrought in many churches made most people believe that these men too prophesied), and when dissension had arisen on account of those men, the brethren who were in Gaul again subjoined to the same letter their own private judgement about them, devout above all and in agreement with the right faith, bringing forward various letters of the martyrs who had been put to death among them, which these had written while they were still in chains, partly to the brethren living in Asia and Phrygia, partly to Eleutherus, bishop of the city of Rome, discharging as it were an embassy for the peace of the Churches." Thus Eusebius on the beginnings of the Montanists; from which no one easily understands that there was in the Church throughout these times such an abundance of divine gifts that from this no firm conjecture could be drawn that some were to be struck off the roll of the prophets because they laid claim with great confidence to the prophetic spirit. In the sixteenth chapter of the same book and following he mentions several writers of that age who assailed the Montanists in very weighty writings, such as Apollinaris of Hierapolis, Asterius Urbanus, Miltiades, Apollonius, Serapion, Aelius, Publius Julius, bishop of Develtum, a colony of Thrace, and from some of them he brings forward quite long passages, in which one may see by what kind of signs those ancient Fathers detected the counterfeit spirit of Montanus. Besides their depraved morals and the falsity of their prophecies, this above all, as
Editors' notes and page, col. 112
Page
- running head: TATIO APOLOGETICA 112 (beginning of the running head cut off at the image edge)
- marginal letters: A ‹III. Non longe post Justini›; B ‹rent, haud insolens videbatur›; C ‹urbis episcopum scripserant›; D ‹rum genere veteres illi Patres›
- old-edition numerals: 109 after ‹quasi›
- note calls in this column: (96) after ‹Ruinartius›; (97) after ‹inquit Eusebius›; both notes are set in n111 (marked there "call in col 111 or 112"); the foot of this column carries the continuation of (97) from ‹ξοποιΐαι› to ‹Lib. 5, cap. 3.› (Q1b)
- misprints kept as printed: Eusebieus (for Eusebius); Galtia (for Gallia); full stops for commas after ‹passi sunt›, ‹consectabantur› and ‹Hieropolitanum› (Q1b)
supra vidimus, novis hisce prophetis objecerunt, quod velut arrepticii, subito quodam furore ac mentis excessu concussi, insana quaedam et importuna atque aliena proloquerentur, praeter morem atque institutum Ecclesiae a majoribus traditum, et continua deinceps successione propagatum. Nullibi autem id illis opposuisse legimus, quod Perpetuae Basnagius opponit, eamque propterea uti montanistam traducit, quod coelestes revelationes cum magna fiducia praestolarentur. Nullum certe vir eruditus afferre poterit veterum Patrum testimonium, quo demonstret magnam illam, quam in Perpetua miratur, fiduciam montanisticae familiae fuisse propriam: qua ergo fuisse potius fiducia, ne dicam temeritate et audacia, hoc esse voluit in sanctissima femina montanistici spiritus argumentum?
we saw above, they charged against these new prophets that, like men possessed, shaken by a sudden frenzy and ecstasy of mind, they uttered certain insane, unseasonable and alien things, contrary to the custom and practice of the Church handed down from the elders and propagated thereafter in continuous succession. But nowhere do we read that they charged against them what Basnage charges against Perpetua, and on that account brands her as a Montanist: that they awaited heavenly revelations with great confidence. Certainly the learned man will be unable to adduce any testimony of the ancient Fathers by which he might show that that great confidence, which he marvels at in Perpetua, was peculiar to the Montanist family: with what confidence, then, or rather (not to say rashness and audacity), did he want this to be, in a most holy woman, a proof of the Montanist spirit?
IV. His eisdem temporibus pietatis et eruditionis laude florebat imprimis Irenaeus. Ex secundo ipsius adversus Haereses libro insignem locum affert Eusebius, in quo « Divinae, inquit, admirandaeque virtutis specimina adhuc sua aetate in quibusdam ecclesiis superfuisse, testatur his verbis: Tantum abest, inquit (C. 57), ut mortuum excitent per orationem, quemadmodum Dominus et apostoli fecerunt, sed et saepenumero inter fratres tota simul unius loci ecclesia ob aliquam necessitatem id flagitante cum jejuniis multis et orationibus, reversa est in corpus anima defuncti, et sanctorum precibus hominis vita donata est. » Et aliquando post: « Quod si, inquit, simulatione quadam ac praestigiis haec Dominum fecisse dicturi sunt, ad prophetarum oracula eos deducentes, ex illis demonstrabimus cuncta de ipso ita praedicta et gesta esse certissime, eumque esse Filium Dei. Unde etiam in ejus nomine quotquot veri sunt ejus discipuli, accepta ab eo gratia, ad salutem atque utilitatem reliquorum omnium ea faciunt, prout unusquisque ipsorum ab eo munus acceperit. Alii enim daemonas expellunt certissime ac verissime; adeo ut qui hujusmodi malis spiritibus liberati sunt, saepe fidem amplectantur, et in Ecclesia permaneant.
IV. In these same times Irenaeus above all flourished in the praise of piety and learning. From the second book of his Against Heresies Eusebius brings forward a notable passage, in which, « he says, he testifies that specimens of divine and wonderful power still survived in his own age in certain churches, in these words: So far are they from raising a dead man through prayer, as the Lord and the apostles did, whereas among the brethren often, when the whole church of one place together demanded it on account of some necessity with many fasts and prayers, the soul of the deceased returned into the body, and the man's life was granted to the prayers of the saints. » And somewhat after: « But if, he says, they are going to say that the Lord did these things by a kind of pretence and by conjuring tricks, we shall lead them to the oracles of the prophets and from them demonstrate that all things concerning Him were thus foretold and done most certainly, and that He is the Son of God. Hence also in His name those who are truly His disciples, having received grace from Him, do these things for the salvation and benefit of all the rest, according as each of them has received the gift from Him. For some drive out demons most certainly and most truly, so that those who have been freed from such evil spirits often embrace the faith, and remain in the Church.
Editors' notes and page, col. 113
Footnotes
(98) ‹anchor: Divinae, inquit› · call in col 113 · runs from the left column's foot into the right's
Ἐν δευτέρῳ τῆς αὐτῆς ὑποθέσεως, ὅτι δὴ καὶ εἰς αὐτὸν ὑποδείγμανα τῆς θείας καὶ παραδόξου δυνάμεως ἐν ἐκκλησίαις τισὶν ὑπολέλειπτο, διὰ τούτων ἐπισημαίνεται λόγων· « Τοσοῦτον δὲ ἀποδέουσι τοῦ νεκρὸν ἐγεῖραι, καθὼς ὁ Κύριος ἤγειρε καὶ οἱ ἀπόστολοι διὰ προσευχῆς· καὶ ἐν τῇ ἀδελφότητι πολλάκις, διὰ τὸ ἀναγκαῖον τῆς κατὰ τόπον ἐκκλησίας πάσης αἰτησαμένης μετὰ νηστείας καὶ λιτανείας πολλῆς, ἐπέτρεψε τὸ πνεῦμα τοῦ τετελευτηκότος, καὶ ἐχαρίσθη ὁ ἄνθρωπος ταῖς εὐχαῖς τῶν ἁγίων. » Καὶ αὖθίς φησι μετ' ἕτερα· « Εἰ δὲ καὶ τὸν Κύριον φαντασιωδῶς τὰ τοιαῦτα πεποιηκέναι φήσουσιν, ἐπὶ τὰ προφητικὰ ἀνάτοντες αὐτούς, ἐξ αὐτῶν ἐπιδείξομεν πάντα οὕτως περὶ αὐτοῦ καὶ προειρῆσθαι καὶ γεγονέναι βεβαίω, καὶ αὐτὸν μόνον εἶναι τὸν Υἱὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ· διὸ καὶ ἐν τῷ ἐκείνου ὀνόματι οἱ ἀληθῶς αὐτοῦ μαθηταί, παρ' αὐτοῦ λαβόντες τὴν χάριν, ἐπιτελοῦσιν ἐπ' ἐνεργεσίᾳ τῇ τῶν λοιπῶν ἀνθρώπων, καθὼς εἷς ἕκαστος αὐτῶν τὴν δωρεὰν εἴληφε παρ' αὐτοῦ· οἱ μὲν γὰρ δαίμονας ἐλαύνουσι βεβαίως καὶ ἀληθῶς, ὥστε πολλάκις καὶ πιστεύειν αὐτοὺς ἐκείνους καθαρισθέντας ἀπὸ τῶν πονηρῶν πνευμάτων, καὶ εἶναι ἐν τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ· οἱ δὲ καὶ πρόγνωσιν ἔχουσι τῶν μελλόντων, καὶ ὀπτασίας καὶ ῥήσεις προφητικάς· ἄλλοι δὲ τοὺς κάμνοντας διὰ τῆς τῶν χειρῶν ἐπιθέσεως ἰῶνται, καὶ ὑγιεῖς ἀποκαθιστᾶσιν· ἤδη δέ, καθὼς ἔφαμεν, καὶ νεκροὶ ἠγέρθησαν, καὶ παρέμειναν σὺν ἡμῖν ἱκανοῖς ἔτεσι· καὶ τί γάρ; οὐκ ἔστιν ἀριθμὸν εἰπεῖν τῶν χαρισμάτων ὧν κατὰ παντὸς τοῦ κόσμου ἡ ἐκκησία παρὰ Θεοῦ λαβοῦσα ἐν τῷ ὀνόματι Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ τοῦ σταυρωθέντος ἐπὶ Ποντίου Πιλάτου, ἑκάστης ἡμέρας ἐπ' εὐργεσίᾳ τῇ τῶν ἐθνῶν ἐπιτελεῖ, μήτε ἐξαπατῶσά τινας, μήτε ἐξαργυριζομένη· ὡς γὰρ δωρεὰν εἴληφε παρὰ Θεοῦ, δωρεὰν καὶ διακονεῖ. » Καὶ ἐν ἑτέρῳ δὲ τόπῳ ὁ αὐτὸς γράφει· « Καθὼς καὶ πολλῶν ἀκούομεν ἀδελφῶν ἐν τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ προφητικὰ χαρίσματα ἐχόντων καὶ παντοδαπαῖς λαλούντων διὰ τοῦ Πνεύματος γλώσσαις, καὶ τὰ κρύφια τῶν ἀνθρώπων εἰς φανερὸν ἀγόντων ἐπὶ τῷ συμφέροντι, καὶ τὰ μυστήρια τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐκδιηγουμένων. Ταῦτα καὶ περὶ τοῦ διαφορὰς χαρισμάτων μέχρι καὶ τῶν δηλουμένων χρόνων παρὰ τοῖς ἀξίοις διαμεῖναι. « Lib. quinto Hist. Eccles., cap. 7.
In the second book of the same work, he indicates in these words that down to his own time examples of the divine and wonderful power remained in certain churches: "So far are they from raising the dead, as the Lord raised them, and the apostles through prayer; and among the brotherhood, often, when need required it and the whole church of the place had asked with fasting and much supplication, the spirit of the dead man returned, and the man was granted to the prayers of the saints." And again, after other matter, he says: "But if they say that the Lord too did such things only in appearance, we shall lead them back to the prophetic writings and show from them that all things concerning Him were both foretold in this way and surely came to pass, and that He alone is the Son of God. Therefore His true disciples, having received grace from Him, perform works in His name for the benefit of the rest of mankind, as each of them has received the gift from Him. For some drive out demons surely and truly, so that those very ones who have been cleansed of the evil spirits often believe and are in the Church; others have foreknowledge of things to come, and visions and prophetic utterances; others heal the sick by the laying on of hands and restore them to health; and already, as we have said, even the dead have been raised and have remained with us for many years. And what more? It is not possible to tell the number of the gifts which the Church throughout the whole world has received from God in the name of Jesus Christ, who was crucified under Pontius Pilate, and performs every day for the benefit of the nations, neither deceiving anyone nor taking money for it; for as she has received freely from God, freely too she ministers." And in another place the same author writes: "As we also hear of many brethren in the Church who have prophetic gifts, and speak through the Spirit in all kinds of tongues, and bring men's hidden things to light for their good, and expound the mysteries of God." This also concerning the diversity of gifts remaining among the worthy down to the times spoken of. Book five of the Ecclesiastical History, chapter 7.
(printed under page 109)
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- running head: 113 PRO SS. PERPETUA, FELICIT (cut off at the image edge)
- marginal letters: A ‹supra vidimus, novis hisce›; B ‹sima femina montanistici spiritus›; C ‹sunt, ad prophetarum oracula›; D ‹κις, διὰ τὸ ἀναγκαῖον› (in the footnote)
- old-edition numerals: 110 after ‹admirandaeque›
- other (Q2): footnote (98) misprints kept as printed: ὑποδείγμανα (for ὑποδείγματα); ἐπέτρεψε (for ἐπέστρεψε); μετ' ἕτερα (for μεθ' ἕτερα); ἀνάτοντες (for ἀνάγοντες); βεβαίω (for βεβαίως, before καὶ αὐτὸν μόνον); ἐνεργεσίᾳ and εὐργεσίᾳ (for εὐεργεσίᾳ); ἐκκησία (for ἐκκλησία). The first five were read on the lean foot images (the left half of the note is heavily inked); confirm at full resolution.
- other (Q2): in line 1 of footnote (98) the page shows κα' at the line end (ι apparently damaged); set καὶ. UNSURE.
- other (Q2): in the text, the i of Alii and of liberati is printed displaced into the margin; set in place.
Alii praescientiam futurorum, et visiones sortiti sunt, et propheticas praedictiones. Alii infirmos per impositionem manuum curant, ac pristinae sanitati restituunt. Sed et mortui aliquoties, ut supra diximus, excitati sunt, et pluribus deinceps annis nobiscum remanserunt. Quid plura ? non potest numerus iniri donorum, quae per universum orbem Ecclesia a Deo accipiens in nomine ejus qui sub Pontio Pilato crucifixus est Jesu Christi, quotidie ad opitulationem gentium operatur, nec fallens quemquam, nec pecuniam corradens. Ut enim gratis accepit a Deo, sic etiam gratis ministrat. » Idem, inquit Eusebius, in alio loco ita scribit : « Sicuti multos ex fratribus audimus in Ecclesia, qui prophetiae dona consecuti sunt, et omni linguarum genere per Spiritum loquuntur, et ad hominum utilitatem occulta in lucem proferunt, atque arcana Dei mysteria exponunt. Ex his igitur apparet multiplicem donorum spiritualium varietatem ad illa usque tempora penes eos, qui digni essent, permansisse. » Cum res Ecclesiae id temporis ita se haberent, et tanta esset divinorum charismatum varietas et copia, ut neque eorum iniri numerus posset, et quotquot essent ἀληθῶς αὐτοῦ μαθηταὶ, « veri ejus, id est Christi discipuli, » propheticis donis abundarent, et vel mortuos excitarent, vel daemones ejicerent, aut futura praeviderent, aut occulta eordium penetrarent, aut infirmos per impositionem manuum sanitati restituerent, aut omni genere linguarum per Spiritum loquerentur ; an non imprudenter illi faciunt, qui res Christianorum illis temporis ex praesenti rerum statu metientes, tantopere mirantur, quod sancta femina, ἀληθῶς αὐτοῦ μαθήτρια, adeoque divinis hisce charismatis assueta, ut quae se « sciebat fabulari cum Domino, » cunctis jam terrenis affectibus exsoluta, et in ipsa martyrii expeditione, eam sibi sumpserit de divina dignatione fiduciam, « cujus beneficia tanta experta erat, » ut fidenter se fratri renuntiaturam spoponderit, an passio futura esset an commeatus ? Id Basnagii judicio longe est ab
Others have obtained foreknowledge of things to come, and visions, and prophetic predictions. Others cure the sick by the laying on of hands and restore them to their former health. Moreover, the dead too have several times, as we said above, been raised, and have remained with us for many years afterwards. What more is there to say? The number of the gifts cannot be reckoned which the Church throughout the whole world, receiving them from God in the name of Jesus Christ, Who was crucified under Pontius Pilate, puts to work every day for the help of the nations, neither deceiving anyone nor scraping together money. For as she has received freely from God, so she also ministers freely." The same writer, says Eusebius, writes thus in another place: "Just as we hear of many of the brethren in the Church who have obtained the gifts of prophecy, and speak through the Spirit in every kind of tongues, and bring hidden things to light for the benefit of men, and expound the secret mysteries of God. From these things, therefore, it is evident that the manifold variety of spiritual gifts remained up to those times among those who were worthy." Since the affairs of the Church stood thus at that time, and the variety and abundance of the divine charisms was so great that their number could not be reckoned, and as many as were ἀληθῶς αὐτοῦ μαθηταί, "His true disciples, that is, Christ's," abounded in prophetic gifts, and either raised the dead, or cast out demons, or foresaw things to come, or penetrated the secrets of hearts, or restored the sick to health by the laying on of hands, or spoke through the Spirit in every kind of tongues; do those not act imprudently who, measuring the affairs of the Christians of those times by the present state of things, marvel so greatly that a holy woman, ἀληθῶς αὐτοῦ μαθήτρια, and so accustomed to these divine charisms that she "knew that she conversed with the Lord," now set free from all earthly affections, and in the very undertaking of martyrdom, took to herself that confidence in the divine condescension, "whose so great benefits she had experienced," that she confidently promised her brother she would report back whether there was to be a passion or a release? This, in the judgement of Basnage, is far from
Editors' notes and page, col. 114
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- old-edition numerals: 111 after statu
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istorum temporum moribus : sed annon longius est etiam ab hodierna consuetudine, quod tunc πο⟨λ⟩λάκις, « saepenumero inter fratres factum esse testatur Irenaeus, quod « tota simul unius loci Ecclesia ob aliquam necessitatem id flagitante cum jejuniis multis et orationibus, reversa sit in corpus anima defuncti, et sanctorum precibus hominis vita donata sit ? »
the customs of those times: but is it not still further removed from present-day custom, what Irenaeus testifies then happened πολλάκις, "often among the brethren", namely that "when some necessity demanded it, the whole Church of a single place together, with many fasts and prayers, the soul of the dead man returned into the body, and the life of the man was granted to the prayers of the saints"?
V. Sed ut intelligat Basnagius, qua fiducia veteres Christiani divina haec charismata et virtutes administrarent, audiat quae Tertullianus jactet de illorum in daemones imperio : « Edatur hic aliquis sub tribunalibus vestris, quem daemone agi constet : jussus a quolibet christiano loqui spiritus ille, tam se daemonem confitebitur de vero quam alibi deum de falso. Aeque producatur aliquis ex iis qui de deo pati existimantur, qui aris inhalantes numen de nidore concipiunt, qui ructando conantur, qui anhelando profantur : ista ipsa virgo coelestis pluviarum pollicitatrix, iste ipse Aesculapius medicinarum demonstrator, alias demorituris Socordio, et Denatio et Asclepiodoto subministrator, nisi se daemones confessi fuerint, christiano mentiri non audentes, ibidem illius christiani procacissimi sanguinem fundite. Quid isto opere manifestius ? Quid hac probatione fidelius ? Simplicitas veritatis in medio est. Virtus illi sua assistit : nihil suspicari licebit, magia aut aliqua ejusmodi fallacia fieri dicetis, si oculi vestri et aures permiserint vobis : quid autem injici potest adversus id quod ostenditur nuda sinceritate ? » Aunon haec magna fiducia, de cujusvis christiani sanguine cum tyrannis transigere, si non ad arbitrium et quam maluerit in daemonas exerceat potestatem ? An istam quoque fiduciam sola Montani familia dignam, Basnagius dicere audebit, quod huic sectae Tertullianus fuerit addictus ? At nullus hic ejusmodi cavillationibus locus ; non hic de occultis privatisque visionibus aut revelationibus agitur, sed de re cujus publicum, et sub ipsis ethnicorum magistratuum tribunalibus, exhibetur experimentum ; et christianae religionis decus et christiani hominis sanguis in discrimen vocatur, nisi signum oblatum ex sententia processerit. Annon vero ita se gerit, ita loquitur Tertullianus, quasi Spiritum sanctum ad coercendos et subjiciendos sibi daemones, veluti monile quoddam in arca inclusum sua Christiani haberent ad nutum, ejus virtute ac potestate, quando vellent, usuri ad arbitrium ? Unde autem Christianis tanta fiducia, nisi ex
V. But that Basnage may understand with what confidence the ancient Christians administered these divine gifts and powers, let him hear what Tertullian boasts concerning their dominion over demons: "Let someone be brought forward here before your tribunals who is known to be driven by a demon: that spirit, bidden to speak by any Christian you please, will confess himself a demon as truly as elsewhere he calls himself a god falsely. Likewise let someone be produced from among those who are thought to be possessed by a god, who, breathing in at the altars, conceive the deity from the fumes, who struggle by belching, who prophesy by panting: that very heavenly virgin, the promiser of rains, that very Aesculapius, the discoverer of medicines, the supplier [of them] to Socordius and Denatius and Asclepiodotus, who would otherwise have died, unless they confess themselves demons, not daring to lie to a Christian, then and there shed the blood of that most impudent Christian. What is plainer than this deed? What more trustworthy than this proof? The simplicity of truth is in the open. Its own power stands by it: there will be no room for suspicion; you will say it is done by magic or some deceit of that kind, if your eyes and ears allow you: but what can be brought against that which is shown in naked sincerity?" Is this not great confidence, to make terms with tyrants over the blood of any Christian whatever, if he does not exercise power over the demons at will and in whatever way he chose? Or will Basnage dare to say that this confidence too is worthy only of the household of Montanus, because Tertullian was attached to that sect? But there is no room here for quibbles of that kind; it is not a question here of hidden and private visions or revelations, but of a matter of which a public trial is exhibited, and that before the very tribunals of the heathen magistrates; and both the honour of the Christian religion and the blood of a Christian man are called into jeopardy, unless the sign offered turns out as intended. Does not Tertullian indeed behave thus, speak thus, as though Christians had the Holy Spirit at their beck for restraining and subjecting the demons to themselves, like some necklace shut up in their own chest, to use His power and might whenever they wished, at their discretion? But whence such confidence in Christians, unless from
Editors' notes and page, col. 115
Footnotes
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Apolog. cap. 23.
Apology, chapter 23.
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Cap. 11.
Chapter 11.
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quotidiano id genus virtutum experimento ? » Christum timentes, » subjungit laudatus auctor, « et Deum in Christo, subjiciuntur servis Dei et Christi. Ita de contactu, deque afflatu nostro, etiam de corporibus nostro imperio excedunt inviti et dolentes, et vobis praesentibus erubescentes. » Libro autem de Corona milit. hoc spiritu, hac virtute non clericos modo aut insigniores Christianos, sed quosvis promiscue, etiam laicos, praeditos fuisse, clare et aperte significat, dum Christianos, illos utique quibus ex Ecclesiae catholicae disciplina militare licebat, a suscipienda vel exercenda militia hoc inter caetera argumento deterret, quod militibus noctu pro daemonum templis excubandum esset, in quos Christianus interdiu imperium exercebat, quosque exorcismis fugabat: « Et quos interdiu exorcismis fugavit, noctibus defensabit, incumbens et requiescens super luncho quo perfossum est latus Christi. » Cui, ut vidimus, concinit Irenaeus qui veros Christi discipulos, nulla distinctione adhibita, hac, ait, inter caetera dona praeditos fuisse potestate, ut daemones expellerent βεβαίως καὶ ἀληθῶς. Et utroque antiquior Justinus ipsos ethnicos harum virtutum testes appellat, ut quae sub ipsorum oculis et palam ederentur: « Hoc ipsum ex his, quae sub aspectu vestro sunt, intelligere potestis. Complures siquidem daemonum intemperiis correptos homines per orbem omnem et hanc vestram urbem, quos alii adjuratores et incantatores et venefici vestri curare non potuerunt, permulti hominum nostrorum, Christianorum, inquam, per nomen Jesu Christi sub Pontio Pilato crucifixi adjurantes sanarunt, atque etiam nunc sanant exarmantes atque exigentes ab hominibus, qui illos obsederunt daemones. » Et in dialogo cum Tryphone: « Opitulatorem namque ipsum et redemptorem nominamus, cujus etiam nominis potentiam daemones tremunt et reformidant, et hodie quoque illi per nomen Jesu Christi crucifixi sub Pontio Pilato qui Judaeae procuratorem egit, adjurati nobis parent. » Et rursum: « Et nunc nos, qui in crucifixum sub Pontio Pilato Jesum Dominum nostrum credimus, daemonia cuncta, spiritusque malignos adjurantes, sub potestate eos nostra subditos habemus. » Non minori quam Tertullianus fiducia magnus hac de re loquitur Athanasius, quamvis quarto saeculo, non eadem qua tertio ineunte, ubertate haec Spiritus sancti charismata redundarent: « Haec autem quae dicimus, non
daily experience of powers of that kind? "Fearing Christ," the praised author adds, "and God in Christ, they are made subject to the servants of God and of Christ. So at our touch and at our breath, even from bodies, at our command they depart unwilling and grieving, and blushing in your presence." In the book On the Soldier's Crown, moreover, he clearly and openly indicates that not only clerics or the more distinguished Christians, but any whatever without distinction, even laymen, were endowed with this spirit and this power. He does so when he deters Christians, namely those to whom it was permitted by the discipline of the Catholic Church to serve as soldiers, from undertaking or exercising military service. Among other arguments he uses this one: that soldiers had to keep watch by night before the temples of the demons, over whom the Christian exercised authority by day and whom he put to flight with exorcisms. "And those whom by day he has put to flight with exorcisms he will defend by night, leaning and resting on the lance by which the side of Christ was pierced." Irenaeus, as we have seen, agrees with him, saying that the true disciples of Christ, with no distinction made, were endowed among other gifts with this power, that they expelled demons firmly and truly. And Justin, older than both, appeals to the heathen themselves as witnesses of these powers, as being performed under their own eyes and openly: "This very thing you can understand from the things which are before your sight. For many men seized by the derangements of demons throughout the whole world and in this city of yours, whom your other exorcists and enchanters and sorcerers could not cure, very many of our people, of the Christians, I say, have healed by adjuring them through the name of Jesus Christ crucified under Pontius Pilate, and even now they heal them, disarming and driving out from the men the demons which besieged them." And in the dialogue with Trypho: "For we name Him helper and redeemer, the power of Whose very name the demons tremble at and dread, and today also, when adjured by us through the name of Jesus Christ, crucified under Pontius Pilate who acted as procurator of Judaea, they obey us." And again: "And now we, who believe in Jesus our Lord, crucified under Pontius Pilate, adjuring all demons and evil spirits, hold them subjected under our power." The great Athanasius speaks on this matter with no less confidence than Tertullian, although in the fourth century these charisms of the Holy Spirit did not overflow with the same abundance as at the opening of the third: "But these things which we say, not
Editors' notes and page, col. 116
Footnotes
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Καὶ νῦν ἐκ τῶν ὑπ' ὄψιν γινομένων μαθεῖν δύνασθε· δαιμλοιολήπτους γὰρ πολλοὺς κατὰ τὸν κόσμον ἐν τῇ ὑμετέρᾳ πόλει πολλοὶ τῶν ἡμετέρων ἀνθρώπων, καὶ Τριστιανῶν, ἐξορκίζοντες κατὰ τοῦ ὀνόματος Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ τοῦ σταυρωθέντες ἐπὶ Ποντίου Πιλάτου, ὑπὸ τῶν ἄλλων πάντων ἐπορκιστῶν καὶ ἐπᾳστῶν, καὶ φαρμακευτῶν μὴ ἰαθέντας, ἰάσαντο. καὶ ἔτι νῦν ἰῶνται, καταργοῦντες καὶ ἐκδιώκοντες τοὺς κατέχοντας τοὺς ἀνθρώπους δαίμονας. Apolog. 2 ad Senat.
And now you can learn it from what happens before your eyes. For many of our people, Christians, adjuring by the name of Jesus Christ who was crucified under Pontius Pilate, have healed many possessed by demons throughout the world and in your own city, who had not been healed by all the other exorcists, enchanters and sorcerers; and they heal them still, disabling and driving out the demons that hold men. Apology 2, to the Senate.
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Βοηθὸν γὰρ ἐκεῖνον καὶ λυτρωτὴν καλοῦμεν, οὗ καὶ τὴν τοῦ ὀνόματος ἰσχὺν καὶ τὰ δαιμόνια τρέμει, καὶ σήμερον, ἐξορκιζόμενα κατὰ τοῦ ὀνόματος Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ τοῦ σταυρωθέντος ἐπὶ Ποντίου Πιλάτου τοῦ γενομένου ἐπιτρόπου τῆς Ἰουδαίας, ὑποτάσσεται. Καὶ νῦν ἡμεῖς οἱ πιστεύοντες εἰς τὸν σταυρωθέντα ἐπὶ Ποντίου Πιλάτου Ἰησοῦν Κύριον ἡμῶν, τὰ δαιμόνια πάντα καὶ πνεύματα πονηρὰ ἐξορκίζοντες ὑποτασσόμενα ἡμῖν ἔχομεν.
For we call him Helper and Redeemer, the power of whose name even the demons fear; and to this day, adjured by the name of Jesus Christ, crucified under Pontius Pilate, who was procurator of Judaea, they are subdued. And now we who believe in Jesus our Lord, crucified under Pontius Pilate, adjuring all demons and evil spirits, have them subject to us.
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Ταῦτα δὲ τὰ λεγόμενα παρ' ἡμῶν οὐκ ἄχρι λόγων ἐστὶν, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐξ αὐτῆς τῆς πείρας ἔχει τὴν τῆς ἀληθείας μαρτυρίαν· παρίτω γὰρ ὁ βουλό- (continues)
These things we say are not mere words, but have the witness of their truth from experience itself; for let him who wishes come forward (continues)
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- old-edition numerals: 112 after ‹Christum›; 113 after ‹qua›
in solis verbis consistunt, sed ipsa etiam experientia praeclarum veritati dat testimonium. Accedat itaque quisquis voluerit, ac virtutis insignia in Christi virginibus, nec non in adolescentibus, qui castimoniam profitentur immortalitatisque fidem in tanto Christi martyrum choro contempletur. Veniat, et quisquis ea quae diximus experiri cupit, atque in mediis ipsis daemonum praestigiis, et oraculorum fallaciis a magiae prodigiis, signo crucis quae apud ipsos ludibrio est, utatur solumque Christum nominet : mox videbit quam cito per ipsum fugentur daemones, cessent oracula, ars omnis magica veneficiaque evanescant. » Si non est incredibile veteres Christianos tantam exercuisse adversus daemones potestatem, et malignos spiritus coercendos, Spiritus sancti virtutem, veluti gladium a femore pendentem habuisse ad nutum, eum quando vellent, exerturos ad arbitrium : cur incredibile videtur feminam divino Spiritu plenam ita se gessisse, quasi ipsum veluti monile quoddam in pectore suo ut in arca inclusum habuisset ad nutum, ejus illustrationibus quando vellet usura ad arbitrium ? Non video quid huic argumento reponi possit. Non nititur incertis aut obscuris exemplis, non dubiis aut forte confictis revelationibus, non vagis vulgi rumoribus, aut traditionibus, sed palam et in omnium oculis rerum gestarum fide, clarissimis monumentis contestata consignataque. Spiritus sancti virtute ad comprimendos daemones veteres Christiani ad arbitrium utebantur. « Quid hoc opere manifestius ? «Cur igitur candidata martyrii Spiritus sancti illustrationes ad arbitrium impetrare non potuit ? Quid hac probatione fidelius ? simplicitas veritatis in medio est : virtus illi sua assistit ; nihil suspicari licebit, » non montanismum aut fanatismum, aut aliquid hujusmodi.
rest on words alone, but experience itself also gives outstanding testimony to the truth. Let anyone, therefore, who wishes come forward and contemplate the marks of virtue in the virgins of Christ, and also in the young men who profess chastity, and the faith in immortality in so great a choir of Christ's martyrs. Let him come, too, whoever desires to test what we have said, and in the very midst of the deceptions of the demons, and the frauds of the oracles and the prodigies of magic, let him use the sign of the cross, which among them is a laughing-stock, and name Christ alone: he will soon see how swiftly through Him the demons are put to flight, the oracles cease, and all the magic art and sorcery vanish.” If it is not incredible that the ancient Christians exercised such great power against the demons, and for coercing malignant spirits had the power of the Holy Spirit at their beck, like a sword hanging from the thigh, ready to draw it at their discretion whenever they wished: why does it seem incredible that a woman filled with the divine Spirit conducted herself as though she had Him at her beck, like some necklace upon her breast, shut up as in a chest, to make use of His illuminations at her discretion whenever she wished? I do not see what can be said in reply to this argument. It does not rest on uncertain or obscure examples, not on doubtful or perhaps invented revelations, not on the vague rumours of the crowd, or traditions, but openly and before the eyes of all on the credibility of deeds done, attested and sealed by the clearest records. The ancient Christians used the power of the Holy Spirit at their discretion to subdue the demons. “What is more manifest than this deed? Why then could the candidate for martyrdom not obtain the illuminations of the Holy Spirit at her discretion? What is more trustworthy than this proof? The simplicity of the truth is in plain view: its own power stands by it; it will be permissible to suspect nothing,” not Montanism or fanaticism, or anything of this kind.
VI. Eadem qua Perpetua, Severi persecutione, sancta Potamiaena inter Alexandrinos hujus temporis martyres celeberrima, sublata est, cujus non solum exstat apud Eusebium illustris apparitio, sed insignis in Deum fiduciae exemplum, non minus, quam illud Perpetuae admiratione dignum. Eusebii verba pro more subjiciam : » Protinus igitur judicis sententia damnatam, Basilides unus
VI. In the same persecution of Severus as Perpetua, Saint Potamiaena, the most celebrated of the Alexandrian martyrs of this time, was put to death; of her there survives in Eusebius not only a remarkable apparition but an outstanding example of trust in God, no less worthy of admiration than that of Perpetua. I shall subjoin the words of Eusebius, as is my custom: “Then, when she had at once been condemned by the judge's sentence, Basilides, one
Editors' notes and page, col. 117
Footnotes
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μενος καὶ θεωρείτω τῆς μὲν ἀρετῆς τὸ γνώρισμα ἐν ταῖς Χριστοῦ παρθένοις καὶ ἐν τοῖς σωφροσύνην ἁγιεύουσι νεωτέροις, τῆς δὲ ἀθανασίας τὴν πίστιν ἐν τῷ τοσούτῳ τῶν μαρτύρων αὐτοῦ χορῷ· ἡκέτω δὲ ὁ πεῖραν προλεχθέντων βουλόμενος λαβεῖν, καὶ ἐπ' αὐτῆς τῆς φαντασίας τῶν δαιμόνων, καὶ τῆς τῶν μαντειῶν ἀπάτης, καὶ τῶν τῆς μαγείας θαυμάτων, χρησάσθω τῷ σημείῳ τοῦ γελωμένου παρ' αὐτοῖς σταυροῦ, τὸν Χριστὸν ὀνομάσας μόνον, καὶ ὄψεται πῶς δι' αὐτοῦ δαίμονες μὲν φεύγουσι, μαντεῖα δὲ παύεται, μαγεία δὲ πᾶσα καὶ φαρμακεία κατήργηται. Lib. De Incarnat. verbi Dei n. 48, novae edit.
(continued) and see the token of virtue in the virgins of Christ and in the young men who keep chastity holy, and the faith in immortality in so great a choir of his martyrs. And let him who wishes to test what has been said come, and in the very presence of the deceits of demons, the frauds of oracles and the wonders of magic, let him use the sign of the cross they mock, only naming Christ, and he will see how through him demons flee, oracles cease, and all magic and sorcery is brought to nothing. Book On the Incarnation of the Word of God, number 48, new edition.
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Ἅμα δὲ λόγῳ τὸν τῆς ἀποφάσεως ὅρον καταδεξαμένην, ὁ Βασιλείδης εἷς τις ὢν τῶν ἐν στρατείαις ἀναφερομένων, ἀπάγει παραλαβὼν τὴν ἐπὶ θανάτῳ· ὡς δὲ τὸ πλῆθος ἐνοχλεῖν αὐτῇ καὶ ἀκολάστοις ἐνυβρίζειν ῥήμασιν ἐπειρᾶτο, ὁ μὲν ἀνεῖργεν ἀποσοβῶν ἐνυβρίζοντας, πλεῖστον ἔλεον καὶ φιλανθρωπίαν εἰς αὐτὴν ἐνδεικνύμενος· ἡ δὲ τῆς περὶ αὐτὴν συμπαθείας ἀποδεξαμένη τὸν ἄνδρα θαρρεῖν παρακελεύεται· ἐξαιτήσεσθαι γὰρ αὐτὸν ἀπελθοῦσαν, παρὰ τοῦ ἑαυτῆς Κυρίου, καὶ οὐκ εἰς μακρὸν τῶν εἰς αὐτὴν πεπραγμένων τὴν ἀμοιβὴν ἀποτίσειν αὐτῷ..... καὶ ὁ μὲν τῆς ἀοιδίμου κόρης, τοιοῦτος κατηγώνιστο ἆθλος· οὐ μακρὸν δὲ χρόνον διαλιπὼν ὁ Βασιλείδης..... Χριστιανὸν ὑπάρχειν, καὶ τοῦτο ἐμφανῶς ὁμολογεῖν..... Τῶν δὲ κατὰ Θεὸν ἀδελφῶν ὡς αὐτὸν ἀφικομένων καὶ τὴν αἰτίαν τῆς ἀθρόας καὶ παραδόξου ταύτης ὁρμῆς πυνθανομένων, λέγεται εἰπεῖν, ὡς ἄρα Ποταμίαινα τρισὶν ὕστερον ἡμέραις τοῦ μαρτυρίου νύκτωρ ἐπιστᾶσα, στέφανον αὐτοῦ τῇ κεφαλῇ περιθεῖσα εἴη, φαίη τε παρακεκληκέναι χάριν αὐτοῦ τὸν Κύριον, καὶ τῆς ἀξιώσεως τετυχηκέναι, οὐκ εἰς μακρόν τε αὐτὸν παραλήψεσθαι· ἐπὶ τούτοις τῶν ἀδελφῶν τῆς ἐν Κυρίῳ σφραγῖδος μεταδόντων αὐτῷ, τῇ μετέπειτα ἡμέρᾳ τῷ τοῦ Κυρίου διαπρέψας μαρτυρίῳ, τὴν κεφαλὴν ἀποτέμνεται. Lib. VI Hist. eccles., cap. 5.
As soon as she had received the sentence, Basilides, one of those enrolled in military service, took her and led her away to death. When the crowd tried to molest her and insult her with shameless words, he held them back and drove off those who insulted her, showing her the greatest pity and kindness. She, accepting the man's sympathy towards her, bade him take courage: for when she had departed she would ask him of her Lord, and before long she would repay him for what he had done for her..... So the famous maiden finished such a contest; and not long after, Basilides..... [declared himself] to be a Christian, and confessed it openly..... When brethren in God came to him and asked the reason for this sudden and unexpected impulse, he is said to have told them that three days after her martyrdom Potamiaena stood by him at night, placed a crown upon his head, and said she had besought the Lord for grace for him, had obtained her request, and would before long take him to herself. Upon this the brethren gave him the seal in the Lord, and the next day, having borne glorious witness for the Lord, he was beheaded. Book 6 of the Ecclesiastical History, chapter 5.
(printed under page 111)
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- marginal letters: A ‹in solis verbis consistunt›; B ‹cendos, Spiritus sancti virtutem›; C ‹tyrii Spiritus sancti illustrationes›; D ‹beside the Greek footnote (ἐν τῷ τοσούτῳ), not set›
- old-edition numerals: 114 after ‹sententia›
ex apparitoribus ad supplicium adducit. Cumque vulgus eam vexare et obscoenis verbis illudere ei conaretur, Basilides quidem eos qui contumeliam virgini faciebant absterrens propellebat, multaque misericordiae et humanitatis erga illam praebebat indicia. Illa vero benignitatem hominis erga se libenter amplectens, bono animo eum esse jussit: se namque post obitum salutem ipsius a Domino impetraturam, et collata in se beneficia brevi remuneraturam esse... Et hujusmodi quidem certamen nobilissima virgo decertavit. Brevi autem postea Basilides... Christianum se esse, idque palam profiteri... Cumque quidam in Domino fratres eum adiissent, et causam subitae illius atque insperatae conversionis interrogarent, dixisse fertur, Potamiaenam tertio post martyrium die, noctu sibi assistentem caronam capiti suo imposuisse, dixisseque se ipsius causa Dominum orasse, atque id quod petierat impetrasse: nec diu postea ipsum ad superos migraturum. Posthaec signaculo Domini a fratribus accepto, postridie Christum gloriose confessus. capite truncatus est. « An minori fiducia Basilidi salutem, et beneficiorum certam remunerationem Potamiaena spopondit, quam Perpetua Saturo futuri eventus praedictionem? Annon ita quoque Potamiaena se gerit, quasi divinae praedestinationis ordinationes in numerato haberet, aut post mortem divinorum consiliorum arbitra futura esset, gratiae per sc victricis auxiliis usura ad arbitrium, per quae Basilidi Christus donaret, « non solum ut crederet in eo, sed etiam ut pateretur pro eo? » Si brevi Potamiaena fore speravit ut suae pro Basilide preces exaudirentur, cur non in eamdem spem Perpetua quoque potuit adduci? Si laudi Potamiaenae datur, quod certam fecerit Basilidi futurae salutis spem: cur vitio Perpetuae vertitur, quod certam Saturo spem injecerit futurae revelationis? Si Potamiaenae prophetiam nemo unquam in montanismi suspicionem adduxit, cur similem Perpetuae prophetiam in invidiam montanismi trahemus? Quid enim differunt? « Bono animo esto, post obitum impetrabo tibi salutem; » et: « Crastina die tibi renuntiabo? »
from among the attendants, leads her to execution. And when the crowd tried to harass her and to mock her with obscene words, Basilides, driving off those who were insulting the virgin, pushed them back, and showed her many signs of compassion and humanity. She, gladly welcoming the man's kindness towards her, bade him be of good courage: for after her death she would obtain his salvation from the Lord, and would shortly repay the benefits conferred on her... And such indeed was the contest the most noble virgin fought out. But shortly afterwards Basilides... [declared] that he was a Christian, and professed it openly... And when certain brothers in the Lord had come to him and asked the cause of that sudden and unexpected conversion of his, he is said to have said that Potamiaena, on the third day after her martyrdom, standing by him at night, had placed a crown on his head, and had said that she had prayed to the Lord for his sake and had obtained what she had asked: and that not long afterwards he would depart to the realms above. After this, having received the seal of the Lord from the brothers, on the following day, having gloriously confessed Christ, he was beheaded. « Did Potamiaena promise Basilides salvation and a sure repayment of his benefits with less confidence than Perpetua [gave] Saturus a prediction of a future event? Does not Potamiaena also conduct herself thus, as if she held the ordinances of divine predestination ready to hand, or as if after death she were to be the arbiter of the divine counsels, about to use at her discretion the aids of grace victorious through itself, by which Christ would grant to Basilides « not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for Him? » If Potamiaena hoped that her prayers for Basilides would shortly be heard, why could not Perpetua too be brought to the same hope? If it is counted to Potamiaena's praise that she made Basilides certain of the hope of future salvation, why is it turned into a fault in Perpetua that she instilled in Saturus a certain hope of a future revelation? If no one ever brought Potamiaena's prophecy under suspicion of Montanism, why shall we drag a similar prophecy of Perpetua into the odium of Montanism? For in what do they differ? « Be of good courage, after death I will obtain salvation for you; » and: « Tomorrow I will report to you? »
Exstincta Severi persecutione, pax diuturna successit, ad Decium usque, nisi Maximi persecutione,
When the persecution of Severus had been extinguished, a lasting peace followed, right up to Decius, not interrupted except by the persecution of Maximus,
Editors' notes and page, col. 118
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- marginal letters: A ‹ex apparitoribus ad supplicium›; B ‹nam tertio post martyrium die›; C ‹Potamiaena fore speravit›; D ‹σαν, παρὰ τοῦ ἑαυτῆς Κυρίου (in the Greek footnote, not set)›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
quae tamen brevis et localis fuit, non interrupta. Hoc temporis intervallo visiones et revelationes in Ecclesia non defuerunt, ut aliquibus exemplis constat, quae uti insigniora, et ad publicum Ecclesiae statum, et ad publicas item personas atque imprimis celebres pertinentia, historiae suae Eusebius inseruit. Cujusmodi fuerunt illae quibus Alexander in Hierosolymorum antistitem electus est, et qua sanctus Fabianus Ecclesiae Romanae pontifex renuntiatus; sed eas praetereo, quod nihil ferme cum nostro argumento commune habeant, ut illas etiam Dionysii Alexandrini, quas idem Eusebius refert, in quibus praesenti causae non multum videtur esse praesidii.
which nevertheless was brief and local. In this interval of time visions and revelations were not lacking in the Church, as is established by some examples, which, as being more notable and as pertaining both to the public state of the Church and likewise to public and especially celebrated persons, Eusebius inserted into his history. Of this kind were those by which Alexander was elected bishop of Jerusalem, and that by which Saint Fabian was proclaimed pontiff of the Roman Church; but I pass these over, because they have almost nothing in common with our argument, as also those of Dionysius of Alexandria which the same Eusebius reports, in which there seems to be not much support for the present case.
VII. Ad Cyprianum itaque veniam, quo nemo magis ita se gessit, quasi Spiritum sanctum, veluti monile quoddam in arca inclusum sua, habuisset ad nutum, ejus illustrationibus, quando vellet, usurus ad arbitrium. Duo autem in ejus revelationibus ac visionibus spectanda sunt: earum scilicet varietas atque frequentia, quam inde concepit sanctissimus juxta, ac prudentissimus vir de divina dignatione et familiaritate fiduciam. Ut autem haec diligentus lector atque commodius animadvertat, eas hic sancti Martyris visiones exponere visum est, iisdem verbis quibus ab ipso suis in epistolis referuntur. Epistola undecima, alias juxta Pamelii editionem octava, nihil ferme habet praeter visiones atque revelationes. Scripta est e secessu presbyteris et diaconibus, hortatur illos ad preces assidue fundendas; unde Augustinus ejus in lib. IV de Baptismo mentionem faciens, hunc illi titulum dedit: « Ad Clericos, de precando Deo. » Deciana persecutio saevissime id temporis grassabatur: impulsum autem se fuisse dicit divinis praesertim revelationibus ad scribendum: « Nam quod, inquit, magis suasit et compulit, ut has ad vos litteras scriberem, scire debetis (sicut Dominus ostendere et revelare dignatur) dictum esse in visione: Petite, et impetratis. Tunc deinde praeceptum plebi assistenti, ut pro quibusdam personis designatis sibi peterent. In petendo autem fuisse dissonas voces, et dispares voluntates: et hoc vehementer displicuisse illi qui dixerat: Petite, et impetratis, quod plebis inaequalitas discreparet, nec esset fratrum consensio una, et simplex et juncta concordia. » Ananimitatis hujus pacisque inter fratres, et concordiae defectus causam fuisse subjungit grassantis persecutionis, quam sibi longe antequam decerneretur sequenti visione ostensam fuisss, testatur: « Imo vero nec venissent fratribus haec mala, si in unum fraternitas fuisset animata. Nam, et illud ostensum est, quod sederet pater familias sedente sibi ad dexteram juvene, qui juvenis anxius, et cum quadam indignatione subtristis, maxillam manu sustinens, moesto vultu sedebat. Alias vero in sinistra parte
VII. I come, therefore, to Cyprian, than whom no one conducted himself more as though he had the Holy Spirit at his beck, like some necklace shut up in his own chest, ready to use His illuminations at his pleasure whenever he wished. Two things, however, are to be considered in his revelations and visions: namely their variety and frequency, and the confidence in the divine favour and familiarity which this most holy and at the same time most prudent man conceived from them. But so that the reader may observe these things more diligently and more conveniently, it has seemed good to set out here the visions of the holy Martyr in the very words in which they are reported by him in his letters. The eleventh letter, otherwise the eighth according to Pamelius's edition, contains almost nothing besides visions and revelations. It was written from his retreat to the presbyters and deacons; it exhorts them to pour out prayers assiduously; whence Augustine, mentioning it in book 4 of On Baptism, gave it this title: "To the Clergy, on Praying to God." The Decian persecution was raging most savagely at that time; but he says that he had been impelled to write chiefly by divine revelations: "For what more persuaded and compelled me to write this letter to you," he says, "you ought to know (as the Lord deigns to show and reveal): that it was said in a vision: Ask, and you obtain. Then next, that the people standing by were instructed to ask for certain designated persons for themselves. But that in asking there were discordant voices and disparate wills; and that this greatly displeased Him Who had said: Ask, and you obtain, because the unevenness of the people was out of harmony, and there was not one agreement of the brethren, a simple and united concord." He adds that the lack of this unanimity and peace among the brethren, and of concord, was the cause of the raging persecution, which he testifies was shown to him long before it was decreed, in the following vision: "Nay indeed, these evils would not have come upon the brethren if the brotherhood had been of one mind. For this too was shown: that a father of a household was sitting, with a young man sitting at his right hand, which young man, anxious and somewhat sad with a certain indignation, holding his cheek in his hand, was sitting with a sorrowful countenance. But another on the left side
Editors' notes and page, col. 119
Footnotes
(6) ‹anchor: not visible in the foot crop› · call in col 119
Vid. Euseb. lib. VI. cap. 11.
See Eusebius, book 6, chapter 11.
(printed under page 112)
(7) ‹anchor: not visible in the foot crop› · call in col 119
Vid. Euseb. ibid. cap. 29.
See Eusebius, the same book, chapter 29.
(printed under page 112)
(8) ‹anchor: not visible in the foot crop› · call in col 119 · runs from the left column's foot into the right's
Vid. ipsius epist. ad German., apud Euseb, ibid. cap. 40. ‘epist. ad Philemon., apud eumd., lib. VII, cap. 7.
See his letter to Germanus, in Eusebius, the same book, chapter 40; the letter to Philemon, in the same author, book 7, chapter 7.
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- marginal letters: A ‹quae tamen brevis et localis fuit›; B ‹magis ita se gessit, quasi Spiritum›; C ‹tismo mentionem faciens›; D ‹jus pacisque inter fratres›
- old-edition numerals: 115 after ‹Hoc›; 116 after ‹sedebat.›
consistens, rete portabat, quod se mittere, ut circumstantem populum caperet, minabatur; et cum miraretur quid hoc esset, ille, qui vidit dixit ei: Juvenem qui ad dexteram sic sederet, contristari et dolere quod praecepta sua non observarentur: ilum vero in sinistra exsultare, quod sibi daretur occasio, ut a patrefamilias potestatem sumeret saeviendi. Hoc prius longe ostensum est, quam tempestas vastitatis hujus oriretur. Et vidimus impletum quod fuerat ostensum.» Sicuti pacis tempore futuram persecutionem, ita saeviente persecutione, brevi futuram pacem in visione pariter intellexit, de qua in eadem epistola ita scribit: « Denique ad minimum famulum suum, et in delictis licet plurimis constitutum et dignatione ejus indignum, tamen illic pro sua circa nos bonitate, mandare dignatus est: Dic illi, inquit, securus sit, quia pax ventura est. Sed quod interim morula est, supersunt adhuc aliqui qui probentur.» Neque tamen de fundendis assidue precibus, sed de aliis quoque pietatis operibus, et religionis officiis, supernis revelationibus admonitum se fuisse testatur: » Sed et de victu parco, et sobrio potu divinis dignationibus admonemur, etc.» Adeo vero de vaticiniorum suorum futuris eventibus sanctissimus praesul securus erat, ut quamvis nullus adhuc optatae tranquillitatis radius appeteret, jussit tamen has litteras promulgari et per clerum ad quem scriptae fuerant, plebi quoque communicari: « Dissimulare haec singula, et apud conscientiam meam solus occultare non debui. . . Nec ipsi utique apud vos hanc epistolam teneatis occultam, sed legendam fratribus suggeratis. » Sed ab omni pacis spe tam longe aberat afflictae plebis animus, ut nullam plerique gravissimi pastoris litteris, ac revelationibus fidem accommodarint: quam eorum incredulitatem in principio libri de Lapsis reprehendit, ab eo conscripti post redditam Ecclesiae ob insperatum ac repentinum Deciorum interitum tranquillitatem: « Pax ecce, dilectissimi fratres, Ecclesiae reddita est, et, quod difficile nuper incredulis ac perfidis impossibile videbatur, ope atque ultione divina securitas nostra reparata est.
standing, was carrying a net, which he threatened to cast so as to catch the people standing around; and when he wondered what this was, the one who saw it told him: that the young man who sat thus on the right was saddened and grieved that his precepts were not observed; but that the one on the left exulted that an opportunity was given him to receive from the father of the household power to rage. This was shown long before the storm of this devastation arose. And we have seen fulfilled what had been shown." Just as in time of peace he understood the persecution to come, so while the persecution was raging he likewise understood in a vision that peace would shortly come, concerning which he writes thus in the same letter: "Finally to His least servant, set though he is in very many sins and unworthy of His condescension, nevertheless there, out of His goodness towards us, He deigned to give this command: Tell him, He says, let him be secure, because peace is coming. But that there is meanwhile a little delay, some still remain to be proved." And yet he testifies that he was admonished by heavenly revelations not only about pouring out prayers constantly, but also about other works of piety and duties of religion: "But we are also admonished by divine favours about sparing food and sober drink, etc." Indeed so sure was the most holy prelate of the future outcome of his prophecies that, although no ray of the longed-for tranquillity yet appeared, he nevertheless ordered this letter to be published and, through the clergy to whom it had been written, to be communicated also to the people: "I ought not to pass over these several things and hide them alone in my own conscience... Nor indeed should you keep this letter hidden among yourselves, but provide it to the brethren to be read." But the mind of the afflicted people was so far from all hope of peace that most of them gave no credence to the letters and revelations of their most venerable pastor; this unbelief of theirs he rebukes at the beginning of the book On the Lapsed, written by him after tranquillity had been restored to the Church through the unexpected and sudden death of the Decii: "Behold, most beloved brethren, peace has been restored to the Church, and, what lately seemed difficult to the incredulous and impossible to the faithless, by divine help and vengeance our security has been restored.
Non minus visionibus abundat epistola novissimae editionis decima sexta, ad Pamelii numeros decima, quin plures et varias, paucioribus tamen verbis, complectitur: « Castigare nos itaque divina censura. nec noctibus desinit, nec diebus: praeter nocturnas enim visiones, per dies quoque impletur apud nos Spiritu sancto puerorum innocens aetas, quae in exstasi videt oculis, audit et loquitur ea quibus nos Dominus monere et instruere dignatur. Et audietis omnia, quando ad vos reducem me Dominus fecerit, qui ut secederem jussit. Interim temerarii et incauti et tumidi quidam inter vos, qui hominem non cogitent, vel Deum timeant; scientes quoniam si ultra in iisdem perseverarint, utar ea admonitone
No less does the sixteenth letter of the newest edition, the tenth in Pamelius's numbering, abound in visions; indeed it embraces more and varied ones, though in fewer words: "Therefore the divine censure does not cease to chastise us. neither by night nor by day: for besides the visions of the night, by day also the innocent age of boys among us is filled with the Holy Spirit, which in ecstasy sees with its eyes, hears and speaks those things by which the Lord deigns to warn and instruct us. And you will hear everything when the Lord, Who commanded me to withdraw, has brought me back to you. Meanwhile let certain rash and incautious and puffed-up persons among you, who have no regard for man, at least fear God; knowing that if they persevere further in the same things, I shall use that admonition
Editors' notes and page, col. 120
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- running head: ...ATIO APOLOGETICA 120 (left part cut off at the image edge)
- marginal letters: A consistens, rete portabat; B sua circa nos bonitate; C occultam, sed legendam; D nec noctibus desinit
- old-edition numerals: (none)
qua me uti Dominus jubet, ut interim prohibeantur offerre. » Quis haec legens Cypriano nostro praeclarum illud non adscribat elogium, quod a Polycrate Melitoni Sardensi longe autea tributum fuerat: Τὸν ἐν. ἁγίῳ Πνεύματι πάντα πολ⟨ι⟩τευσάμενον, « qui Spiritu sancto afflatus cuncta gessit. » Unde eum a plerisque nostrorum prophetam fuisse » habitum, ex Tertulliano « in septem libris quos scripsit adversus Ecclesiam pro Montano, » refert Hieronymus. At haec omnia in Cyprianum nostrum non minus quadrant: quid enim persecutionis tempore ab eo gestum, quod non Spiritu sancto afflatus perfecerit? Ut plebem suam ad futurum bellum expediret longe antequam exardesceret, divina illud revelatione praesensit. Indicto bello, ut latebras quaereret, et persecutionem declinaret, Deum auctorem habuit; neque ut ipsemet et Pontius diaconus in ejus Vita testantur, sine divina revelatione secessit. Orta tempestate, quibus aut virtutum exercitationibus superanda esset aut pietatis officiis tranquillitas impetranda, divina item revelatione cognovit. Futuram pacem non minus quam proximum bellum, divina pariter revelatione praenovit. Qua erga lapsos disciplina uti deberet, et nocturnis ipse visionibus et diurnis, innocentum puerorum raptibus et excessibus intellexit. Qua item in incautos quosdam ac temerarios presbyteros censura deberet animadvertere, a Deo similiter per apertam et manifestam admonitionem accepit. Assiduis hisce Spiritus sancti donis ac muneribus fretus, ad reditum quoque suum supernam revelationem praestolabatur: « Et audietis omnia, quando ad vos reducem me Dominus fecerit, qui ut secederem jussit: » quam illi non défuisse postea dicemus.
which the Lord commands me to use, that in the meantime they be forbidden to offer." Who, reading this, would not ascribe to our Cyprian that splendid commendation which had been bestowed by Polycrates on Melito of Sardis long before: "who conducted all things in the Holy Spirit," "who, inspired by the Holy Spirit, did all things." Hence, Jerome reports from Tertullian, "in the seven books which he wrote against the Church on behalf of Montanus," that he was "held to have been a prophet by most of our people." But all these things fit our Cyprian no less: for what was done by him in the time of persecution that he did not accomplish inspired by the Holy Spirit? That he might prepare his people for the coming war long before it blazed up, he foresaw it by divine revelation. When war was declared, he had God as the author of his seeking a hiding place and avoiding the persecution; nor, as he himself and Pontius the deacon in his Life testify, did he withdraw without divine revelation. When the storm had arisen, by what exercises of the virtues it was to be overcome, or by what offices of piety tranquillity was to be obtained, he likewise learned by divine revelation. The coming peace, no less than the imminent war, he foreknew equally by divine revelation. What discipline he ought to use towards the lapsed he understood both through visions of his own by night and by day, and through the raptures and ecstasies of innocent boys. Likewise, with what censure he ought to deal with certain heedless and rash presbyters, he received from God in the same way through an open and manifest admonition. Relying on these constant gifts and favours of the Holy Spirit, he awaited a heavenly revelation for his return also: "And you will hear all things when the Lord, Who ordered me to withdraw, has brought me back to you": and we shall say later that this was not lacking to him.
Interim antequam e secessu Carthaginem ramearet, Aurelium et Celerinum gloria confessionis insignes in clerum cooptavit. Id vero non sine consuetis visionibus ac divinis revelationibus factum est. Nam cum illorum temporum usus haberet, ut ordinationes clericae non sine plebis testimonio, et totius cleri suffragio celebrarentur; cur illos absens in clerum provexerit, hanc, de Aurelio loquens, affert rationem, quod humano testimonio non indigeret qui divino probatus fuerat suffragio: « In ordinationibus clericis, fratres charissimi, solemus vos ante consulere et mores ac merita singulorum communi consilio ponderare; sed expectanda non sunt testimonia humana, cum praecedunt divina suffragia. Aurelius frater noster, illustris adolescens, a Domino jam probatus, etc. » Et epistola sequenti de Celerini ordinatione loquens, eam quoque per spiritum prophetiae, nec sine visionibus ac revelationibus peractam fuisse testatur. « Cum enim, inquit, consentire dubitaret, Ecclesiae ipsius admonitu et hortatu in visione per noctem compulsus est, ne negaret
Meanwhile, before he returned from his retreat to Carthage, he co-opted into the clergy Aurelius and Celerinus, distinguished by the glory of confession. And this indeed was not done without the customary visions and divine revelations. For since the usage of those times held that clerical ordinations should not be celebrated without the testimony of the people and the vote of the whole clergy, he gives, speaking of Aurelius, this reason why he promoted them to the clergy while absent: that he who had been approved by a divine vote did not need human testimony: "In clerical ordinations, dearest brethren, we are accustomed to consult you beforehand and to weigh the character and merits of each by common counsel; but human testimonies are not to be waited for when divine votes go before. Aurelius our brother, an illustrious young man, already approved by the Lord, etc." And in the following letter, speaking of the ordination of Celerinus, he testifies that it too was carried out through the spirit of prophecy, and not without visions and revelations. "For when," he says, "he hesitated to consent, he was compelled by the admonition and exhortation of the Church itself in a vision by night not to refuse
Editors' notes and page, col. 121
Footnotes
(9) ‹anchor: not visible in the foot crop› · call in col 121 or 122
Epist. ad Victorem P., apud Euseb., lib. V, cap. 24.
Letter to Pope Victor, in Eusebius, book 5, chapter 24.
(printed under page 113)
(10) ‹anchor: not visible in the foot crop› · call in col 121 or 122
Catalog. in Melitone.
Catalogue [of illustrious men], under Melito.
(printed under page 113)
(11) ‹anchor: probatus fuerat suffragio› · call in col 121
Epist. XXXVIII ad Pam., num. 33.
Letter 38 (Pamelius's numbering), number 33.
(printed under page 113)
(12) ‹anchor: not visible in the foot crop› · call in col 121 or 122
Dissert. IV, Cyprianica de Visionibus, etc. § 18.
Dissertation 4 [of the Cyprianic Dissertations], On the Visions, etc., § 18.
(printed under page 113)
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- running head: 121 PRO SS. PERPETUA, FELICIT (cut off at the image edge)
- marginal letters: A qua me uti Dominus jubet; B ut ipsemet et Pontius diaconus; C ad vos reducem me Dominus fecerit; D res ac merita singulorum communi consilio
- old-edition numerals: 117 after Melitoni
nobis suadentibus, cui plus licuit, quae et coegit. »
with us urging [it], to whom more was permitted, which also compelled.”
Felicissimus schimatis Carthagine auctor, et quinque presbyteri perditae factionis fomites, quas in sanctissimum virum turbas concitarint, saepius ipse in suis epistolis narrat. Hac de re et de persecutione, quae inde imminebat, divinitus aliquid accepisse, nec coelestem defuisse revelationem, ex his sancti martyris verbis colligunt eruditi: « Persécutio est haec alia et alia tentatio, et quinque illi presbyteri nihil aliud sunt, quam quinque primores illi qui edicto nuper magistratibus fuerant copulati, ut fidem nostram subverterent, ut gracilia fratrum corda ad lethales laqueos praevaricatione veritatis averterent. Eadem nunc ratio, eadem rursus eversio, per quinque presbyteros Felicissimo copulatos, ad ruinam salutis inducitur. » Videtur, inquit Pamelius, alludere ad visionem quampiam, in qua apparuisse videntur cum magistratibus quinque primores, qui edictum contra episcopos una publicarent. Neque huic interpretationi refragatur Rigaltius, eamdemque manifeste amplectitur Dodwellus. Eadem Epistola, XLVIII, al. XL, quae ultima est earum quas in secessu concripsit, quam ut supra diximus, praestolabatur de reditu revelationem, se jam accepisse perspicue, ut mibi videtur, luculenterque significat. Primo enim queritur: « quod quorumdam presbyterorum malignitas et perfidia perfecisset ne sibi ad suos ante diem Pachae venire licuisset. Cavebat scilicet ne per minas et per insidias perfidorum major ex suo adventu Carthagine tumultus oriretur, et, cum paci et tranquillitati episcopus providere in omnibus debeat, ipse materiam seditioni dedisse et persecutionem denuo exacerbasse videretur. » Postea subjungit, hanc esse persecutionem novissimam et extremam tentationem, quae et ipsa, inquit, « cito Domino protegente transibit ut repraesenter vobis post Paschae diem cum collegis meis. » Annon manifesta habemus et clara propheticae revelationis indicia? Ante Pascha suo se secessu continuit, metuens ne adventu suo materiam seditioni daret, et ne persecutionem denuo exacerbasse videretur: post Pascha tamen certo se rediturum promittit. Sed annon poterat post Pascha idem periculum imminere? Nequaquam: noverat enim cito transituram persecutionis hujus novissimam tentationem. Sed unde id noverat, ut adeo certum promitteret? Non aliunde profecto, nisi ex divina revelatione.
Felicissimus, the author of the schism at Carthage, and five presbyters, the kindling of a ruinous faction: what disturbances they stirred up against that most holy man, he himself often relates in his letters. That on this matter, and on the persecution which was impending from it, he received something from God, and that a heavenly revelation was not lacking, the learned gather from these words of the holy martyr: “This is another persecution and another temptation, and those five presbyters are nothing other than those five leading men who were lately joined to the magistrates by the edict, so that they might overthrow our faith, so that they might turn the slender hearts of the brethren to deadly snares by betrayal of the truth. Now the same plan, the same overthrow again, is brought in for the ruin of salvation through five presbyters joined to Felicissimus.” He seems, says Pamelius, to allude to some vision, in which there seem to have appeared, together with the magistrates, five leading men who were jointly publishing an edict against the bishops. Nor does Rigaltius oppose this interpretation, and Dodwell plainly embraces it. The same Letter, 48, otherwise 40, which is the last of those he wrote in his retreat, signifies clearly and lucidly, as it seems to me, that he had already received the revelation about his return which, as we said above, he was awaiting. For first he complains “that the malice and perfidy of certain presbyters had brought it about that he was not permitted to come to his own before the day of Easter. He was taking care, namely, lest through the threats and through the snares of the perfidious a greater tumult should arise at Carthage from his arrival, and lest, since a bishop ought in all things to provide for peace and tranquillity, he himself should seem to have given matter to sedition and to have exasperated the persecution anew.” Afterwards he adds that this persecution is the latest and final temptation, which too, he says, “will quickly pass, with the Lord protecting, so that I may be present with you after the day of Easter with my colleagues.” Do we not have manifest and clear signs of a prophetic revelation? Before Easter he kept himself in his retreat, fearing lest by his arrival he should give matter to sedition and should seem to have exasperated the persecution anew: after Easter, however, he promises that he will certainly return. But could not the same danger impend after Easter? By no means: for he knew that this latest temptation of the persecution would quickly pass. But whence did he know it, so as to promise it so certainly? From nowhere else, surely, than from divine revelation.
Sublatis Deciis, secundam Cypriani temporibus Ecclesiae persecutionem Gallus et Volusianus intulerunt. Hanc quoque sanctus Cyprianus, antequam saeviret, imo et antequam decerneretur, non una ant altera, sed multis et crebris et manifestis ostensionibus ac visionibus futuram intellexit, et per synodicas secundi concilii Carthaginiensis ad
When the Decii had been removed, Gallus and Volusianus brought upon the Church the second persecution in Cyprian's times. This too the holy Cyprian, before it raged, nay even before it was decreed, understood was to come, not through one or another, but through many and frequent and manifest showings and visions, and through the synodal [letters] of the second council of Carthage to
Editors' notes and page, col. 122
Page
- running head: TUA, FELICITATE ET SOCIIS. 122 (cut off at left edge; column number blurred, read as 122)
- marginal letters: A ‹nobis suadentibus, cui plus licuit›; B ‹Felicissimo copulatos, ad ruinam›; C ‹tus oriretur, et, cum paci›; D ‹tionis hujus novissimam tentationem›
- old-edition numerals: 118 after ‹in›
- note calls in this column: after ‹Dodwellus› the call is printed "(15)" but the note it points to is (12) (Dissert. IV, Cyprianica de Visionibus), set in n121; the foot of this column prints notes (11) and (12), both set in n121 (Q1b)
- misprints kept as printed: schimatis (for schismatis); Persécutio (stray accent); concripsit (for conscripsit); mibi (for mihi); Pachae (for Paschae); ant altera (for aut altera); "magis ratibus" printed with a space, set as magistratibus (Q1b)
Cornelium litteras, non suae tantum, sed etiam Romanae Ecclesiae significavit : « Sed enim cum videamus diem rursus alterius infestationis appropinquare coepisse, et crebris atque assiduis ostensionibus admoneamur, ut ad certamen quod nobis hostis indicit, armati et parati simus, plebem etiam nobis de divina dignatione commissam exhortationibus nostris paremus, etc. » Postea : « Obtemperandum est namque ostensionibus atque admonitionibus justis, ut a pastoribus oves in periculo non deserantur, etc. » Rursus : « Placuit nobis, Spiritu sancto suggerente, et Domino per visiones multas et manifestas admonente, quia hostis nobis imminere praenuntiatur et ostenditur, colligere intra castra milites Christi, etc. » His Cypriani verbis haec subjungit Cl. Dodwellus : « Non credent haec fortasse athei. Sed quid habent quominus fide digna esse censeant ? Visiones hic habemus non multas modo, sed et manifestas eventuque comprobatas ; nec id obscura privati cujuspiam fide, sed synodi totius consentiente suffragio, mansurisque, si falsae fuissent. in rei memoriam aeternis monumentis scriptisque consignatas, « sole, ut Hieronymus ait, clarioribus ; » non video quid praeterea velle possent ad rem factis comprobandam, si modo ex aequo judicare vellent, nec fidem prorsus omnem hominibus derogare. Rursus de eadem persecutione ita scribit ad plebem Thibaritanam :
Cornelius, he made known [the warnings] not to his own Church only, but also to the Roman Church: "But since we see that the day of another assault has begun to draw near again, and we are warned by frequent and constant showings to be armed and ready for the contest which the enemy declares against us, let us also prepare by our exhortations the people entrusted to us by the divine favour, etc." Afterwards: "For one must obey just showings and admonitions, so that the sheep are not deserted by the shepherds in danger, etc." Again: "It has seemed good to us, at the prompting of the Holy Spirit, and with the Lord admonishing us through many and manifest visions, since the enemy is foretold and shown to be threatening us, to gather the soldiers of Christ within the camp, etc." To these words of Cyprian the distinguished Dodwell adds this: "Atheists perhaps will not believe these things. But what reason have they for not judging them worthy of belief? Here we have visions not only many but also manifest and proved by the outcome; and that not on the obscure word of some private person, but by the agreeing vote of a whole synod, and set down in record of the matter in lasting monuments and writings, which would have remained [to convict them] if they had been false, 'brighter', as Jerome says, 'than the sun'; I do not see what more they could want for proving a matter of fact, if only they were willing to judge fairly and not to deny all credit whatever to men. Again, concerning the same persecution he writes thus to the people of Thibaris:
« Nam cum Domini instruentis dignatione instigemur saepius, amplius et adm⟨o⟩neamur ; ad vestram quoque conscientiam admonitionis nostrae sollicitudinem perferre debemus. Scire enim debetis et pro certo credere ac tenere, pressurae diem super caput esse coepisse.... Nec putamus talia esse quae veniunt, qualia fuerunt illa quae transierunt : gravior nunc et ferocior pugna imminet. » Non immerito dubitatur quomodo Deciana gravior et ferocior futura esset Galli persecutio, cum reapse brevior fuerit et longe nitior ? Hunc nodum ita solvi in Dissert. de Poenit. seu de Capit. absolut. : non futuram modo persecutionem sed et omnia pariter mala quae non minus Ecclesiae, quam reipublicae impendebant, fuisse Cypriano his visionibus demonstrata, irruptiones scilicet Barbarorum, indeque secutas Christianorum aeque ac Gentilium captivitates : et funestissimam luem quae late per imperium Romanum grassata est ; cujus mali acerbitatem et innumerabiles strages, cum sanctus ipse Cyprianus, tum Pontius diaconus in ejus Vita, tum alii auctores deplorant. Haec igitur aliaeque calamitates cum persecutione conjunctae Galli et Volusiani imperium Deciano longe gravius Christianis effecerunt. Cumque non omnes malorum causae clare et distincte
"For since by the favour of the Lord Who instructs us we are more often spurred on and more fully admonished, we must also bring the concern of our admonition to your knowledge. For you must know, and believe and hold for certain, that the day of affliction has begun to be over our heads.... Nor do we think that the things which are coming are such as those which have passed: a heavier and fiercer fight now threatens." Not without reason is it asked how the persecution of Gallus was to be heavier and fiercer than the Decian, when in fact it was shorter and far milder. This knot I untied thus in the Dissertation on Penance, or on Capital [Sins] Absolved: that not only the coming persecution but likewise all the evils which threatened the Church no less than the State were shown to Cyprian in these visions, namely the incursions of the Barbarians, and the captivities of Christians and Gentiles alike that followed from them, and the most deadly plague which raged far and wide through the Roman Empire, the bitterness of which evil and its countless slaughters are lamented both by Saint Cyprian himself and by Pontius the deacon in his Life, and by other authors. These calamities, then, and others joined with the persecution, made the reign of Gallus and Volusianus far heavier for Christians than that of Decius. And since not all the causes of the evils had been clearly and distinctly
Editors' notes and page, col. 123
Footnotes
(13) ‹anchor: not visible in the foot crop› · call in col 123
Epist. LVII, al. LIV.
Letter 57, otherwise 54.
(printed under page 114)
(14) ‹anchor: not visible in the foot crop› · call in col 123
Dissert de Visionib., etc. § 19.
Dissertation On the Visions, etc., § 19.
(printed under page 114)
(15) ‹anchor: plebem Thibaritanam› · call in col 123
Epist. LVIII, al. LVI.
Letter 58, otherwise 56.
(printed under page 114)
(16) ‹anchor: de Capit. absolut.› · call in col 123
Sect. 3.
Section 3.
(printed under page 114)
Page
- running head: 123 DISSERTATIO APOLO[GETICA] (cut off at the image edge)
- marginal letters: A ‹Cornelium litteras, non suae›; B ‹Cypriani verbis haec subjungit›; C ‹tram quoque conscientiam admonitionis›; D ‹Gentilium captivitates : et funestissimam›
- old-edition numerals: 119 after ‹parati›
- other: the word distincte was split at the column break and stands whole here (joined on receipt); check that the English reads whole across the break into col 124
fuissent sancto martyri revelatae, tot quas praeviderat calamitates et Christianorum funera, ex sola oritura esse persecutione sibi facile persuasit.
revealed to the holy martyr, he readily persuaded himself that all the calamities and deaths of Christians which he had foreseen would arise from the persecution alone.
Vidimus hactenus quam frequentes et familiares Cypriano fuerint coelestes revelationes : videamus modo in quam sanctus Martyr fiduciam ex earum frequentia fuerit adductus : et annon ipse etiam, haud secus ac Perpetua eo se modo gesserit quasi Spiritum, sanctum veluti monile quoddam in arca inclusum sua, habuisset ad nutum, ejus illustrationibus, quando vellet usurus ad arbitrium. Talis fiduciae signum est securitas illa, quam praeferebat, non defuturam sibi coelestem revelationem, quae tempus ad reditum opportunum demonstraret; quod jam autea est nobis animadversum. Nunc aliud non minus perspicuum proferam in eadem rem argumentum. Gravissima illa epistola qua Florentium Pupianum, virum seditiosum ac turbulentum, vehementissime objurgat, ei tandem veniam, si resipiscat, hac conditione promittit : si Deus id permittat, et aliquo sensibili signo suam hac de re sententiam voluntatemque significet : « Si temeritatis et superbiae atque insolentiae tuae agere vel sero poenitentiam coeperis... communicationis tuae poterinus habere rationem : manente tamen apud nos divinae censurae respectu et metu ; ut prius Dominum meum consulam, an tibi pacem dari, et te ad communicationem Ecclesiae admitti, sua ostensione et admotione permittat. Memini enim, quid jam mihi sit ostensum, imo quid servo obsequenti et timenti, de dominica et divina auctoritate praeceptum, qui inter caetera quae ostendere et revelare dignatus est et hoc addidit : » Itaque qui Christo non credit sacerdotem facienti, postea credere incipiet sacerdotem vindicanti. » Quibus sancti Martyris verbis haec subjicit Dodwellus :
We have seen so far how frequent and familiar heavenly revelations were to Cyprian: let us now see to what confidence the holy Martyr was brought by their frequency, and whether he too, no differently from Perpetua, conducted himself in such a way as if he had the Holy Spirit at his beck, like some necklace shut up in his own chest, to use His illuminations whenever he wished, at his discretion. A sign of such confidence is that assurance which he displayed, that a heavenly revelation would not fail him which would show the opportune time for his return; which has already been remarked by us before. Now I shall bring forward another argument, no less clear, to the same effect. In that very weighty letter in which he most vehemently rebukes Florentius Pupianus, a seditious and turbulent man, he at length promises him pardon, if he comes to his senses, on this condition: if God permits it, and by some perceptible sign makes known His judgement and will on this matter: "If you begin, even late, to do penance for your rashness and pride and insolence... we shall be able to take account of communion with you, while there yet remains with us regard and fear of the divine censure; so that I may first consult my Lord whether He permits, by His showing and admonition, peace to be given to you and you to be admitted to the communion of the Church. For I remember what has already been shown to me, nay rather what has been commanded to an obedient and fearing servant by the Lord's and divine authority, Who among the other things which He deigned to show and reveal also added this: 'Therefore he who does not believe Christ when He makes a priest will afterwards begin to believe Him when He avenges a priest.'" To these words of the holy Martyr Dodwell subjoins this:
« Ita erant frequentes ea aetate divinae revelationes, ut ne de resipiscente quidem Pupiano polliceri auderet quid esset staturus, ne aliud fortasse a Deo juberetur : ut Deum proinde primum innueret esse consulendum ; ut tandem Dei in rebellem poenam exspectaret, talem plane qualem apostolicarum censurarum comitem fuisse, apud doctos in confesso est. Iterum de presbyteris qui se inconsulto lapsis communicaverant. « Utar, inquit, ea admonitione qua me Dominus jubet, ut interim prohibeantur offerri, etc. » Non ignorabat Cyprianus ejusmodi visiones viris impiis ac temerariis, quales modo non paucos experimur, ludibrio et contemptui haberi ; sed adeo tamen pro certo habebat suas ex Deo esse revelationes ut nihil de futuris eventis dubitaret : et non solum quibus jam fuerat donatus publicare, sed novas etiam palam sibi promittere minime vereretur, unde in eadem
"So frequent were divine revelations in that age that he did not dare to promise what he would decide even about Pupianus should he repent, lest perhaps something else be commanded by God; so that he therefore hinted that God must first be consulted; so that finally he expected from God a punishment upon the rebel, plainly such as is acknowledged among the learned to have been the companion of apostolic censures. Again, concerning the presbyters who without consulting him had communicated with the lapsed: "I shall use," he says, "that admonition by which the Lord commands me that meanwhile they be forbidden to offer, etc." Cyprian was not unaware that visions of this kind are held in mockery and contempt by impious and rash men, such as we now experience not a few to be; but nevertheless he held it so certain that his revelations were from God that he had no doubt at all about future events: and he was not in the least afraid not only to publish those with which he had already been gifted, but even openly to promise himself new ones, whence in the same
Editors' notes and page, col. 124
Footnotes
(17) ‹anchor: not visible in the foot crop› · call in col 124
Epist. LVI, al. LXIX.
Letter 56, otherwise 69.
(printed under page 114)
(18) ‹anchor: subjicit Dodwellus› · call in col 124
Dissert. IV Cyprianica, § 20.
Cyprianic Dissertation 4, § 20.
(printed under page 114)
(19) ‹anchor: Utar, inquit› · call in col 124
Epist. XVI, al. X.
Letter 16, otherwise 10.
(printed under page 114)
Page
- running head: TATIO APOLOGETICA 124 (left edge cut off; presumably DISSERTATIO APOLOGETICA)
- marginal letters: A ‹stincte fuissent sancto martyri›; B ‹non minus perspicuum proferam›; C ‹dominica et divina auctoritate›; D ‹admonitione qua me Dominus›
- old-edition numerals: 120 after ‹fiduciae›
epistola statim subjungit: « Quanquam sciam somnia ridicula et visisnes ineptas quibusdam videri, sed utique illis qui malunt contra sacerdotem credere quam sacerdoti. Sed nihil mirum, quando de Joseph fratres sui dixerunt : Ecce somniator ille venit, nunc ergo venite, occidamus illum ; et somniator postea quod somniaverat consecutus sit, et occisores ac venditores confusi sint, ut qui verbis prius non credidissent, factis postmodum crederent. »
letter he immediately adds: "Although I know that dreams seem ridiculous and visions foolish to some, yet certainly to those who prefer to believe against the priest rather than the priest. But it is no wonder, since of Joseph his brothers said: Behold, that dreamer comes; now therefore come, let us kill him; and the dreamer afterwards obtained what he had dreamed, and the killers and sellers were confounded, so that those who had not believed the words beforehand believed the deeds afterwards."
Superest alia Cypriani visio prophetica ad martyrium ejus pertinens ; sed eam capite sequenti reservabo. Interim, rogo, annon videatur Spiritum sanctum in pectore suo quasi in arca inclusum habuisse, qui in disciplinae etiam ecclesiasticae exercitio visiones exspectabat, et nihil statuere audebat, nisi Dominum antea consuluisset, et nisi manifesto aliquo indicio voluntatis ejus certior factus fuisset ; et an Perpetua montanismi propterea fuerit insimulanda, quod ipsa etiam divinis revelationibus assueta, eadem fiducia se gesserit ?
There remains another prophetic vision of Cyprian pertaining to his martyrdom; but I shall reserve it for the following chapter. Meanwhile, I ask, does he not seem to have had the Holy Spirit shut up in his breast as in a chest, he who even in the exercise of ecclesiastical discipline awaited visions, and dared to decide nothing unless he had first consulted the Lord, and unless he had been made certain of His will by some manifest sign; and should Perpetua be accused of Montanism on this account, because she too, accustomed to divine revelations, conducted herself with the same confidence?
VIII. Quam frequentes id temporis exhibitae martyribus fuerint coelestes visiones ac propheticae revelationes, fidem amplissimam faciunt sincera ac genuina cum Jacobi et Mariani. etc., tum Montani et Lucii ac sociorum martyrum Acta, his referta coelestibus visionibus ac propheticis vaticiniis. Non est mihi animus eas hic singillatim referre : oporteret enim integra ferme Acta transcribere, quae apud doctissimum Ruinartium videri commode possunt. Unum duntaxat ex Actis Montani exemplum offeram, quod ad praesens argumentum propius accedit. His autem verbis in Actis describitur : « Cum autem jam carnifex immineret, et gladius super cervices ejus libratus penderet, expansis ille (id est Montanus) ad coelum manibus, voce clara, ita ut non tantum aures plebis, sed et gentiles quoque ipsos sonus vocis feriret, oravit rogans et deprecans ut Flavianus qui per suffragium populi de comitatu eorum remanserat, sequeretur die tertia. Et quo precis suae fidem faceret, manualem quos oculos fuerat ligatus in partes duas discidit, et jussit alteram reservari, qua Flaviano oculi post crastinum ligarentur. Sed et in medio eorum in area solum servari jussit, ut nec sepulturae consortio privarentur. Et perfectum est sub oculis nostris quod Dominus in Evangelio repromisit, ut qui tota fide peteret, quidquid peteret impetraret. Nam post biduum Favianus quoque productus, glorirm suam passione perficit. » Non magis mirandum est, Perpetuam futuram ante diem crastinum martyrii sui revelationem praenuntiasse, quam Montanum futurum
VIII. How frequently at that time heavenly visions and prophetic revelations were granted to martyrs, the sincere and genuine Acts, both of James and Marian etc., and of Montanus and Lucius and their fellow martyrs, give the fullest proof, being filled with these heavenly visions and prophetic predictions. I have no mind to relate them here one by one: for I should have to transcribe almost the entire Acts, which can conveniently be seen in the most learned Ruinart. I shall offer just one example from the Acts of Montanus, which comes nearer to the present argument. It is described in the Acts in these words: "But when the executioner was already at hand, and the sword, poised, hung over his neck, he (that is, Montanus), stretching out his hands to heaven, with a clear voice, so that the sound of his voice struck not only the ears of the people but even the gentiles themselves, prayed, asking and beseeching that Flavian, who by the vote of the people had been left behind from their company, might follow on the third day. And to give credence to his prayer, he tore into two parts the cloth with which his eyes had been bound, and ordered that the other be kept, with which Flavian's eyes might be bound the day after the morrow. And he also ordered that ground be kept in the burial place in their midst, so that they might not be deprived of fellowship in burial. And there was accomplished before our eyes what the Lord promised in the Gospel, that whoever asked with full faith would obtain whatever he asked. For after two days Flavian too was brought forth and completed his glory by his passion." It is no more to be wondered at that Perpetua foretold the revelation of her coming martyrdom before the morrow, than that Montanus
Editors' notes and page, col. 125
Footnotes
(20) ‹anchor: not visible in the foot crop› · call in col 125 or 126
Ἐκ πολλῶν μὲν ἄλλων, καὶ ἐκ τοῦ ἴχνη δὲ (f. τινὰ) αὐτῶν ἔτι σώζεσθαι παρὰ τοῖς κατὰ τὸ βούλημα τοῦ Λόγου βιοῦσι. Lib. I, page 5, Edit. Cantab.
From many other things, and from the fact that traces (perhaps: some traces) of them are still preserved among those who live according to the will of the Word. Book 1, page 5, Cambridge edition.
(printed under page 115)
Page
- running head: 125 PRO SS. PERPETUA, FELICIT (cut off at image edge)
- marginal letters: A ‹epistola statim subjungit›; B ‹exercitio visiones exspectabat›; C ‹plum offeram, quod ad praesens›; D ‹quod Dominus in Evangelio›
- old-edition numerals: 121 after ‹audebat›
- other: the word futurum was split at the column break and stands whole here (joined on receipt); check that the English reads whole across the break into col 126
post triduum, Flaviani martyrium esse vaticinatum. Quo enim prophetico spiritu actus Montanus petiit, « ut Flavianus sequeretur die tertia, » eodem Perpetua rogavit, ut sibi ante proximum diem ostenderetur, passione futura esset, an commeatus. Nam utrumque, ut multis Scripturarum exemplis compertum est, ad spiritum pertinet prophetiae, et futuros eventus praevidere, et certas exspectare futurorum eventuum revelationes.
had prophesied that the martyrdom of Flavian would take place after three days. For by the same prophetic spirit by which Montanus was moved when he asked "that Flavian should follow on the third day," Perpetua asked that it be shown to her before the next day whether there would be a passion or a respite. For both things, as is known from many examples in the Scriptures, belong to the spirit of prophecy: both to foresee future events, and to expect sure revelations of future events.
IX. Est autem illud circa praecedentes cum Cypriani, tum coaevorum martyrum visiones et prophetica vaticinia sedulo animadvertendum: constare inter omnes, charismatum copiam ampliorem longe fuisse initio Ecclesiae, quam posterioribus saeculis: adeo ut Origenes qui aliquot annis ante Decii persecutionem libros scripsit adversus Celsum, auctor sit, signorum Spiritus sancti vestigia duntaxat apud paucos morum candore praecellentes, et qui mores suos ad Evangelii normam exigerent ad haec tempora superfuisse: postquam enim dixit, miraculis probari veritatem Evangelii, ait ea posse demonstrari « cum ex multis aliis, tum ex eo quod vestigia quaedam eorum supersunt apud eos, qui secundum Verbi voluntatem vivunt. » Et in alio ejusdem operis libro: « Signa autem Spiritus sancti initio quidem doctrinae Jesu et post ejus assumptionem plurima ostensa sunt, deinde vero pauciora. Sed et nunc ipsius ad me apud paucos exstant vestigia, qui animas et verbo et congruentibus actionibus expurgarunt. » Vertigia vero quae essent, his luculentius verbis declarat: » Etiamnum vestigia sancti illius Spiritus apud Christianos supersunt. Excantant daemones, multas curationes perficiunt, et vident quaedam secundum voluntatem Verbi, de futuris. » Ex quibus verbis constat uberrimum illum et in omnes, ut de suis temporibus testatur Irenaeus, qui veri essent Christi discipuli diffusum coelestium charismatum fontem, etsi non penitus exaruissc, non ea tamen amplitudine et copia postmodum exuberasse. Quam proxime autem ad Irenaei tempora Perpetua et Saturus accedebant, tam longe ab iis temporibus quibus suos Origenes adversus Celsum libros elucubravit (sub Gordiani nimirum aut Philipporum imperio), post longam et diuturnam Ecclesiae pacem extrema saltem Cypriani tempora et Montanus sociique martyres distabant. Unde si adeo Spiritu sancto repleti sunt sancti martyres, cum aliqua duntaxat signorum ejus vestigia superessent, ut ejus illustrationibus uti ad arbitrium viderentur, quid miramur, si eamdem Perpetuae sui copiam fercerit Spiritus sanctus, quo tempore « numerus
IX. Now this must be carefully noted concerning the preceding visions and prophetic vaticinations, both of Cyprian and of the contemporary martyrs: that it is agreed among all that the abundance of charisms was far greater at the beginning of the Church than in later centuries; so much so that Origen, who wrote his books against Celsus some years before the persecution of Decius, testifies that traces of the signs of the Holy Spirit had survived to these times only among a few who excelled in purity of morals and who conformed their morals to the standard of the Gospel. For after he has said that the truth of the Gospel is proved by miracles, he says that this can be demonstrated "both from many other things, and from the fact that certain traces of them survive among those who live according to the will of the Word." And in another book of the same work: "Now signs of the Holy Spirit were shown in very great number at the beginning of the teaching of Jesus and after His assumption, but afterwards fewer. But even now traces of Him exist, down to my time, among a few who have cleansed their souls both by word and by corresponding actions." And what the traces were he declares more clearly in these words: "Even now traces of that Holy Spirit survive among Christians. They charm away demons, they perform many cures, and they see certain things concerning the future according to the will of the Word." From these words it is evident that that most abundant fountain of heavenly charisms, poured out, as Irenaeus testifies of his own times, upon all who were true disciples of Christ, though it had not entirely dried up, nevertheless did not afterwards overflow with the same breadth and abundance. Now as closely as Perpetua and Saturus approached the times of Irenaeus, so far were at least the last times of Cyprian, and Montanus and his fellow martyrs, distant from those times in which Origen composed his books against Celsus (namely under the reign of Gordian or of the Philips), after a long and lasting peace of the Church. Hence, if the holy martyrs were so filled with the Holy Spirit, when only some traces of His signs remained, that they seemed to make use of His illuminations at will, why do we wonder if the Holy Spirit gave Perpetua the same abundance of Himself at a time when "the number
Editors' notes and page, col. 126
Footnotes
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Σημεῖα δὲ τοῦ ἁγίου Πνεύματος κατ' ἀρχὰς μὲν τῆς Ἰησοῦ διδασκαλίας, μετὰ δὲ τὴν ἀνάληψιν αὐτοῦ πλείονα ἐδείκνυτο, ὕστερον δὲ ἐλάττονα, πλὴν καὶ νῦν ἔτι ἴχνη ἐστὶν αὐτοῦ παρ' ὀλίγοις, τὰς ψυχὰς τῷ λόγῳ καὶ ταῖς κατ' αὐτὸν πράξεσι κεκαθαρμένοις. Lib. VII, p. 337.
Signs of the Holy Spirit were shown at the beginning of Jesus' teaching, and more after his ascension, but fewer later; yet even now there are traces of it among a few, whose souls have been cleansed by the Word and by the actions that accord with it. Book 7, page 337.
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Καὶ ἔτι ἴχνη τοῦ ἁγίου ἐκείνου Πνεύματος... παρὰ χριστιανοῖς σώζεται· ἐξεπᾴδουσι δαίμονας, καὶ πολλὰς ἰάσεις ἐπιτελοῦσι, καὶ ὁρῶσί τινα κατὰ τὸ βούλημα τοῦ Λόγου περὶ μελλόντων. Lib. I, page 31.
And traces of that Holy Spirit are still preserved among Christians... They charm away demons, perform many cures, and see certain things about the future according to the will of the Word. Book 1, page 31.
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- old-edition numerals: 122 after demonstrari
non poterat iniri charismatum, quae per totum mundum Ecclesia a Deo recipiebat? »
could not be made of the gifts of grace which the Church throughout the whole world was receiving from God?"
CAPUT V.
Chapter V.
NIHIL IN PERPETUAE REVELATIONIBUS CONTINERI, QUOD IN CATHOLICAM MARTYREM NON APPRIME CONVENIAT.
THAT NOTHING IS CONTAINED IN THE REVELATIONS OF PERPETUA WHICH DOES NOT ENTIRELY BEFIT A CATHOLIC MARTYR.
I. Non dedecet Christum Dominum pastoris oves mulgentis figura. II. Qua ratione ex prima sua revelatione Perpetua mortem sibi imminere intellexit. III. Nihil absurdi in illa revelatione contineri, qua sibi Perpetua visa est cum diabolo in masculum conversa luctari. IV. Inepta Perpetuae revelationum cum Montanistarum revelationibus comparatio. V. Visio Perpetuae de Dinocrate in poenis constituto. VI. Basnagii adversus praedictam visionem difficultates. VII. Locum illum in quo Dinocratem Perpetua vidit, fuisse purgatorium. Basnagii cavillationes retunduntur. VIII. Montanistarum de receptaculis animarum sententia non recte a Basnagio exposita. Non unam fuisse hac de re eorumdem haereticorum opinionem.
I. The figure of a shepherd milking sheep is not unbecoming to Christ the Lord. II. By what reasoning Perpetua understood from her first revelation that death was hanging over her. III. That nothing absurd is contained in that revelation in which Perpetua seemed to herself to be wrestling with the devil, having been changed into a man. IV. The inept comparison of Perpetua's revelations with the revelations of the Montanists. V. The vision of Perpetua concerning Dinocrates, placed in punishments. VI. The difficulties of Basnage against the aforesaid vision. VII. That the place in which Perpetua saw Dinocrates was purgatory. The cavils of Basnage are beaten back. VIII. The view of the Montanists concerning the receptacles of souls not correctly set out by Basnage. That those same heretics did not have one single opinion on this matter.
I. Alterum adversus martyres argumentum Basnagius instituit ex modo ipso et qualitate oblatarum Perpetuae visionum quae ipsi non videntur satis cum gravitate decentiaque conjungi: « Homo iu habitu pastoris de caseo, quod mulgebat, dedit Perpetuae quasi buccellam. Hinc colligit sibi mortem imminere. » Duo scilicet in hac Perpetuae visione censoria auctoritate notare Basnagius videtur: primo humilem Christi figuram in habitu pastoris oves mulgentis: secundo, quod oblatam Perpetuae buccellam Perpetua et Saturus in signum acceperint futurae mortis.
I. Basnage constructs another argument against the martyrs from the very manner and character of the visions granted to Perpetua, which do not seem to him to be sufficiently joined with gravity and decorum: "A man in the dress of a shepherd gave Perpetua, from the cheese which he was milking, as it were a morsel. From this she concludes that death is hanging over her." Basnage, that is, appears to mark with censorious authority two things in this vision of Perpetua: first, the lowly figure of Christ in the dress of a shepherd milking sheep; second, that Perpetua and Saturus took the morsel offered to Perpetua as a sign of coming death.
Sed nulla ratio erat cur horum aliquo offenderetur. Et de primo quidem audiendus Cl. Holstenius in Notis: « Repraesentatus est Perpetuae Christus ea forma, qua pictus cernebatur in oratoriis et vasis sacris illorum temporum. Nam cum Evangelia titulum et personam pastoris praecipue Christo attribuant, gaudebant primorum temporum Christiani hanc ejus amabilisimam speciem fidelium, nomine ovium passim designatorum, frequentissime oculis objicere. Habes in Roma subterranea Bosii, pag. 59, et deinceps multas imagines ce coemeteriorum monumentis expressas, in quibus ferme omnibus Christus pastoris specie cum ovibus pingitur. In prima etiam hac ipsa forma hic expressa, pastoris oves mulgentis. Non raro etiam pingebatur ferens in humeris repertam ovem quae perierat, juxta parabolam evangelicam, idque praecipue in calicibus, quod indicat Tertullianus in libro de Pudicitia contra Catholicos scripta, cap. 7, his verbis: « A parabolis licebit incipias, ubi est ovis perdita, a Deo requisita et humeris ejus revecta; procedant ipsae picturae calicum vestrorum, si vel ia illis perlucebit interpretatio pecudis illius, etc.
But there was no reason why he should be offended by any of these things. And on the first point the celebrated Holstenius should be heard, in his Notes: "Christ was represented to Perpetua in that form in which He was seen painted in the oratories and sacred vessels of those times. For since the Gospels attribute the title and character of shepherd especially to Christ, the Christians of the earliest times delighted to set before the eyes of the faithful, who are everywhere designated by the name of sheep, this most lovable aspect of His very frequently. You have in the Roma subterranea of Bosio, page 59 and following, many images reproduced from the monuments of the cemeteries, in almost all of which Christ is painted in the guise of a shepherd with sheep. In the first, indeed, He is expressed here in this very form, of a shepherd milking sheep. Not rarely too He was painted carrying on His shoulders the sheep that had been lost and was found, according to the Gospel parable, and this especially on chalices, which Tertullian indicates in the book On Modesty written against the Catholics, chapter 7, in these words: 'You may begin from the parables, where there is the lost sheep, sought out by God and carried back on His shoulders; let the very paintings of your chalices come forward, if even in them the interpretation of that beast will shine through,' etc.
Editors' notes and page, col. 127
Footnotes
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Arringh. tab. 6, cub. 3, Coem. Callisti.
Aringhi, plate 6, cubiculum 3, Cemetery of Callistus.
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- old-edition numerals: 123 after ‹retunduntur.›
Quibus addo, in opere italico illustriss. et Cl. senatoris Philippi Buonarotti, cujus titulus : Osservazioni sopra alcuni Frammenti di Vasi antichi di vetro ornati di figure, trovati ne' cimiteri di Roma; plura cernere esse veterum calicum ectypa haec Christi figura, sub boni pastoris habitu, insignita, uti tab. 5, fig. 2 et 2, et tab. 6, fig. 2. Vid. etiam tab. 1, fig. 1, et tabul. 4, nummum aereum majoris modi, vulgo Medaglione, ex utraque parte specie boni pastoris insculptum, quae omnia doctissimis observationibus Cl. auctor illustrat. Sed in rem nostram maxime faciunt quae de figura 2, tab. 6, disserit in haec verba : « In questo Frammento si vede il pastor buono fra due pecore, o arieti co' soliti calcei di fasce attraversate a spina di pesce. Si dee osservare a canto al medesimo quella secchiolina, o vaso di latte, la quale si vede ancora nelle pitture de, cimiteri, e specialmente nella tavola 3 del sesto cubiculo del cimiterio di Calisto, presso l'Arringhio, ella si vede attaccata ad un pedo, o pastorale temuto da un agnello a giacere, per simbolo del buon pastore, a' piedi poi del medesimo pastore nella tavola 1 del secondo cubiculo del cimitero di santa Agnese, si vede il pedo con un vaso, ma di figura diversa, e con un manico da parte. Questi vasi de' pastori si dicevano « mulctrae, o mulctralia » : la qual sorta di vaso in Greco si chiamava πέλλα, ed era simile allo scifo, ma di fondo alquanto più, largo e però non dissomigliante troppo dal nostro, e serviva spécialmente per mugnere il latte. Un' altro vaso di latte era nominato Sino, il quale secondo la forza del nome sarà stato più grande del nostro piccolo vaso, etc., etc. » Et infra : Per tornare al nostro piccolo vaso di latte accanto al buon pastore, io lo credo fatto non solo per continuazione dell' allegoria alle cose pastorali, ma in oltre, lo giudico quasi per una figura, del divinissimo sacramento dell' altare, e ció pare, che si ricavi dagli alti antichissimi delle sante Perpetua e Felicita, dove si dice che santa Perpetua riceve in visione dal divino pastore del latte : « Et de caseo quod mulgebat, dedit mihi quasi buccellam, et ego accepi junctis manibus et manducavi, et universi circumstantes dixerunt, Amen. » Funzioni, ed atti divoti soliti praticarsi da' Cristiani antichi nel ricevere la santa communione e quelle parole della cantica : « Bibi vinum meum cum lacte meo, » sono applicate da sant' Ambrogio al sacramento dell' Eucaristia. Vedendosi appresso l'Arringhio nelle pitture della volta del nono cubicolo del cimitero de' santi Marcellino, e Pietro un' agnello colla palma, che ha sulle spalle un simil vasetto circondato col nimbo, o sia diadema, ed
To these I add that in the Italian work of the most illustrious and celebrated senator Filippo Buonarroti, whose title is: Observations on some Fragments of ancient glass Vessels decorated with figures, found in the cemeteries of Rome, one may see that many impressions of ancient cups are marked with this figure of Christ under the guise of the Good Shepherd, as in plate 5, fig. 2 and 2, and plate 6, fig. 2. See also plate 1, fig. 1, and plate 4, a bronze coin of the larger size, commonly called a Medaglione, engraved on both sides with the image of the Good Shepherd; all of which the celebrated author illustrates with most learned observations. But most to our purpose is what he discusses concerning figure 2, plate 6, in these words: "In this Fragment one sees the Good Shepherd between two sheep, or rams, with the usual shoes of bands crossed in a herring-bone pattern. One must observe beside Him that little pail, or milk vessel, which is also seen in the paintings of the cemeteries, and especially in plate 3 of the sixth cubiculum of the cemetery of Callistus, in Aringhi, where it is seen hung on a pedum, or crook, held by a lamb lying down, as a symbol of the Good Shepherd; then at the feet of the same Shepherd in plate 1 of the second cubiculum of the cemetery of Saint Agnes, one sees the pedum with a vessel, but of a different shape, and with a handle at the side. These shepherds' vessels were called 'mulctrae, or mulctralia': this kind of vessel was called in Greek pella, and was similar to the scyphus, but somewhat wider at the bottom, and yet not too unlike ours, and served especially for milking. Another milk vessel was named sinus, which, according to the force of the name, will have been larger than our little vessel, etc., etc." And below: To return to our little milk vessel beside the Good Shepherd, I believe it was made not only to continue the allegory of pastoral things, but moreover I judge it to be a kind of figure of the most divine sacrament of the altar; and this seems to be drawn from the most ancient Acts of Saints Perpetua and Felicity, where it is said that Saint Perpetua receives milk in a vision from the divine Shepherd: "And of the cheese which He was milking He gave me as it were a morsel, and I received it with joined hands and ate, and all those standing around said, Amen." These were ceremonies and devout acts customarily practised by the ancient Christians in receiving holy communion; and those words of the Canticle, "I have drunk my wine with my milk," are applied by Saint Ambrose to the sacrament of the Eucharist. Since one sees in Aringhi, in the paintings of the vault of the ninth cubiculum of the cemetery of Saints Marcellinus and Peter, a lamb with the palm, which has on its shoulders a similar little vessel surrounded by the nimbus, or diadem, and
Editors' notes and page, col. 128
Footnotes
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Servio sopra l'Egloga 3.
Servius on Eclogue 3.
(printed under page 116)
(25) ‹anchor: mugnere il latte› · call in col 128 · the call is printed (55)
Ateneo LXI, cl. 14.
Athenaeus LXI, cl. 14 [so printed].
(printed under page 116)
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Servio sopro l'Egloga 7. Nonio, c. 15.
Servius on Eclogue 7. Nonius, chapter 15.
(printed under page 116)
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Tertull. de Spectac. cap. 25. Cornelio app. Euseb. Histor lib. VI, cap. 43. Dionys. app. Eused., lib. VII, cap. 9. S. Agost. Serm. ad infant. de Socram. S .Ambros. l. IV, de Sacram., cap. 5. S. Cyrill. Catech. 5. II Concil. in Trullo. can. 102.
Tertullian, On the Spectacles, chapter 25. Cornelius in Eusebius, History, book 6, chapter 43. Dionysius in Eusebius, book 7, chapter 9. St Augustine, Sermon to the Newly Baptized on the Sacrament. St Ambrose, On the Sacraments, book 4, chapter 5. St Cyril, Catechesis 5. The Second Council in Trullo, canon 102.
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(28) ‹anchor: della cantica› · call in col 128 · call printed (2 ), note number printed ( 8), a numeral broken in both
C. L. V. 1.
Song of Songs 5:1.
(printed under page 116)
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De sacr., l. V, cap. 3,
On the Sacraments, book 5, chapter 3.
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- old-edition numerals: 124 after medesimo
essendo quivi lo stesso agnello negli angoli della medesima volta ben quattro volte dipinto, ho dubitato, se per fortuna ne' tempi più antichi conservassero in un vaso simile posto sopra un' agnello la santa Eucaristia, siccome si servirono poi pel medesimo ministero di vasi, che avean la forma della colomba. In queste cose pero è bene l'osservare, ma bisogna tenere sospeso il giudizio, sino che si abbiano altri riscontri. » Haec illustrissimus senator, qui etiam observat ejusdem pastoris tunicam in inferiori parte duobus esse orbibus, seu bullis ornatam, eaque ornamenta in hisce Perpetuae et Felicitatis Actis a graeca voce κάλλος, calliculas appellari: fuisseque ut plurimum aurea vel argentea, ut ex eisdem Actis compertum est, et aliis antiquis figuris apud Lambecium, et Petrum Sanctem Bartolum, et apud Vaticanum Virgilii exemplar tempore Constantini Magni exaratum.
since the same lamb is painted there fully four times in the corners of the same vault, I have wondered whether perchance in more ancient times they kept the holy Eucharist in a similar vessel placed upon a lamb, just as they afterwards used for the same ministry vessels which had the form of a dove. In these matters, however, it is good to make observations, but one must keep judgement suspended until other corroborations are found." Thus the most illustrious senator, who also observes that the tunic of the same shepherd is adorned in its lower part with two circles, or bosses, and that these ornaments are called calliculae in these Acts of Perpetua and Felicity, from the Greek word κάλλος; and that they were for the most part of gold or silver, as is learned from the same Acts, and from other ancient figures in Lambecius and in Pietro Santi Bartoli, and in the Vatican copy of Virgil written in the time of Constantine the Great.
Sed ut πρὸς τὸ πρόβλημα redeamus, iis quae a viris doctissimis annotata sunt illud etiam adjungo, id genus imaginum Montanistis non admodum placuisse, aut in usu fuisse. Quod ex eisdem Tertulliani verbis manifestissime colligo: « Procedant, inquit, ipsae picturae calicum vestrorum: » non ait nostrorum sed vestrorum, id est, quae vobis, non autem nobis, in usu sunt. Et ejusdem libri capite decimo: « Cui ille si forte patrocinabitur pastor quem in calice depingis, prostitutorem et ipsum christiani sacramenti, merito et ebrietatis idolum, et moechiae asylum post calicem subsecuturae, de quo nihil libentius bibas, quam ovem poenitentiae secundae. At ego ejus pastoris scripturam haurio, qui non potest frangi. » Rursum non ait « quem in calice depingimus, » sed « quem in calice depingis. » Praeterea, piam hanc picturam vocat « ebrietatis idolum et moechiae asylum. » Adeo contumeliosis verbis eam minime proscidisset, si Montanistis quoque in usu fuisset, eaque sacra vasa ornassent Christi excipiendo sanguini destinata. Unde conjectura exsistit, catholicis ritibus assuetam fuisse Perpetuam, quae Christum Eucharistiam sibi, aut Eucharistiae symbolum ministrantem, sub pastoris habitu aspexit.
But to return to the problem: to the things noted by most learned men I add this as well, that this kind of image did not much please the Montanists, nor was it in use among them. This I gather most plainly from the same words of Tertullian: "Let the very paintings of your chalices come forth," he says; he does not say "ours" but "yours", that is, those which are in use among you, not among us. And in the tenth chapter of the same book: "To whom perhaps that shepherd will lend his patronage whom you paint on the chalice, himself too a prostitutor of the Christian sacrament, deservedly both an idol of drunkenness and a refuge of the adultery that is to follow after the chalice, from which you would drink nothing more gladly than the sheep of the second repentance. But I drink in the scripture of that Shepherd who cannot be broken." Again, he does not say "whom we paint on the chalice", but "whom you paint on the chalice". Moreover, he calls this pious picture "an idol of drunkenness and a refuge of adultery". He would by no means have lashed it with such insulting words if it had been in use among the Montanists too, and if such images had adorned the sacred vessels destined to receive the blood of Christ. Hence arises the conjecture that Perpetua was accustomed to the Catholic rites, she who beheld Christ, in the guise of a shepherd, administering to her the Eucharist, or the symbol of the Eucharist.
Praeterea si Christus pastoris speciem dedignatus non est, sed eam sibi tam frequenter accommodavit, cur pastoris officia dedignaretur, inter quae non ultimum locum tenet oves mulgere? An Christum magis dedecet haec figura, quam illa gallinae pullos suos sub alas congregantis, eosdemque foventis, quam benignissimus Dominus, captui se nostro accommodans, minime respuit? Et sane imminenti martyrio praefigurando nulla magis apta figura, quam pastoris oves mulgentis. Qua enim alacritate pastor e mammis ovium lac exprimit, eadem e venis martyrum sanguinem Christus bonus pastor excepit.
Moreover, if Christ did not disdain the appearance of a shepherd, but applied it to Himself so frequently, why should He disdain the duties of a shepherd, among which milking the sheep holds not the least place? Or does this figure become Christ less than that of the hen gathering her chicks under her wings and cherishing them, which the most kind Lord, accommodating Himself to our understanding, by no means rejected? And indeed, for prefiguring an imminent martyrdom no figure is more fitting than that of a shepherd milking sheep. For with the same eagerness with which a shepherd presses milk from the udders of the sheep, Christ the good Shepherd received the blood of the martyrs from their veins.
II. Circa secundam difficultatem pauca haec habet idem Cl. Holstenius: « Multa dici possent de usu
II. Concerning the second difficulty the same distinguished Holstenius has these few remarks: "Much could be said about the use
Editors' notes and page, col. 129
Footnotes
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Bibl. Caes., tab. 4, Append., p. 301.
Imperial Library, plate 4, Appendix, page 301.
(printed under page 117)
(31) ‹anchor: not visible in the foot crop› · call in col 129
Pitture antiche delle Grotte di Roma, tav. 4.
Ancient Paintings of the Grottoes of Rome, plate 4.
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- old-edition numerals: 125 after exaratum
lactis et mellis symbolice catechumenis dari solito, ex Hesychio, in Exodum pag. 257, et Tertulliano de Corona, pag. 121, Edit. Rigalt., ubi dicit: Lactis et mellis concordiam praegustamus. Vide Albaspinaeum, lib. II, Observat. ultima.
of milk and honey customarily given symbolically to catechumens, from Hesychius, On Exodus, p. 257, and Tertullian, On the Crown, p. 121, Rigault's edition, where he says: We foretaste the concord of milk and honey. See Albaspinaeus, book 2, last Observation.
Sed his multo plura addit in Paralipomenis ad Holstenii notas Petrus Possinus, quaeque etiam magis conferunt ad solvendam objectam nobis a Basnagio difficultatem: « Et de caseo, etc. » Ad haec verba, quod notatum in Holstenii schedis reperi de lacte catechumenis dari solito, non sufficit ad sententiam loci declarandam, et alia his adjuncturum fuisse auctorem, si ultimam huic operi manum potuisset imponere, declarat spatium purae chartae ab eo in Adversariis, post haec quae descripsimus sanctae Perpetuae verba, relictum, ultimis videlicet curis explendum. Explicandum scilicet restabat, quomodo ex hac porrectione buccellae per visum ministratae, experrecta intellexerit sancta Perpetua, itemque frater ejus, postquam ei rem narravit, significatum divinitus, eos qui carcere attinebantur nequaquam inde dimittendos, sed consummandos martyrio. Haec enim post superius descripta verba, ibi subduntur: « Et retuli statim fratri (qui nempe illam rogaverat, ut ostendi sibi divinitus curaret, moriturine essent, an salvi emittendi) et intelleximus passionem esse futuram, et coepimus nullam jam spem in saeculo habere. » Unde autem id intellexerint, merito quaeritur. Ego existimo, inde quod in visione adumbratus erga Perpetuam ritus fuerat Eucharistiae ministrandae: quae cum notissimo tunc usu dari soleret iis quos certum erat brevi morituros, recte id Perpetua et ipsius frater interpretati sunt, ut significatam eo visu confessorum mox secuturam necem arbitrarentur. Ritus perceptionis Eucharistiae eo adumbratus, cernitur, quod quasi buccella Perpetuae porrigitur, quod eam ipsa accipit junctis manibus, quod deinde comedit, circumstantibus Amen acclamantibus. Quae omnia in Eucharistiae olim ministratione solita servari notius est e plurium antiquorum testimoniis, et sancti praesertim Ambrosii, quam ut demonstrari pluribus opus sit. Certe de usu Africanarum ecclesiarum peculiariter constat, solitas eas Eucharistiam ministrare confessoribus in martyrii procinctu constitutis: idque ita necessarium arbitratas esse, ut inde argumentum sumpserint scribendi ad Cornelium rom. pontificem, manu quidem et calamo sancti Cypriani, nomine autem aliorum quoque septem et triginta episcoporum Africanorum, ut aequi consuleret, gratiam fieri legis prius sancitae de non admittendis unquam ad Ecclesiae et Eucharistiae communionem iis qui semel in persecutione lapsi fuissent, quoniam tunc ex iis multi in poenitentium numero scripti, a novis persecutoribus periclitarentur, et, ut res se habebant, brevi pro Christi confessione interficiendi viderentur; quibus
But Pierre Poussines adds much more to this in his Paralipomena to Holstenius's notes, things which contribute still more to resolving the difficulty raised against us by Basnage: "And of the cheese, etc." On these words, what I found noted in Holstenius's papers about milk customarily given to catechumens does not suffice to explain the sense of the passage; and that the author would have added other things to these, had he been able to put the last hand to this work, is shown by the space of blank paper left by him in his Adversaria after these words of Saint Perpetua which we have copied out, evidently to be filled in with his final labours. What remained to be explained, namely, was how, from this offering of a morsel ministered through the vision, Saint Perpetua on waking understood, and likewise her brother after she had told him the matter, that it had been divinely signified that those who were held in prison would by no means be released from it, but would be consummated by martyrdom. For after the words copied out above, these are added there: "And I at once reported it to my brother (who, that is, had asked her to see that it be shown to her divinely whether they were to die or to be released safe), and we understood that there would be a passion, and we began to have no hope any longer in the world." But whence they understood this is rightly asked. I think it was from the fact that in the vision the rite of ministering the Eucharist had been foreshadowed towards Perpetua: since by the very well-known custom of that time it was usually given to those who were certain to die shortly, Perpetua and her brother rightly interpreted it so as to judge that the death of the confessors soon to follow had been signified by that vision. The rite of receiving the Eucharist is seen to be foreshadowed in it in that a morsel, as it were, is held out to Perpetua, in that she herself receives it with joined hands, in that she then eats it, while those standing around cry out Amen. That all these things were customarily observed of old in the ministering of the Eucharist is too well known from the testimonies of many ancients, and especially of Saint Ambrose, to need demonstrating at greater length. Certainly it is established in particular regarding the usage of the African churches that they were accustomed to minister the Eucharist to confessors placed on the verge of martyrdom; and that they judged this so necessary that they took from it the occasion for writing to Cornelius, the Roman pontiff, by the hand and pen indeed of Saint Cyprian, but in the name also of thirty-seven other African bishops, asking that he take it in good part that dispensation be made from the law previously enacted about never admitting to the communion of the Church and of the Eucharist those who had once lapsed in persecution, since at that time many of them, enrolled in the number of the penitents, were endangered by new persecutors and, as things stood, seemed likely shortly to be put to death for confessing Christ; to whom
Editors' notes and page, col. 130
Footnotes
(32) ‹anchor: not visible in the foot crop› · call in col 130
Ante 2. Aeneid. librum.
Before the second book of the Aeneid.
(printed under page 117)
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- running head: TUA, FELICITATE ET SOCIIS. 130 (cut off at the left edge of the image)
- marginal letters: A ‹lactis et mellis symbolice›; B ‹Perpetuae verba, relictum›; C ‹simo tunc usu dari›; D ‹ut inde argumentum sumpserint›
- old-edition numerals: 126 after ‹dimittendos,›
in procinctu agonis positis, denegari consuetum viaticum corporis Christi nimis erat inhumanum. Ex hac epistola, quae secunda lib. I apud Cyprianum est, quaedam ascribam, ad fidem rei quam tractamus faciendam opportuna: « Sed cum, inquiunt, videamus diem rursus alterius infestationis appropinquare coepisse, et crebris atque assiduis ostensionibus admoneamur, ut ad certamen, quod nobis hostis indicit, armati et parati simus: plebem etiam nobis divina dignatione commissam exhortationibus nostris praeparemus, et omnes omnino milites Christi qui arma desiderant, et praelium flagitant, intra castra Domini colligamus; necessitate cogente censuimus eis qui de Ecclesia Domini non recesserunt, sed poenitentiam agere, et lamentari, ac Dominum deprecarl a primo lapsus sui die non destiterunt, pacem dandam esse, et eos ad praelium quod imminet armari et instrui oportere. » Et paulo post: « At vero nunc non infirmis, sed fortibus pax necessaria est, nec morientibus, sed viventibus communicatio a nobis danda est, ut quos excitamus et exhortamur ad praelium, non inermes et nudos relinquamus, sed protectione corporis et sanguinis Christi muniamus: et cum ad hoc fiat Eucharistia, ut possit accipientibus esse tutela, quos tutos esse contra adversarium volumus, munimento dominicae saturitatis armemus. Nam quomodo docemus aut provocamus eos in confessione nominis sanguinem suum fundere, si eis militaturis Christi sanguinem deuegamus? Aut quomodo ad martyrii poculum idoneos facimus, si non eos ad bibendum prius in Ecclesia poculum Domini, jure communicationis admittimus? Siquidem (ut aliquanto post additur) idoneus esse non potest ad martyrium, qui ab Ecclesia non armatur ad praelium: et mens deficit, quam non recepta Eucharistia erigit et ascendit. »
set in readiness for the contest, to refuse the customary viaticum of the body of Christ was exceedingly inhuman. From this letter, which is the second of book 1 in Cyprian, I shall copy out certain passages suited to establishing credence for the matter we are treating: "But since," they say, "we see that the day of another persecution has begun to draw near again, and we are warned by frequent and constant manifestations that we should be armed and ready for the contest which the enemy declares against us, let us also prepare by our exhortations the people entrusted to us by divine favour, and let us gather within the camp of the Lord absolutely all the soldiers of Christ who desire arms and demand battle; under the compulsion of necessity we have decided that peace must be given to those who have not withdrawn from the Church of the Lord, but have not ceased from the first day of their lapse to do penance, and to lament, and to entreat the Lord, and that they ought to be armed and equipped for the battle which is imminent." And a little after: "But now peace is necessary not for the sick but for the strong, and communion must be given by us not to the dying but to the living, so that we do not leave unarmed and naked those whom we rouse and exhort to battle, but fortify them with the protection of the body and blood of Christ; and since the Eucharist is made for this purpose, that it may be a safeguard to those who receive it, let us arm those whom we wish to be safe against the adversary with the defence of the Lord's fullness. For how do we teach or challenge them to shed their blood in confession of the Name, if we refuse the blood of Christ to them as they are about to go to war? Or how do we make them fit for the cup of martyrdom, if we do not first admit them to drink the cup of the Lord in the Church by the right of communion? For indeed (as is added somewhat later) he cannot be fit for martyrdom who is not armed for battle by the Church; and the mind fails which the Eucharist, once received, does not raise up and lift on high."
Haec esse non abnuo praeclare atque optime excogitata, et quae possint Basnagii scrupulo plenissime satisfacere; aliqua tamen adjiciam Cl. viro non observata quae omnem ab hoc loco offensionem removebunt. Primo itaque observo, simile quid occurrere in Actis sancti Philippi episcopi Heracleensis, et martyris, in quibus Hermes ejus diaconus qui una cum ipso martyrium per ignem consummavit, necem sibi certo paratam esse hac, uti narrat, revelatione cognovit: « Hoc me passurum, Deo ac Domino jam ante annuntiante, cognoveram revelatione certissima. Nam cum dulci sopore devinctus jacerem, columba mihi visa est niveo candore perlucida, cubiculum illud ingressa, subito in medio capite consedisse: quae et inde descendens in pectus, escas mihi gratissimi cibi offerens, statim cognovi quod me Dominus vocare dignatus est, et dignum habuit passione. »
I do not deny that these things are excellently and very well thought out, and such as could most fully satisfy Basnage's scruple; yet I shall add some things not observed by the distinguished man which will remove every stumbling block from this passage. First, then, I observe that something similar occurs in the Acts of Saint Philip, bishop of Heraclea and martyr, in which Hermes his deacon, who completed martyrdom by fire together with him, learned that death had certainly been prepared for him by this revelation, as he relates: "That I would suffer this I had learned by a most certain revelation, God and the Lord announcing it beforehand. For when I lay bound in sweet sleep, a dove, shining with snowy whiteness, seemed to me to enter that bedchamber and suddenly settle on the middle of my head; and when it descended from there onto my breast, offering me food of a most pleasing nourishment, I knew at once that the Lord had deigned to call me and had held me worthy of suffering."
Secundo observo, non dicere Perpetuam se fratremque suum ex sola buccellae porrectione (ut
Secondly I observe that Perpetua does not say that she and her brother, from the mere offering of a morsel (as
Editors' notes and page, col. 131
Footnotes
(33) ‹anchor: revelatione cognovit› · call in col 131
Apud Ruinart. in Actis sincer. § 13.
In Ruinart, Acta sincera, § 13.
(printed under page 118)
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- marginal letters: A in procinctu agonis positis; B ac Dominum deprecarl a primo lapsus; C bibendum prius in Ecclesia poculum Domini; D gnovit (33): « Hoc me passurum
- old-edition numerals: 127 after quos
Possino et postea Basnagio visum est) mox secuturam necem intellexisse. Omnia quae viderat, fratri Perpetua retulit: multo autem clariora signa viderat futurae passionis; ex quibus quidni clarius intellexerint, « passionem esse futuram? » Viderat scalam auream mirae magnitudinis pertingentem usque ad coelum, et in lateribus scalae omne genus ferramentorum infixum. Erant ibi gladii, lanceae, hami, machaerae. Viderat sub ipsa scala draconem cubantem mirae magnitudinis, qui ascendentibus insidias parabat et exterrebat, ne ascenderent. Viderat Saturum ascendentem, in caput scalae pervenientem, et inde se etiam ad ascensum invitantem. Viderat se cum primum scalae gradum calcasset, caput etiam illius draconis calcantem, Viderat denique Christum in habitu pastoris oves mulgentem, etc. Annon haec omnia signa erant secuturae necis manifestissima? Cur ergo volumus, ex sola porrectione buccellae sanctos martyres intellexisse sibi mortem imminere? Subjungit quidem, ut Possinus observat, post illa verba, « et de caseo, quod mulgebat, etc., » subjungit, inquam, Perpetua: « Et retuli statim fratri meo, et intelleximus passionem esse futuram. » At quemadmodum non id tantum retulit fratri quod ultimo loco viderat, porrigi nempe sibi buccellam lactis, ita non ex hoc signo tantum intellexerunt « passionem esse futuram. »
it seemed to Possinus and afterwards to Basnage) understood that death was soon to follow. Perpetua related to her brother everything that she had seen; but she had seen much clearer signs of the coming passion, and why should they not have understood more clearly from these "that the passion was to come"? She had seen a golden ladder of wondrous size reaching right up to heaven, and fixed in the sides of the ladder every kind of iron implement. There were swords there, lances, hooks, knives. She had seen beneath the ladder itself a dragon of wondrous size lying, which laid snares for those climbing and frightened them, so that they should not climb. She had seen Saturus climbing, reaching the top of the ladder, and from there inviting her too to the ascent. She had seen herself, when she had trodden on the first step of the ladder, treading also on the head of that dragon, She had seen finally Christ in the dress of a shepherd milking sheep, etc. Were not all these signs most manifest of the death that was to follow? Why then do we want the holy martyrs to have understood that death threatened them solely from the offering of the morsel? Perpetua does indeed add, as Possinus observes, after those words, "and of the cheese which he was milking, etc.," Perpetua adds, I say: "And I related it at once to my brother, and we understood that the passion was to come." But just as she did not relate to her brother only what she had seen last, namely that a morsel of milk was offered to her, so it was not from this sign alone that they understood "that the passion was to come."
III. Alteram Perpetuae visionem in invidiam Basnagius vocat his verbis: « Notabilius illud, quod cap. III. § 2, Perpetua narrat. Exivit quidam contra Aegyptius, foedus specie, cum adjutoribus suis pugnaturus mecum. Veniunt et ad me adolescentes decori, adjutores et favitores mei: et exspoliata sum, et facta sum masculus. » Procedit igitur cum Aegyptio ad pugnam Perpetua sexu mutato, victoriae pretium acceptura « ramum viridem, in quo erant mala aurea. Et petii silentium et dixit: Hic Aegyptius si hanc vicerit, occidet illam gladio; et si hunc vicerit, accipiet ramum istum. Et recessit. Et accessimus ad invicem, et coepimus mittere pugnos. Ille mihi pedes apprehendere quaerebat, ego autem illi calcibus faciem caedebam. » Haeccine sunt Spiritu sancto digna? Similiane prophetis obtulit unquam? Scilicet ea visa sunt quibus sacrum Joelis accommodetur oraculum? Montani potius redolent officinam somnia ejusmodi, ecstasis ejus simillima, qua Tertullianus probat animam esse aerei coloris et formae per omnia humanae. »
III. Basnage brings another vision of Perpetua into odium with these words: "More notable is what Perpetua narrates in chap. III, § 2. There came out against [me] a certain Egyptian, foul in appearance, with his helpers, to fight with me. There come also to me handsome young men, my helpers and supporters: and I was stripped, and I was made a male." Perpetua therefore advances to the fight with the Egyptian with her sex changed, to receive as the prize of victory "a green branch, on which were golden apples. And I asked for silence and he said: This Egyptian, if he defeats this woman, shall kill her with the sword; and if she defeats him, she shall receive this branch. And he withdrew. And we approached one another, and began to throw punches. He sought to seize my feet, but I struck his face with my heels." Are these things worthy of the Holy Spirit? Did He ever offer such things to the prophets? Are these, forsooth, the visions to which the sacred oracle of Joel is to be applied? Dreams of this kind rather smell of the workshop of Montanus, most like that ecstasy of his by which Tertullian proves that the soul is of an airy colour and of a form human in every respect."
Tria sunt igitur, quae praecipue in hac Perpetuae visione Basnagium videntur offendere: 1° illa sexus in Perpetua mutatio; 2° Victoriae pretium ramus viridis cum malis aureis; 3° Lucta Perpetuae cum Aegyptio. Ad haec singula antequam respondeam, illud generatim dicam, plurimas non modo quae in sinceris martyrum Actis et sanctorum historiis, aliisque indubiae fidei monumentis, sed in sacris quoque utriusque Testamenti libris recensentur, visiones
There are therefore three things which seem chiefly to offend Basnage in this vision of Perpetua: 1st, that change of sex in Perpetua; 2nd, the prize of victory, a green branch with golden apples; 3rd, Perpetua's wrestling with the Egyptian. Before I reply to each of these, I shall say this in general, that very many, not only of those which are recorded in the genuine Acts of the martyrs and the histories of the saints, and in other records of undoubted trustworthiness, but also in the sacred books of both Testaments, visions
Editors' notes and page, col. 132
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- running head: [...]TATIO APOLOGETICA 132 (left part cut off at the image edge; probably DISSERTATIO APOLOGETICA)
- marginal letters: A ‹Possino et postea Basnagio›; B ‹in habitu pastoris oves›; C ‹pugnaturus mecum. Veniunt›; D ‹qua Tertullianus probat animam›
- old-edition numerals: 128 at head of paragraph, before ‹III. Alteram›
- other: column begins mid-sentence after a parenthesis opened in the previous column; "se" in "Viderat se cum primum" is blotched in print but readable; the initial i of "illius" and "in" is displaced/raised; "petii silentium" printed thus (the Acts normally read petiit), kept as printed; column ends with "vi-" split at the column break, set whole here as "visiones" / "visions" (Q1b); no editors' matter, no full-width line
- misprints kept as printed: capital after a comma in ‹calcantem, Viderat› (Q1b)
ac revelationes comtemptui posse ac ludibrio facile exponi, si ipsa per sese symbola spectentur, et non eorum ad res divinas et incorporeas σχέσις et habitudo. Imo non in visionibus tantum et internis revelationibus, sed in actionibus quoque propheticis et legis ceremoniis multa sunt, quae vani et superbi homines cum risu olim exceperunt, et etiamnum derident, quod eas per sese spectarunt nec ad earum mysticas rationes attenderunt. Unde factum est, ut quae aliis Spiritu sancto indigna, inepta et ridicula visa sunt, alii honori et admirationi habuerint, et summa veneratione prosecuti sint, quod illi scilicet non ultra id quod sensibus objectum est, animum intenderint, hi vero latentia quoque in hisce figuris mysteria sedulo investigaverint. Id quod etiam videmus in hac interpretanda Perpetuae revelatione contigisse. Quod enim modo Basnagium offendit, olim Augustini mentem mirifice delectabat: « Delectat, inquit, piam mentem tale spectaculum contueri, quale sibi beata Perpetua de se ipsa revelatum esse narravit, virum se factam certasse cum diabolo. Illo quippe certamine in virum perfectum etiam ipsa currebat, in mensuram aetatis plenitudinis Christi. » Et in alio sermone ad eamdem Perpetuae visionem alludens, similia repetit:
and revelations can easily be exposed to contempt and mockery, if the symbols themselves are looked at in and of themselves, and not their relation (σχέσις) and bearing on divine and incorporeal things. Indeed, not only in visions and inward revelations, but also in prophetic actions and in the ceremonies of the law, there are many things which vain and proud men once received with laughter, and still deride, because they looked at them in themselves and did not attend to their mystical meanings. Hence it has come about that what seemed to some unworthy of the Holy Spirit, foolish and ridiculous, others held in honour and admiration and pursued with the highest veneration, because the former, namely, did not direct their mind beyond what is presented to the senses, while the latter diligently searched out the mysteries lying hidden in these figures as well. This we see has happened also in the interpreting of this revelation of Perpetua. For what now offends Basnage once wonderfully delighted the mind of Augustine: “It delights a pious mind,” he says, “to behold such a spectacle as the blessed Perpetua related had been revealed to her about herself, that she had been made a man and had fought with the devil. For by that contest she too was running towards the perfect man, to the measure of the age of the fullness of Christ.” And in another sermon, alluding to the same vision of Perpetua, he repeats similar things:
Quid enim gloriosius his feminis, quas viri mirantur facilius quam imitantur? Sed hoc illius potisimum laus est, in quem credentes, et in cujus nomine fideli studio concurrentes, secundum interiorem hominem nec masculus nec femina inveniuntur, ut etiam in his quae sunt feminae corpore, virtus mentis sexum carnis abscondat, et in membris pigeat cogitare, quod in factis non potuit apparere.
For what is more glorious than these women, whom men admire more readily than they imitate? But this is above all the praise of Him in Whom they believe, and in Whose name, running together with faithful zeal, they are found according to the inner man to be neither male nor female, so that even in those who are women in body the virtue of the mind hides the sex of the flesh, and one is loath to think of in their members what could not appear in their deeds.
Cui vero Basnagio displicuerit victoriae praemium ramo viridi malis aureis ornato designari, satis equidem percipere non possum. Annon enim Joannes evangelista in martyrum manibus palmas vidit? « Et palmae, inquit, in manibus eorum. » Si victorias martyrum in palmis adumbravit Spiritus sanctus, cur ramus viridis ejusdem victoriae typus esse non potuit?
But why it displeased Basnage that the prize of victory should be signified by a green branch adorned with golden apples, I truly cannot well perceive. For did not John the evangelist see palms in the hands of the martyrs? “And palms,” he says, “in their hands.” If the Holy Spirit foreshadowed the victories of the martyrs in palms, why could a green branch not be a type of the same victory?
Non erat etiam cur Perpetuae lucta cum diabolo adeo Basnagius offendetur, ut qui Jacobi luctam cum angelo saepius legerit. Annon enim, si non ad mysticas hujus facti rationes attendamus, magis absurdum videri poterit, hominem non in somniis, sed vigilantem, totam noctem luctari cum bono angelo, quam sanctam feminam luctari in somniis cum diabolo? Quod si non indignum fuit Spiritu sancto, lucta Jacobi cum angelo mysticum quid adumbrare, cur quaerit Basnagius an digna fuerit Spiritu sancto oblata Perpetuae visio, qua sibi videbatur adversus diabolum decertare. Cur etiam quaerit an similia unquam prophetis Spiritus idem sanctus obtulerit? Obtulit enim, ut vidimus. Quid enim interest, dormiendo an vigilando Jacobus et Perpetua luctati fuerint, ille cum angelo, illa cum diabolo? Ramus
Nor was there any reason why Basnage should be so offended at Perpetua's wrestling with the devil, being one who has often read of Jacob's wrestling with the angel. For, if we do not attend to the mystical meanings of this event, will it not be able to seem more absurd that a man, not in dreams but awake, should wrestle the whole night with a good angel, than that a holy woman should wrestle in dreams with the devil? But if it was not unworthy of the Holy Spirit to foreshadow something mystical by Jacob's wrestling with the angel, why does Basnage ask whether the vision presented to Perpetua, in which she seemed to herself to be fighting against the devil, was worthy of the Holy Spirit. Why does he also ask whether the same Holy Spirit ever presented similar things to the prophets? For He did present them, as we have seen. For what difference does it make whether Jacob and Perpetua wrestled sleeping or waking, he with the angel, she with the devil? The green branch
Editors' notes and page, col. 133
Footnotes
(34) ‹anchor: not visible in the foot crop› · call in col 133
Serm. 281, al. de diversis, 104.
Sermon 281, otherwise On Various Subjects 104.
(printed under page 119)
(35) ‹anchor: similia repetit› · call in col 133
Serm. 280. al. de diversis, 103,
Sermon 280, otherwise On Various Subjects 103.
(printed under page 119)
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- marginal letters: A ‹siones ac revelationes comtemptui›; B ‹Perpetuae revelatione contigisse›; C ‹pore, virtus mentis sexum›; D ‹vigilantem, totam noctem luctari›
- old-edition numerals: 129 after ‹cujus›
viridis tanquam victoriae pretium Perpetuae oblatus, simile quid etiam habet, ut vidimus, in canonicis et genuinis Spiritus sancti revelationibus, palmas scilicet, quas in manibus martyrum Joannes vidit. Sexus denique mutatio nihil aliud denotat, ut Augustinus observat, quam quod Apostolus scripsit: « In Christo Jesu neque masculum, esse neque feminam; » et non solum masculos, sed etiam feminas evadere per virtutis exercitationem, « secundum interiorem hominem in virum perfectum, in mensuram aetatis plenitudinis Christi. An ergo indignum fuit Spiritu sancto mystica visione significare quod mysticis verbis Paulus expresserat? Sed annon idem Spiritus sanctus quod per Isaiam de gentium conversione sub diversis variorum animalium figuris metaphoricisque verbis praedixerat, postmodum apostolorum principi, linteo ipsi in visione exhibito omnis generis immundis animalibus referto significavit? Annon saepius idem Spiritus sanctus, quod per prophetas verbis aliquando praedixit, idem et propheticis actionibus adumbravit, quae primo aspectu non satis videri possunt cum decentia fuisse gravitateque conjuncta? ut cum Isaias nudus jubetur ambulare, Ezechiel panem comedere, aut opertum « stercore quod egreditur de homine, » aut in bonum fimo coufectum; et Osee sumere sibi uxorem fornicariam, et filios sibi facere fornicationum. Quid responderet Basnagius, si atheus aliquis ipsum interrogaret: Haeccine sunt Spiritu sancto digna? haeccine tibi videntur satis cum gravitate decentiaque conjuncta? Quamcunque igitur rationem excogitaret ut prophetica haec gesta mandante Spiritu sancto suscepta, ab impiorum irrisionibus tueretur, similem et nos semper et facile excogitabimus ad Perpetuae visionem ab ipsius Basnagii cavillationibus vindicandam: nisi forte majorem in dormientis quamvis propheticis somniis, quam in vigilantium propheticis item actionibus deoentiam gravitatemque requirat.
offered to Perpetua as the prize, as it were, of victory, it too has something similar, as we have seen, in the canonical and genuine revelations of the Holy Spirit, namely the palms which John saw in the hands of the martyrs. Finally, the change of sex signifies nothing else, as Augustine observes, than what the Apostle wrote: "In Christ Jesus there is neither male, nor female"; and that not only males but also females come forth through the exercise of virtue, "according to the inner man, into a perfect man, into the measure of the age of the fullness of Christ." Was it then unworthy of the Holy Spirit to signify by a mystical vision what Paul had expressed in mystical words? But did not the same Holy Spirit, what He had foretold through Isaiah concerning the conversion of the gentiles under the diverse figures of various animals and in metaphorical words, afterwards signify to the prince of the apostles by a sheet shown to him in a vision, filled with unclean animals of every kind? Did not the same Holy Spirit quite often foreshadow also by prophetic actions what He at times foretold in words through the prophets, actions which at first sight cannot well seem to have been joined with propriety and dignity? as when Isaiah is commanded to walk naked, Ezekiel to eat bread covered with "the dung that comes out of a man," or baked in cow's dung; and Hosea to take to himself a wife of fornications, and to beget for himself children of fornications. What would Basnage answer if some atheist were to ask him: Are these things worthy of the Holy Spirit? do these things seem to you sufficiently joined with dignity and propriety? Whatever reason, then, he might devise to defend these prophetic deeds, undertaken at the command of the Holy Spirit, from the mockeries of the impious, we too shall always and easily devise a similar one to vindicate the vision of Perpetua from the cavils of Basnage himself: unless perhaps he requires greater propriety and dignity in the dreams of one asleep, however prophetic, than in the likewise prophetic actions of those awake.
Quanquam et illud minime praetermittendum, imprudenter petere Basnagium, ut huic Perpetuae visioni aliam omnino similem in sacris libris exhibeamus. Hoc enim argumento omnes ferme in suspicionem adducero poterit sanctorum visiones quae in historiis ecclesiasticis referuntur. Non multas enim reperiet recensitis in sacris libris omnino similes. Oblatam sancto Cypriano futuri martyrii revelationem in ejus Vita Pontius diaconus refert, cui nullam omnino similem prophetis obtulit umquam Spiritus sanctus. Hanc igitur in exemplum adducam: « Eo die quo primum in exsilii loco mansimus (nam et me inter domesticos comites dignatio charitatis ejus delegerat exsulem voluntarium, quod utinam et in passione licuisset!), apparuit mihi, inquit, nondum somni quiete sopito, juvenis ultra modum enormis: qui cum me quasi ad praetorium duceret, videbar mihi tribunali sedentis tum proconsulis
And yet this too should by no means be passed over: that Basnage imprudently demands that we produce in the sacred books another vision entirely similar to this vision of Perpetua. For by this argument he will be able to bring under suspicion almost all the visions of the saints that are related in ecclesiastical histories. For he will not find many entirely similar among those recorded in the sacred books. Pontius the deacon, in his Life of Cyprian, relates the revelation of his future martyrdom offered to saint Cyprian, to which the Holy Spirit never offered anything at all similar to the prophets. This, then, I shall bring forward as an example: "On the day on which we first stayed in the place of exile (for the graciousness of his charity had chosen me too among his household companions as a voluntary exile; would that it had been permitted also in his passion!), there appeared to me," he says, "when I was not yet sunk in the quiet of sleep, a young man of extraordinary size; and when he was leading me as it were to the praetorium, I seemed to myself to be brought to the tribunal of the then proconsul as he sat.
Editors' notes and page, col. 134
Page
- running head: [PERPE]TUA, FELICITATE ET SOCIIS. 134
- marginal letters: A ‹viridis tanquam victoriae›; B ‹figuris metaphoricisque verbis›; C ‹gitaret ut prophetica›; D ‹similes. Oblatam sancto›
- old-edition numerals: 130 after ‹gesta›
admoveri. Is ut in me respexit, annotare statim coepit in tabula sententiam quam non sciebam. Nihil enim de me solita interrogatione quaesierat. Sed enim juvenis, qui a tergo ejus stabat. admodum curiosus legit quidquid fuerat annotatum, Et quia inde verbis proferre non poterat, nutu declarante monstravit, quid in litteris tabulae illius haberetur. Manu enim expansa et complanata ad spatae modum, ictum solitae animadversionis imitatus, quod volebat intelligi, ad instar liquidi sermonis expressit. Intellexi sententiam passionis futuram. Rogare coepi et petere continuo, ut dilatio mihi vel unius diei prorogaretur, donec res meas legitima ordinatione disponerem. Et cum preces frequenter iterassem, rursus in tabula coeperat nescio quid annotare. Sensi tamen de vultus serenitate judicis mentem quasi justa petitione commotam. Sed et ille juvenis, qui jandudum de passionis indicio, gestu potius, quam sermone prodiderat, clandestino identidem nutu concessam dilationem quae in crastinum petebatur, contortis post invicem digitis significare properavit. » Huic omnino similem frustra requiret Basnagius inter propheticas cum Veteris, tum Novi Testamenti revelationes. Scripturae loca quibuscum haec Cypriani visio aliquam videtur habere similitudinem notavit Pontius; sed non adeo affinia sunt et quae superius annotavimus cum ea de qua nunc agimus, Perpetuae revelatione; sic enim habet: « Quid hac revelatione manifestius? quid hac dignatione felicius? Ante illi praedicta sunt omnia, quaecunque postmodum subsecuta sunt. Nihil de Dei verbis imminutum, nihil de tam sancta promissione mutilatum. Singula denique secundum quod ostensa sunt, recognoscite. Dilationem peti crastini, cum de passionis sententia cogitaretur, postulans ut res suas die illo quem impetraverat ordinaret. His dies unus significabat annum quo ille post visionem acturus in saeculo fuerat. Nam ut manifestius dicam, eo die post exactum annum coronatus est, quo hoc illi ante annum fuerat ostensum. Diem autem Domini, etsi non annum in divinis Litteris legimus, promissioni tamen futurorum debitum illud tempus accipimus. Unde nihil interest si nunc sub diei significatione solus annus ostensus est, quia illud plenius debet esse quod majus est. Quod vero nutu potius, et non sermone explanatum est repraesentationi temporis servabatur sermonis expressio. Solet enim tunc verbis quodcumque proferri, quoties quidquid profertur, impletur. Nam et vere nemo cognovit quare hoc ei ostensum fuisset, nisi quia post eodem die, quo id viderat, coronatus est. Medio nihilominus tempore imminens passio pro certo ab omnibus sciebatur; passionis tamen dies certus ab iisdem omnibus quasi ignorantibus tacebatur. Sane et in Scripturis tale aliquid invenio. Nam Zacharias sacerdos, promisso sibi per angelum filio, quia non crediderat, obmutuit;
When he looked towards me, he at once began to note down on a tablet a sentence which I did not know. For he had asked nothing about me with the customary interrogation. But a young man who was standing behind him, being very curious, read whatever had been noted down. And since from there he could not utter it in words, he showed by a declaring nod what was contained in the writing of that tablet. For with his hand spread out and flattened in the manner of a blade, imitating the stroke of the customary punishment, he expressed what he wished to be understood as plainly as clear speech. I understood that the sentence would be one of martyrdom. I began at once to ask and to beg that a respite of even a single day be granted me, until I should settle my affairs in lawful order. And when I had repeated my entreaties frequently, he had begun again to note down something or other on the tablet. Yet I perceived from the serenity of his face that the judge's mind had been moved as if by a just petition. And that young man too, who had long before disclosed the indication of martyrdom by gesture rather than by speech, hastened, by a secret nod again and again, with his fingers twisted one behind another, to signify that the respite which was being sought until the morrow had been granted.» Basnage will seek in vain among the prophetic revelations of both the Old and the New Testament for one wholly like this. Pontius noted the passages of Scripture with which this vision of Cyprian seems to have some likeness; but they are not so closely related as those which we noted above are to the revelation we are now dealing with, that of Perpetua; for thus he has it: «What is more manifest than this revelation? What more blessed than this favour? Everything that afterwards followed was foretold to him beforehand. Nothing of God's words was diminished, nothing of so holy a promise mutilated. In short, recognize each thing according as it was shown. A respite until the morrow was asked, when the sentence of martyrdom was under consideration, he requesting that he might set his affairs in order on that day which he had obtained. This one day signified the year which he was to spend in the world after the vision. For, to speak more plainly, he was crowned, after a full year had passed, on the same day on which this had been shown to him a year before. Now although we do not read in the divine Scriptures that the day of the Lord is a year, yet we take that time as due to the promise of things to come. Hence it makes no difference if now, under the signification of a day, only a year was shown, since that which is greater ought to be the fuller. But as for its being explained by a nod rather than by speech, the expression in speech was being reserved for the showing forth of the time. For whatever it is, is usually uttered in words then, whenever what is uttered is being fulfilled. And indeed no one knew why this had been shown to him, except that afterwards he was crowned on the same day on which he had seen it. In the intervening time, nevertheless, the impending martyrdom was known for certain by all; yet the fixed day of the martyrdom was passed over in silence by those same all, as though they did not know it. Indeed I find something of this kind in the Scriptures too. For Zacharias the priest, when a son had been promised him by an angel, because he had not believed, became dumb
Editors' notes and page, col. 135
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- running head: 135 DISSERTATIO APOL[...] (cut off at the image edge)
- marginal letters: A ‹consulis admoveri. Is ut in me›; B ‹scio quid annotare. Sensi tamen›; C ‹Nihil de Dei verbis imminutum›; D ‹explanatum est repraesentationi temporis servabatur›
- old-edition numerals: 131 after ‹suas›
- other: the word obmutuit; was split at the column break and stands whole here (joined on receipt); check that the English reads whole across the break into col 136
ita ut filii nomen scipturus potius quam relaturus, metu tabulas postularet. Merito et hic, ubi Dei nuntius passionem antistitis imminentem nutu potius expressit, et fidem admonuit, et sacerdotem munivit. » Haec habuit omnino Pontius, ut Cyprianicae revelationis fidem tueretur et dignitatem; quibus non mihi videor pro Perpetuae revelatione minus consentanea produxisse. Aut ergo utramque pariter repudiabit, ut Spiritu sancto minime dignam; aut certe utramque recipiet, et eumdem Spiritum auctorem habuisse fatebitur. Praecipue quia quod de Cypriani revelatione sollicite ostendit Pontius, idem et nos capite sequenti de Perpetuae revelationibus demonstrabimus, eas nimirum fuisse rebus ipsis et secutis eventibus comprobatas.
so that, being about to write his son's name rather than to speak it, out of fear he asked for tablets. Rightly here too, where the messenger of God expressed the bishop's imminent passion by a nod rather [than by words], he both admonished faith and fortified the priest." This is all that Pontius had [to say] in order to defend the credibility and dignity of Cyprian's revelation; and I do not think that I have brought it forward as any less fitting for Perpetua's revelation. Either, then, he will reject both alike as wholly unworthy of the Holy Spirit; or he will certainly accept both, and will confess that they had the same Spirit as their author. Especially since what Pontius carefully shows concerning Cyprian's revelation, we too shall demonstrate in the following chapter concerning Perpetua's revelations, namely that they were confirmed by the facts themselves and by the events that followed.
IV. Quod etiam addit Basnagius: Montani redolere officinam Perpetuae somnia, et exstasis ejus esse simillima, qua Tertullianus probat animam esse « aerei coloris, et formae per omnia humanae, » aeque poterit omnibus visionibus accommodari in quibus aut anima, aut angelus, vel ipse Deus sub rerum corporalium figuris repraesentatur. An reapse Perpetua credidit in humano spiritu sexus diversitatem? An suam animam in virilem sexum credidit fuisse mutatam? An quam vidit Aegyptii formam, propriam daemonis putavit esse figuram? An Christum verum esse lanistam, et angelos esse decoros adolescentes existimavit? an se judicavit isse revera cum gloria ad portam Sanavivariam: quemadmodum insana illa Tertulliani muliercula, animam vore esse credidit et affirmavit « aerei coloris et formae per omnia humanae? » Quid ergo commune habet Perpetuae visio cum delirae hujusce feminae insomniis, ut horum illa simillima esse dicatur? cum tam sine causa existimetur, credidisse Perpetuam esse revera in anima nostra sexus diversitatem, quam sine causa judicaretur existimasse illam caetera, quae tum vidit, res esse ipsas, non autem rerum et futurorum eventuum similitudines. Audiendus igitur longe prae Basnagio commodior hujusce visionis ac benignior interpres Augustinus: « Sancta Perpetua visa sibi est in somnis cum quodam Aegyptio in virum conversa luctari. Quis autem dubitet, in illa similitudine corporis animam ejus fuisse, non corpus? Quod utique in suo femineo sexu manens, sopitis sensibus manebat in stratis, quando anima ejus in illa virilis corporis similitudine luctabatur. »
IV. As for what Basnage further adds, that Perpetua's dreams smell of the workshop of Montanus and are very like his ecstasy, by which Tertullian proves that the soul is "of an airy colour, and of a form human in every respect," this could equally be applied to all visions in which either the soul, or an angel, or God Himself is represented under the figures of bodily things. Did Perpetua really believe that there is a difference of sex in the human spirit? Did she believe that her soul had been changed into the male sex? Did she think that the form of the Egyptian which she saw was the demon's own shape? Did she suppose that Christ was really a trainer of gladiators, and that angels were comely youths? Did she judge that she had really gone with glory to the Gate of Life, as that crazed little woman of Tertullian believed and affirmed that the soul is truly "of an airy colour and of a form human in every respect"? What, then, does Perpetua's vision have in common with the dreams of this deluded woman, that it should be said to be very like them? since it is as groundless to suppose that Perpetua believed that there is really a difference of sex in our soul as it would be groundless to judge that she thought the other things which she then saw were the realities themselves, and not likenesses of things and of future events. Augustine, therefore, a far more fitting and kinder interpreter of this vision than Basnage, is to be heard: "Saint Perpetua seemed to herself in her sleep to wrestle with a certain Egyptian, having been changed into a man. But who would doubt that it was her soul that was in that likeness of a body, not her body? For that body, remaining in any case in its female sex, was lying on the bedding with its senses lulled, while her soul was wrestling in that likeness of a male body."
V. Temperare hic mihi non possum, quin ea quoque breviter referam, quae ad celebrem illam Perpetuae de fratre suo Dinocrate revelationem Basnagius annotat. Quanqaum enim ad impugnandam sanctorum martyrum orthodoxiam argumentum inde non capiat, ex ejus tamen observationibus illibata sinceraque martyrum fides admodum periclitatur. Est autem ejusmodi visio: Video Dinocratem exeuntem de loco tenebroso, ubi et complures
V. I cannot restrain myself here from briefly reporting also the remarks which Basnage makes on that celebrated revelation of Perpetua concerning her brother Dinocrates. For although he does not draw from it an argument for attacking the orthodoxy of the holy martyrs, yet through his observations the untainted and sincere faith of the martyrs is gravely endangered. Now the vision is of this kind: I see Dinocrates coming out of a dark place, where also many
Editors' notes and page, col. 136
Footnotes
(36) ‹anchor: interpres Augustinus› · call in col 136
Lib. IV de Orig. Animae. cap, 18.
On the Origin of the Soul, book 4, chapter 18.
(printed under page 120)
Page
- running head: RTATIO APOLOGETICA (cut off at the left edge; presumably DISSERTATIO APOLOGETICA)
- marginal letters: A ‹tuit; ita ut filii nomen›; B ‹IV. Quod etiam addit Basnagius›; C ‹loris et formae per omnia humanae›; D ‹bus manebat in stratis›
- old-edition numerals: 132 after ‹similitudines›
erant, aestuantem et sitientem valde, sordido vultu et colore pallido, et vulnus in facie ejus, quod cum moreretur habuit..... Pro hoc ergo orationem feceram: et inter me et illum grande erat diadema (vel diastema), ita ut uterque ad invicem accedere non possemus. Erat deinde in ipso loco ubi Dinocrates erat, piscina plena aqua, altiorem marginem habens quam erat statura pueri, et extendebat se Dinocrates quasi bibiturus. Ego dolebam, quod et piscina illa aquam habebat, et tamen propter altitudinem marginis bibiturus non esset. Et experrecta sum, et cognovi fratrem meum laborare. Sed confidebam profuturam orationem meam labori ejus, et orabam pro eo omnibus diebus quousque transivimus in carcerem castrensem. Munere enim castrensi eramus pugnaturi. Natale tunc Getae Cesaris; et feci pro illo orationem die et nocte gemens et lacrymans, ut mihi donaretur. Die autem, quo in nervo mansimus, ostensum est mihi hoc. Video locum illum, quem videram tenebrosum, esse lucidum; et Dinocratem mundo corpore, bene vestitum, refrigerantem, etc. Tunc intellexi translatum eum esse de poena.
were, very hot and thirsty, with a dirty face and a pale colour, and the wound on his face which he had when he died..... For him therefore I had made prayer: and between me and him there was a great diadem (or diastema), so that neither of us could come near the other. Then in the very place where Dinocrates was there was a pool full of water, having a rim higher than the boy's stature, and Dinocrates was stretching himself as if to drink. I was grieved that the pool had water and yet because of the height of the rim he would not be able to drink. And I awoke, and I knew that my brother was suffering. But I trusted that my prayer would profit him in his suffering, and I prayed for him every day until we passed over into the camp prison. For we were to fight in the camp games. It was then the birthday of Geta Caesar; and I made prayer for him day and night, groaning and weeping, that he might be granted to me. On the day, however, on which we remained in the stocks, this was shown to me. I see that place which I had seen dark to be bright; and Dinocrates clean in body, well clothed, refreshing himself, etc. Then I understood that he had been transferred from punishment.
VI. Male habet hic locus, Protestantes, ut quo Ecclesiae Romanae fides de Purgatorio, et de vivorum precibus pro defunctis invictissime astruitur, adeoque non mirum, si ejus auctoritatem Basnagius nugis pluribus et cavillationibus conatus est elevare: « De qua visione, inquit audiendus est Augustinus: » De fratre autem sanctae Perpetuae Dinocrate, nec scriptura ipsa canonica est, nec illa sic scripsit, vel quicunque illud scripsit, ut illum puerum qui septennis mortuus fuerat, sine baptismo diceret fuisse defunctum: pro quo illa imminente martyrio, creditur exaudita, ut a poenis transferretur ad requiem. Nam illius aetatis pueri, et mentiri et verum loqui, et confiteri, et negare jam possunt. Et ideo cum baptizantur, jam et symbolum reddunt, et ipsi pro se ad interrogata respondent. Quis igitur scit utrum puer ille post baptismum persecutionis tempore a patre impio per idololatriam fuerit alienatus a Christo, propter quod in damnationem mortis ierit, nec inde nisi pro Christo moriturae sororis precibus donatus exierit? » Baptismum non adeptum fuisse Dinocratem, qui septennis fato functus erat, eo liquet quod et soror ejus jam nupta, jam annos duos et viginti nata, tamen erat inter catechumenos et pater a religione Christiana foret alienus. Quod casu precibus Perpetuae Dinocrates liberari non potuit. Deinde ex hac visione purgatorius ignis exstinguitur. Non in flammis, sed in loco tenebroso versantem Dinocratem vidit. Perpetua, soli poenae, quae damni est, non sensus subditum. Itaque Ruinartum nil juvat sisio haec probando mortuos posse a poenis quas patiuntur per vivorum preces liberari. Etenim ex Latinorum sententia poena sensus qui baptismum consecuti
VI. This passage goes badly for you, Protestants, since by it the faith of the Roman Church concerning Purgatory and concerning the prayers of the living for the dead is most invincibly established; and so it is no wonder if Basnage has tried to lessen its authority with a great many trifles and cavils: 'Concerning this vision,' he says, 'Augustine must be heard:' 'Concerning the brother of Saint Perpetua, Dinocrates, neither is that writing itself canonical, nor did she, or whoever wrote it, so write as to say that the boy, who had died at seven years of age, had died without baptism; for whom she, with martyrdom imminent, is believed to have been heard, so that he was transferred from punishments to rest. For boys of that age can already both lie and speak the truth, both confess and deny. And therefore when they are baptized they already both recite the creed and answer the questions for themselves. Who then knows whether that boy after baptism, in time of persecution, was estranged from Christ through idolatry by an impious father, on account of which he went into the condemnation of death, and did not come out thence unless granted to the prayers of his sister who was about to die for Christ?' That Dinocrates, who had died at seven years of age, had not obtained baptism is clear from this, that his sister too, already married and already twenty-two years old, was nevertheless among the catechumens, and the father was estranged from the Christian religion. In which case Dinocrates could not be freed by the prayers of Perpetua. Next, by this vision the purgatorial fire is extinguished. Not in flames, but in a dark place did she see Dinocrates dwelling. Perpetua, subject only to the punishment which is of loss, not of sense. Therefore this vision does not help Ruinart in proving that the dead can be freed through the prayers of the living from the punishments which they suffer. For according to the opinion of the Latins only those who have obtained baptism are freed from the punishment of sense
Editors' notes and page, col. 137
Footnotes
(37) ‹anchor: visione, inquit› · call in col 137
Anno 205, num. VII.
Year 205, number 7.
(printed under page 121)
(38) ‹anchor: audiendus est Augustinus› · call in col 137
Lib. De anima et ejus origine, cap. 10.
Book On the Soul and Its Origin, chapter 10.
(printed under page 121)
Page
- running head: 137 PRO SS. PERPETUA, FELICIT[ATE] (cut off at the right edge)
- marginal letters: A ‹erant, aestuantem et sitientem›; B ‹feci pro illo orationem›; C ‹sic scripsit, vel quicunque›; D ‹ejus jam nupta, jam annos›
- old-edition numerals: 133 after ‹scit›
- other: the word consecuti was split at the column break and stands whole here (joined on receipt); check that the English reads whole across the break into col 138
sunt soli per vivorum suffragia liberantur. Quod si post baptismum Dinocrates idololatria pollutus fuit, ut innuit Augustinus, nullius sane precibus meritis poenis eximi potuit. Denique tenebrosus ille locus, ubi Dinocrates includebatur, a Purgatorio prorsus diversus communem illum carcerem sonat, in quem omnes praeter martyrum animas conjici, Patribus bene multis Montanistisque creditum. Hinc scriptum Tertulliano: Tota paradisi clavis tuus sanguis est. Et ipsos patriarchas inferius detineri putavit, donec a Christo liberarentur. In eo carcere, quem Limbum recentiores di⟨c⟩unt, Dinocrates collocari censebatur. »
by the suffrages of the living. But if after baptism Dinocrates was polluted by idolatry, as Augustine hints, he certainly could not be exempted from deserved punishments by the prayers of anyone. Finally, that dark place in which Dinocrates was shut up, wholly different from Purgatory, signifies that common prison into which a great many of the Fathers and the Montanists believed that all souls except those of the martyrs are cast. Hence Tertullian wrote: The whole key of paradise is your blood. And he thought that even the patriarchs were held below until they should be freed by Christ. In that prison, which more recent writers call Limbo, Dinocrates was believed to be placed.”
VII. Tot nugas nunquam, puto, vir doctus effutiisset, nisi catholicorum dogmata impugnandi libidine actus fuisset in praeceps. Liquere in primis putat adversus Augustini opinionem, Dinocratem qui septennis obiit, baptismum non fuisse adeptum, quod et sororis exemplo probat, et ex eo quod pater a religione Christiana foret alienus. Ego autem liquere puto, salutaribus undis Dinocratem fuisse perfusum: quod cum tota Perpetuae familia, ut ipsa perspicue testatur. Christi religionem coleret, verosimile non sit, sollicitos eos non fuisse, ut puero periclitanti, per baptismi sacramentum, antequam decederet, subveniretur. ⟨U⟩nde nullum est omnino argumentum quod ex sororis exemplo conficit. Fateor enim dilatum multis olim fuisse baptismum, nisi vitae periculum immineret: at ubi in proximo discrimine versabatur hominis salus, quis tantam credat in familia Christiana desidiam ut nulla eos pueri in extremis agentis cura tetigerit, nullam omnino sollicitudinem gesserint, ut regenerationis lavacro in extremo saltem spiritu, vel invito patre, perfunderetur?
VII. A learned man would never, I think, have blurted out so many trifles, had he not been driven headlong by a lust for attacking the dogmas of the Catholics. First, against the opinion of Augustine, he thinks it clear that Dinocrates, who died at seven years of age, had not obtained baptism, which he proves both by the example of his sister and from the fact that his father was a stranger to the Christian religion. I, however, think it clear that Dinocrates was bathed in the saving waters: for since the whole family of Perpetua, as she herself plainly testifies, practised the religion of Christ, it is not likely that they were not concerned that help should be given to the boy in danger, through the sacrament of baptism, before he died. Hence the argument he draws from the example of his sister is no argument at all. For I admit that in former times baptism was deferred by many unless danger to life threatened: but when a person's salvation stood at the very brink of crisis, who would believe there was such sloth in a Christian family that no care touched them for a boy at the point of death, that they took no concern at all that he should be bathed in the laver of regeneration at least with his last breath, even against his father's will?
Deinde ait purgatorium hac Perpetuae visione ignem exstingui. Non ita visum est Cl. Hosltenio qui ad haec Perpetuae verba, « Aestuantem valde et sitientem, » hanc satis apposite notam adjunxit: « Apprime haec congruunt cum doctrina Ecclesiae de Purgatorio, ubi aestu et igne animae torquentur. » Deinde, quia non ad exstinguendum modo purgatorium ignem, sed ipsum quoque Purgatorium evertendum, haec Basnagius observat, operae pretium erit, illius animum in memoriam revocare doctrinae, quam sepius legisse existimo apud nobiliores theologos, et catholicarum partium acerrimos defensores: dogma fidei non esse ignene corporeo, an aliis poenis, tenebris puta, moerore, tristitia crucientur, quibus cum ex hac vita decedunt, aliquid superest in futura vita purgandum. Sane in concilio Florentino nulla ferme Latinos inter et Graecos de Purgatorio controversia fuit, quamvis Graeci. « Purgatorium, non ignem, sed obscurum quemdam locum ac laborum plenum » esse censerent: et dum Purgatorium admitterent, sive ignis illud, sive obscuritas, sive turbo, sive id genus
Next he says that by this vision of Perpetua the fire of purgatory is extinguished. It did not seem so to the celebrated Holstenius, who to these words of Perpetua, “burning greatly and thirsting,” added this quite apt note: “These things agree exceedingly well with the doctrine of the Church concerning Purgatory, where souls are tormented by heat and fire.” Next, since Basnage remarks these things not only to extinguish the fire of purgatory but to overthrow Purgatory itself as well, it will be worth the trouble to recall his mind to the memory of the doctrine which I believe he has quite often read in the more eminent theologians and the keenest defenders of the Catholic side: that it is not a dogma of faith whether those who, when they depart from this life, still have something to be purged in the future life are tormented by corporeal fire, or by other punishments, for instance darkness, grief, sorrow. Indeed at the Council of Florence there was almost no controversy between Latins and Greeks concerning Purgatory, although the Greeks held that “Purgatory is not fire, but a certain dark place full of toils”: and while they admitted Purgatory, whether it be fire, or darkness, or storm, or something else of that kind,
Editors' notes and page, col. 138
Footnotes
(39) ‹anchor: Purgatorium admitterent› · call in col 138
Εἴτε πῦρ ἐστιν, εἴτε ζόφος καὶ θύελλα, εἴτε τι ἕτερον, οὐ διαφερόμεθα. Sess. 25.
Whether it is fire, or darkness and storm, or something else, we do not disagree. Session 25.
(printed under page 121)
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aliud sit, » non referre putarent. Quod etiam non admodum referre sacra ipsa synodus censuit, cum in defitione fidei, cui ecclesiae utriusque antistites subscripserunt, hoc tantum fuerit de Purgatorio decretum..... « Animas poenis purgatoriis post mortem purgari, et ut a poenis hujusmodi releventur, prodesse eis vivorum suffragia, Missarum scilicet sacrificia, orationes et eleemosynas, etc. » Nil ergo faceret ad hujus loci vim elevandam Basnagii observatio, licet nullis Dinocrates corporeis flammis arsisset; cum locus ille tenebrosus, in quo eum et aestuantem valde et sitientem » Perpetua vidit, optime congruat cum Purgatorio, quod Graeci in Florentina synodo, Latinis nequaquam contradicentibus, admiserunt. Et quamvis Latinorum de corporeis Purgatorii flammis opinio, ut Bellarminus ait, probabilissima sit, in eo tamen, ut idem Bellarmiuus docet, fidei summa non vertitur: et cum Latinorum opinione Perpetuae verba, ut observavit Hosltenius, apprime congruunt.
they would think it did not matter. That this too did not greatly matter the holy synod itself judged, since in the definition of faith, to which the prelates of both churches subscribed, only this was decreed concerning Purgatory..... "That souls are purged after death by purgatorial punishments, and that, so that they may be relieved from punishments of this kind, the suffrages of the living profit them, namely the sacrifices of Masses, prayers and alms, etc." Basnage's observation, therefore, would do nothing to weaken the force of this passage, even if Dinocrates had burned in no bodily flames; since that dark place in which Perpetua saw him "both very hot and thirsty" agrees perfectly with the Purgatory which the Greeks admitted at the Synod of Florence, the Latins in no way contradicting. And although the opinion of the Latins concerning the bodily flames of Purgatory is, as Bellarmine says, most probable, yet, as the same Bellarmine teaches, the substance of the faith does not turn on it; and the words of Perpetua, as Holstenius observed, agree exceedingly well with the opinion of the Latins.
Illud magis mirandum, quod Basnagius immediate subjungit, Perpetuam soli poenae, quae damni est, non sensus, subditum vidisse Dinocratem. Quid ergo? tenebrae, sitis, aestus, sordidus vultus, color pallidus, vulnus in facie, etc., ad poenam, quae damni est, non sensus, pertinere sibi videntur? Poena damni a theologis definitur: privatio divinae visionis; an istam solum Dinocrates sustinebat? Si ita est, ergo cum postea Perpetua intellexit translatum eum fuisse de poena, divina visione recreatus est. Quod certe Basnagius non admittet; cum, ut notat, Montanistarum, quorum nefariae sectae Perpetuam addicit, doctrina fuerit, solos ante diem judicii solemnis in coelum martyres recipi.
More to be wondered at is what Basnage immediately adds, that Perpetua saw Dinocrates subjected only to the punishment of loss, not of sense. What then? Do darkness, thirst, heat, a dirty face, a pale colour, a wound on the face, etc., seem to him to belong to the punishment of loss, not of sense? The punishment of loss is defined by theologians as the privation of the divine vision; was it this alone that Dinocrates was undergoing? If so, then when Perpetua afterwards understood that he had been removed from punishment, he was refreshed with the divine vision. This Basnage will certainly not admit; since, as he notes, it was the doctrine of the Montanists, to whose wicked sect he assigns Perpetua, that before the day of the solemn judgement only martyrs are received into heaven.
Illud etiam long⟨e⟩ mirabilius, quod Ruinartum nil hanc visionem juvare dicat probando « mortuos posse a poenis, quas patiuntur, per vivorum preces liberari. » Cum se Perpetua verbis adeo disertis affirmet suis precibus impetrasse, ut de poenis quibus torquebatur, Dinocrates transferretur, mirum profecto est quomodo Ruinartum nil juvet visio haec probando: « mortuos posse a poenis, etc. » Hic jam profecto, vel actorum γνησιότης, aut martyris fides in controversiam vocatur. Ruinartum neque de Actorum sinceritate, neque de martyris fide suspicio ulla tangebat. Basnagius autem, qui nullam de actis quaestionem movet, videamus quibus argumentis Perpetuae fidem abrogare conetur: « Ex Latinorum sententia, inquit, poena sensus qui baptismum consecuti sunt, soli per vivorum suffragia liberantur. » At n⟨o⟩s, baptizatum fuisse Dinocratem, cum Augustino pro certo habemus, et poenae sensus fuisse subditum, clarissime demonstravimus. « Quod si, subjungit, post baptismum Dinocrates idololatria pollutus
Far more to be wondered at still is that he says this vision does not help Ruinart in proving "that the dead can be freed from the punishments which they suffer by the prayers of the living." Since Perpetua affirms in words so explicit that she obtained by her prayers that Dinocrates should be removed from the punishments by which he was tormented, it is truly strange how this vision does not help Ruinart in proving "that the dead can be freed from punishments, etc." Here now, surely, either the genuineness of the Acts or the martyr's good faith is called into question. No suspicion touched Ruinart either about the authenticity of the Acts or about the martyr's good faith. But Basnage, who raises no question about the Acts, let us see by what arguments he tries to deny Perpetua credit: "In the opinion of the Latins," he says, "only those who have obtained baptism are freed from the punishment of sense by the suffrages of the living." But we hold for certain, with Augustine, that Dinocrates was baptized, and we have most clearly demonstrated that he was subjected to the punishment of sense. "But if," he adds, "after baptism Dinocrates was polluted by idolatry
Editors' notes and page, col. 139
Footnotes
(40) ‹anchor: not visible in the foot crop› · call in col 139 or 140
Τὰς ψυχὰς λαθαρτικαῖς σιμωρίαις καθαίρεσθαι μετὰ θάνατον. Ὥστε δὲ ἀποκουφίζεσθαι αὐτὰς τῶν τοιούτων τιμωριῶν λυσιτελεῖν αὐταῖς τὰς τῶν ζώντων πιστῶν ἐπικουρίας· δηλονότι τὰς ἱερὰς θυσίας, εὐχὰς καὶ ἐλεημοσύνας, etc.
That souls are cleansed after death by purifying punishments; and that, for their relief from such punishments, the help of the living faithful profits them, namely the holy sacrifices, prayers and almsgiving, etc.
(printed under page 122)
(41) ‹anchor: not visible in the foot crop› · call in col 139 or 140
Lib. II De Purgat. capp. 10 et 11.
On Purgatory, book 2, chapters 10 and 11.
(printed under page 122)
(42) ‹anchor: not visible in the foot crop› · call in col 139 or 140
Ibid.
In the same place.
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fuit, ut innuit Augustinus, nullius sane precibus meritis poenis eximi potuit. » At si, inquam, post baptismum Dinocrates idololatria pollutus fuit, ut innuit Augustinus, soli poenae, quae « damni est, non sensus, » subditus esse non potuit. Deinde non jam hic agitur de Perpetua, sed de Augustini opinione, Fuisse ab impio patre per idololatriam alienatum a Christo, et ad gentilium sacrilegia revocatum, ut Augustinus innuit, illa non scripsit. Multa sunt alia peccata, ut idem Augustinus observat, ob quae esse potui Dinocrates purgatoriis poenis addictus: mentiri potuit, irasci, ludere praeter decorum, etc. Quaecunque autem fuerint ex Augustini opinione, de qua modo disserere non libet, Dinocratis peccata aut quibuscunque poenis torqueretur, non dubitat sauctus doctor, quin « inde pro Christo moriturae sororis precibus donatus exierit. » Adeo ne non video, quare Ruinartum non juvet visio haec probando, mortuos posse a poenis, quas patiuntur, per vivorum preces liberari.
as Augustine hints, he could certainly not be exempted by anyone's prayers from deserved punishments." But if, I say, Dinocrates was polluted by idolatry after baptism, as Augustine hints, he could not have been subject only to the punishment which "is of loss, not of sense." Next, the question here is no longer about Perpetua but about Augustine's opinion. That he had been estranged from Christ by an impious father through idolatry, and called back to the sacrileges of the gentiles, as Augustine hints, she did not write. There are many other sins, as the same Augustine observes, on account of which Dinocrates could have been consigned to the punishments of purgatory: he could have lied, been angry, played beyond what was seemly, etc. But whatever, in Augustine's opinion (which I do not care to discuss just now), the sins of Dinocrates were, or by whatever punishments he was being tormented, the holy doctor does not doubt that "he came out from there, granted to the prayers of his sister, who was about to die for Christ." So I do not see why this vision does not help Ruinart in proving that the dead can be freed from the punishments they suffer through the prayers of the living.
VIII. Ait denique Basnagius, tenebrosum illum locum, ubi Dinocrates includebatur, a purgatorio prorsus diversum, communem illum carcerem sonare, in quem omnes praeter martyrum animas conjici, Patribus bene multis Montanistisque creditum. Circa animarum, ut vocant, receptacula, non una semper eademque fuit Tertulliani sententia. In libro enim De anima ex Paracleti, hoc est Montani doctrina, « omnes animas penes inferos » collocat, « et illic supplicia interim et refrigeria: » Cur enim, inquit, non putes animam et puniri, et foveri in inferis interim sub exspectatione utriusque judicii in quadam usurpatione et candida ejus? Sed alibi hanc uti Marcionis opinionem Scripturae auctoritate confutat. « Sed Marcion aliorsum cogit, scilicet utramque mercedem creatoris, sive tormenti sive refrigeri apud inferos, determinat eis positam, qui Legi et Prophetis obedirent: Christo vero et Dei sui coelestem definit sinum et portum. Respondebimus, et hac ipsa Scriptura revincente oculos ejus, quae ab inferis discernit Abrahae sinum pauperi. Aliud enim inferi, ut puto, aliud quoque Abrahae sinus. Nam et magnum, ait, intercedere regiones istas profundum, et transitum utrinque prohibere. Sed nec allevasset dives oculos, et quidem de longinquo, nisi in superiora et de altitudinis longinquo per immensam illam distantiam sublimitatis et profunditatis. Unde apparet sapienti cuique, qui aliquando Elysios audierit, esse aliquam localem determinationem quae sinus dicta sit Abrahae, ad recipiendas animas filiorum ejus etiam ex nationibus.... Eam itaque regionem sinum dico Abrahae, et si non coelestem, sublimiorem tamen inferis, interim refrigerium praebituram animabus justorum, donec consummatio
VIII. Finally, Basnage says that that dark place where Dinocrates was shut up, wholly different from purgatory, denotes that common prison into which, as was believed by a good many Fathers and by the Montanists, all souls except those of the martyrs are cast. Concerning the receptacles of souls, as they call them, Tertullian's view was not always one and the same. For in the book On the Soul, from the doctrine of the Paraclete, that is, of Montanus, he places "all souls in the keeping of the underworld," "and there, meanwhile, punishments and refreshments": For why, he says, should you not think that the soul is both punished and cherished in the underworld meanwhile, in expectation of either judgement, in a kind of anticipation and candidature of it? But elsewhere he refutes this, as an opinion of Marcion, by the authority of Scripture. "But Marcion forces it elsewhere, namely he determines that either reward of the Creator, whether of torment or of refreshment, is laid up in the underworld for those who obeyed the Law and the Prophets, but for Christ and his God he defines a heavenly bosom and haven. We shall reply, this very Scripture also refuting his eyes, which distinguishes Abraham's bosom for the poor man from the underworld. For the underworld, I think, is one thing, Abraham's bosom another. For he says that a great gulf lies between those regions and prevents passage either way. Nor would the rich man have lifted up his eyes, and that from afar, except to higher places, and from afar in height, across that immense distance of loftiness and depth. Whence it is plain to any wise man who has ever heard of the Elysian fields that there is some local determination which is called Abraham's bosom, for receiving the souls of his children even from among the nations.... This region, therefore, I call Abraham's bosom, which, even if not heavenly, is yet higher than the underworld, and will meanwhile afford refreshment to the souls of the just, until the consummation
Editors' notes and page, col. 140
Footnotes
(43) ‹anchor: libro enim De anima› · call in col 140
Cap. 57. Vid. et cap. 55 et 56.
Chapter 57. See also chapters 55 and 56.
(printed under page 122)
(44) ‹anchor: auctoritate confutat› · call in col 140 · the call is printed (14)
Lib. IV cont. Marcion., cap. 34.
Against Marcion, book 4, chapter 34.
(printed under page 122)
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rerum ressurrectionem omnium plenitudine mercedis expungat, tunc apparitura coelesti promissione, etc. Salva ea promissione, cur non capiat sinum Abrahae dici, temporale aliquod animarum fidelium receptaculum, in quo jam delinietur futuri imago ac candida quaedam utriusque judicii prospiciatur? » Juxta hanc secundam opinionem dici non potest tenebrosum illum locum, in quo Dinocrates includebatur, communem aliquem fuisse carcerem in quem omnes praeter martyrum animas conjici, Patribus bene multis Montanistisque creditum: cum sinum Abrahae ad recipiendas animas filiorum ejus destinatum, regionem fuisse doceat Tertullianus, et si non coelestem, sublimiorem tamen inferis, interim refrigerium praebituram animabus justorum. Sed juxta primam sententiam, sicuti penes inferos et supplicia erant et refrigeria, ita penes inferos erat et Purgatorium: adeoque statui non potest locum illum tenebrosum in quo Dinocrates includebatur, a Purgatorio prorsus fuisse diversum. Etenim Purgatorii nomine alterius vitae poenas intelligimus justis post aliquod tempus in refrigerium commutandas: neque ad fidei dogma de Purgatorio quaestio illa pertinet, an loco ab inferis separetur. Cum igitur Dinocrati locus ille tenebrosus in quo ipsum aestuantem valde et sitientem Perpetua vidit, paulo post in lucidum fuerit commutatus, in quo eum sanctisima soror « mundo corpore, bene vestitum et refrigerantem » aspexit, adhuc ex veterum quorumdam Patrum et Montanistarum sententia affirmari nullo modo potest, locum illum tenebrosum, in quo primum Dinocrates includebatur, a Purgatorio prorsus fuisse diversum.
of things settles the account of the resurrection of all with the fullness of reward, then to appear with the heavenly promise, etc. With that promise kept intact, why may it not be called the bosom of Abraham, some temporary receptacle of the souls of the faithful, in which an image of the future is already sketched out and a certain bright foreview of both judgements is glimpsed?" According to this second opinion it cannot be said that that dark place in which Dinocrates was shut up was some common prison into which the souls of all except the martyrs are cast, as was believed by a great many Fathers and by the Montanists: since Tertullian teaches that the bosom of Abraham, appointed for receiving the souls of his sons, was a region which, if not heavenly, was nevertheless higher than the underworld, and would afford refreshment to the souls of the just in the meantime. But according to the first view, just as in the underworld there were both punishments and refreshments, so in the underworld there was also Purgatory: and accordingly it cannot be determined that that dark place in which Dinocrates was shut up was altogether different from Purgatory. For by the name of Purgatory we understand punishments of the other life that are to be changed for the just into refreshment after some time: nor does that question, whether it is separated in place from the underworld, pertain to the dogma of faith concerning Purgatory. Since, therefore, that dark place for Dinocrates, in which Perpetua saw him burning greatly with heat and thirsting, was changed a little later into a bright one, in which the most holy sister beheld him "with a clean body, well clothed and refreshing himself", even according to the opinion of certain ancient Fathers and of the Montanists it can in no way be affirmed that that dark place, in which Dinocrates was first shut up, was altogether different from Purgatory.
Si rata esset et certa Cl. Holstenii lectio, communis theologorun de receptaculis animarum sententia, egregie, ut Possinus observat, hac Perpetuae visione confirmaretur. Ita enim habet: » Video Dinocratem exe⟨un⟩tem de loco tenebroso, ubi et complura erant ⟨loca⟩ tenebrosa, etc. » Docent scilicet theologi, q⟨uat⟩uor esse sub terra locos distinctos in quibus animae mortuorum detinentur: nempe omnium infimum ubi daemones et animae damnatae; supra hunc, Purgatorium, ubi animae purgantur ad tempus; deinde Limbum puerorum quo detinentur animae mortuorum in solo peccato originali: postremo Limbum Patrum, nunc vacuum a tempore mortis et resurrectionis Christi, etc. Haec, subjungit Possinus, fuisse videntur illa complura loca tenebrosa, quae se vidisse laudatis verbis sancta Perpetua testatur. At Ruinartus habet: « Ubi et complures erant. » Quod equidem ad inclusorum multitudinem, quam ad locorum diversitatem aptius refertur, quamvis varia esse sub terra animarum receptacula, neque his verbis Perpetua
If the reading of the distinguished Holstenius were established and certain, the common opinion of theologians concerning the receptacles of souls would, as Possinus observes, be excellently confirmed by this vision of Perpetua. For it runs thus: "I see Dinocrates coming out of a dark place, where there were also many dark places, etc." For theologians teach that there are four distinct places under the earth in which the souls of the dead are detained: namely, the lowest of all, where the demons and the damned souls are; above this, Purgatory, where souls are purged for a time; then the Limbo of children, in which are detained the souls of those who died in original sin alone; lastly the Limbo of the Fathers, empty now since the time of the death and resurrection of Christ, etc. These, Possinus adds, seem to have been those many dark places which Saint Perpetua testifies in the words quoted that she saw. But Ruinart has: "Where there were also many [persons]." This indeed refers more fittingly to the multitude of those shut in than to a diversity of places, although [it is true] that the receptacles of souls under the earth are various, nor would Perpetua by these words
Editors' notes and page, col. 141
Footnotes
(45) ‹anchor: ab inferis separetur› · call in col 141
Vid. Bellarmin. lib. II, de purgat., cap. 6,
See Bellarmine, On Purgatory, book 2, chapter 6.
(printed under page 123)
(46) ‹anchor: Possinus observat› · call in col 141
Paralipomen. ad Holsten. notus.
Paralipomena to Holstenius's notes [so printed, notus].
(printed under page 123)
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neget. Sed de hac sanctae martyris visione iterum capite septimo sermo redibit.
deny it. But concerning this vision of the holy martyr the discussion will return again in the seventh chapter.
CAPUT VI.
Chapter VI.
MARTYRUM NOSTRORUM VIRTUTES, ET VISIONUM FRUCTUS OSTENDUNT, DIVINO ILLOS FUISSE SPIRITU AFFLATOS, ET EORUM REVELATIONES DEO ESSE TRIBUENDAS.
The virtues of our martyrs and the fruits of their visions show that they were inspired by the divine Spirit, and that their revelations are to be attributed to God.
I. In veris prophetis a falsis discernendis, eorum in primis morum habendam esse rationem. II. Aliqua Actorum loca, in quibus martyrum nostrorum virtutes graphice describuntur. III. Nihil esse in eorum moribus animadvertere, quod Montani redoleat institutionem. IV. Perpetuam sociosque martyres naturae leges minime violasse, Ignatii M. exemplo demonstratur. V. Aliorum martyrum pro martyrii corona preces et vota. VI. Alios, praeter Perpetuam, martyres aut bestias in seipsos concitasse, aut instrumenta crudelitatis ad aceelerandum martyrium ultro adhibuisse. VII. Veterum Christianorum exempla qui vel seipsos sponte obtulerunt, vel praesidum saevitiam in se ultro provocarunt, Perpetuae factum excusant. VIII. Sanctorum Andronici et Tarachi memorabile facinus. XI. Perpetuae et sociorum martyrum spiritus quam fuerit a Montanistarum spiritu longe diversus, ex divessis utriusque effectibus demonstratur. X. Perpetuae et Saturi revelatiouem honesti et optimi fructus.
I. In distinguishing true prophets from false, account must above all be taken of their conduct. II. Some passages of the Acts in which the virtues of our martyrs are vividly described. III. That nothing is to be observed in their conduct which smacks of the teaching of Montanus. IV. That Perpetua and her fellow martyrs in no way violated the laws of nature is shown by the example of Ignatius M. V. The prayers and vows of other martyrs for the crown of martyrdom. VI. That other martyrs besides Perpetua either roused the beasts against themselves or of their own accord applied the instruments of cruelty to hasten their martyrdom. VII. The examples of early Christians who either offered themselves of their own will or of their own accord provoked the savagery of the governors against themselves excuse Perpetua's deed. VIII. The memorable deed of Saints Andronicus and Tarachus. XI. How far the spirit of Perpetua and her fellow martyrs differed from the spirit of the Montanists is shown from the differing effects of each. X. The honourable and most excellent fruits of the revelation of Perpetua and Saturus.
1. Superioribus capitibus argumenta labefactavi quae Basnagius ex ipsis eorum Actis adversus martyres conficit. Praesenti et sequenti capite argumenta in medium producam, quae pro sanctis martyribus ex iisdem Actis collegi, et quibus invictissime, ut puto, eorum orthodoxia vindicatur, ut quemadmodum adversarius et externis, ut vocant argumentis et internis adversus martyres militat: ita nos pro illis, postquam hujusce dissertationis eapite primo externa produximus argumenta ex Ecclesiae et veterum Patrum auctoritate petita, internis postremis his duobus capitibus decertemus, quae nobis ex ipsis eorum Actis luculentissima suppetunt.
1. In the preceding chapters I have undermined the arguments which Basnage constructs against the martyrs out of their very Acts. In the present and the following chapter I shall bring forward the arguments which I have gathered on behalf of the holy martyrs from the same Acts, and by which, as I think, their orthodoxy is most invincibly vindicated; so that, just as our adversary fights against the martyrs both with external arguments, as they call them, and with internal ones, so we on their behalf, after having brought forward in the first chapter of this dissertation the external arguments drawn from the authority of the Church and of the ancient Fathers, may contend in these last two chapters with the internal ones, which are supplied to us most abundantly from their very Acts.
Primum esto, quod ex perpetuae sociorumque martyrum heroicis virtutibus, patientia, pietate, moderatione, charitate, fortitudine et rerum omnium humanarum contemptu sponte promicat atque efflorescit. In moribus prophetarum ad veros a falsis discernendos, multum inesse momenti, veteres existimarunt. Unde Appollonius ecclesiasticus ille apud Eusebium: « Scriptor, Cataphrygarum haeresim adhuc sua aetate vigentem refutare aggressus, peculiare adversus eos volumen condidit, tum falsas prophetias, quae ab illis circumferuntur, verbatim expendens, tum vitam moresque eorum qui haeresis illius auctores fuerunt, discutiens. » Aliqua deinde ex hoc opere fragmenta profert, in quibus, pravos Montani et muliercularum ejus, Themisonis etiam et Alexandri mores
Let the first be that which springs forth and blossoms of its own accord from the heroic virtues of Perpetua and her fellow martyrs: their patience, piety, moderation, charity, fortitude and contempt of all human things. The ancients judged that there is much weight in the conduct of prophets for distinguishing the true from the false. Hence that ecclesiastical Apollonius in Eusebius: "A writer who, having undertaken to refute the heresy of the Cataphrygians, still flourishing in his time, composed a particular volume against them, both examining word for word the false prophecies which are circulated by them, and scrutinizing the life and conduct of those who were the founders of that heresy." He then cites some fragments from this work, in which the depraved conduct of Montanus and his silly women, and also of Themison and Alexander,
Editors' notes and page, col. 142
Footnotes
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Τῆς δὲ ΚΑΤΑ ΦΡΥΓΑΣ καλουμένης αἱρέσεως καὶ Ἀπολλώνιος ἐκκλησιαστικὸς συγγραφεὺς ἀκμαζούσης εἰσέτι τότε κατὰ τὴν Φρυγίαν ἔλεγχον ἐνστησάμενος, ἴδιον κατ' αὐτῶν πεποίηται σύγγραμμα, τὰς μὲν φερομένας αὐτῶν προφητεία ψευδεῖς οὔσας κατὰ λέξιν εὐθύνων, τὸν δὲ βίον τῶν τῆς αἱρέσεως ἀρχηγῶν ὁποῖός τις γέγονε διελέγχων. Lib. V Hist, eccles., cap. 18.
Apollonius too, a church writer, undertaking a refutation of the heresy called that of the Phrygians, which was then still flourishing in Phrygia, composed a special work against them, correcting word by word their reputed prophecies as false, and exposing what sort of life the founders of the heresy had led. Ecclesiastical History, book 5, chapter 18.
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- old-edition numerals: 138 after ‹haeresim›
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describit, ac postea subjungit: « Actus prophetae tanquam fructus examinandi sunt. Ex fructibus quippe arbor cognoscitur. » Et post pauca: « Si negant prophetas suos munera accepisse, hoc igitur fateantur, non esse illos prophetas, si munera accepisse convicti sunt. Ac tum demum sexcenta ejus rei documenta ac testimonia proferemus. Necesse porro est ut omnes prophetae fructus atque actus probentur. Dic mihi, tingitne capilos propheta? an stibio oculos linit? au studet ornari? prophetane tabula ludit et tesseris? an pecuniam locat fenori? Ingenue fateantur, ac respondeant, utrum haec agere liceat, an secus? Ego vero haec apud ipsos acta esse convincam. »
describes, and afterwards adds: "The deeds of a prophet must be examined like fruits. For the tree is known from its fruits." And a little later: "If they deny that their prophets have accepted gifts, let them then admit this: that they are not prophets if they are convicted of having accepted gifts. And then at last we shall bring forward countless proofs and testimonies of this matter. Moreover, it is necessary that all the fruits and deeds of a prophet be tested. Tell me, does a prophet dye his hair? Does he paint his eyes with antimony? Is he eager to adorn himself? Does a prophet play at the gaming-board and at dice? Does he lend money at interest? Let them frankly admit it and answer whether it is permitted to do these things or not. For my part, I shall prove that these things have been done among them."
II. In his autem Perpetuae, Felicitatis et sociorum martyrum actis mira ubique respondent Christianarum omnium virtutum exempla; ita ut affirmari merito possit, quot in Montano, Maximilla, Themisone et Alexandro Apollonius vitia reprehendit, tot in sanctis hisce martyribus ac Perpetua praesertim, et multo etiam plura, virtutum omnium decora refulgere. Aliqua Actorum loca quae magis ad rem faciunt, in specimen indicabo cap. I, § 2. « Cum adhuc, inquit, cum persecutoribus essemus, et me pater avertere et dejicere pro sua affectione perseveraret, etc., dixi ei... Ego aliud me dicere non possum, nisi quod sum Christiana. Tunc pater motus in hoc verbo, misit se in me ut oculos mihi erueret; sed vexavit tantum, et profectus est victus cum argumentis diaboli. Tunc paucis diebus, quod caruissem patre, Domino gratias egi, et refrigeravit absentia illius. In ipso spatio paucorum dierum baptizati sumus: mihi autem Spiritus dictavit, nihil aliud petendum in aqua, nisi sufferentiam carnis. Post paucos dies recipimur in carcerem, et expavi, quia nunquam experta eran tales tenebras... Ego infantem lactabam jam inedia defectum. Sollicita pro eo alloquebar matrem, et confortabam fratrem, commendabam filium. Tabescebam, ideo quod illos tabescere videram mei beneficio. Tales sollicitudines multis diebus passa sum, et usurpavi ut mecum infans in carcere maneret, et statim convalui, et relevata sum a labore et sollicitudine infantis: et factus est mihi carcer subito quasi praetorium, ut ibi mallem esse quam alibi » Quot hic virtutes emicant! Constantia adversus patris minas et blanditias; constantia item adversus humanas omnes affectiones, pietas erga parentes, materna pro filio sollicitudo, in carceris incommodis tolerandis invicta patientia: hypocritarum more, stoica gravitate humanos affectus non dissimulat, sed Christiana virtute superat ac moderatur: Domino gratias
II. But in these Acts of the martyrs Perpetua, Felicity and their companions, wonderful examples of all the Christian virtues correspond everywhere, so that it may rightly be affirmed that as many vices as Apollonius censures in Montanus, Maximilla, Themiso and Alexander, so many ornaments of all the virtues, and indeed many more, shine forth in these holy martyrs, and in Perpetua especially. By way of sample I shall point out some passages of the Acts which bear more closely on the matter, chap. 1, § 2. "While we were still," she says, "with our persecutors, and my father, out of his affection, persisted in trying to turn me aside and cast me down, etc., I said to him... I cannot call myself anything other than what I am, a Christian. Then my father, provoked by this word, threw himself upon me as if to tear out my eyes; but he only harassed me, and departed defeated, together with the devil's arguments. Then for a few days, because I was without my father, I gave thanks to the Lord, and his absence refreshed me. Within that same space of a few days we were baptized; and the Spirit prompted me that nothing else was to be sought in the water except endurance of the flesh. After a few days we are taken into prison, and I was terrified, because I had never experienced such darkness... I was nursing my infant, already weak from hunger. Anxious for him, I spoke to my mother and comforted my brother, and commended my son [to them]. I was wasting away because I had seen them wasting away on my account. Such anxieties I suffered for many days, and I obtained [leave] that the infant should stay with me in prison, and at once I grew strong and was relieved of the toil and anxiety for the infant; and the prison suddenly became to me as it were a palace, so that I would rather be there than anywhere else." How many virtues shine forth here! Constancy against her father's threats and blandishments; constancy likewise against all human affections; devotion towards her parents; a mother's anxiety for her son; unconquered patience in bearing the hardships of the prison. She does not, in the manner of hypocrites, conceal human affections with Stoic gravity, but overcomes and governs them by Christian virtue: she gives thanks to the Lord
Editors' notes and page, col. 143
Footnotes
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Δεῖ γὰρ τοὺς καρποὺς δοκιμάζεσθαι τοῦ προφήτου· ἀπὸ γὰρ τοῦ καρποῦ τὸ δένδρον γινώσκεται.
For the fruits of the prophet must be tested; for by the fruit the tree is known.
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Ἐὰν ἀρνῶνται δῶρα τοὺς προφήτας αὐτῶν εἰληφέναι. τοῦτο ὁμολογησάτωσαν, ὅτι ἐὰν ἐλεγχθῶσιν εἰληφότες, οὐκ εἰσὶ προφῆται, καὶ μυρίας ἀποδείξεις τούτων παραστήσομεν. Ἀναγκαῖον δέ ἐστι πάντας καρποὺς δοκιμάζεσθαι προφήτου· προφήτης, εἰπέ μοι, βάπτεται; προφήτης φιλοκοσμεῖ; προφήτης τάβλαις καὶ κύβοις παίζει; προφήτης δανείζει; ταῦτα ὁμολογησάτωσαν, πότερον ἔξεστιν ἢ μή· ἐγὼ δὲ ὅτι γέγονε παρ' αὐτοῖς δείξω.
If they deny that their prophets have taken gifts, let them confess this: that if they are convicted of having taken them, they are not prophets; and we will bring forward countless proofs of these things. But all the fruits of a prophet must be tested. Tell me, does a prophet dye his hair? Does a prophet love finery? Does a prophet play at draughts and dice? Does a prophet lend at interest? Let them confess whether these things are lawful or not; and I will show that they have happened among them.
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- marginal letters: A describit, ac postea subjungit; B Christianarum omnium virtutum exempla; C Domino gratias egi, et refrigeravit; D cant! Constantia adversus patris minas
- old-edition numerals: 139 after praetorium
agit, divinam opem implorat, alienas magis angustias quam suas dolet, miro religionis in Deum et charitatis in proximum documento. Eaedem virtutes in aliis quoque locis resplendent, cap. II, § 1. « Post paucos dies rumor cucurrit, ut audiremur. Supervenit autem et de civitate pater meus consumptus taedio, ascendit ad me ut me dejiceret, dicens: Miserere filia, canis meis, etc. Haec dicebat pater pro sua pietate basians mihi manus, et se ad pedes meos jactans, et lacrymis non filiam, sed dominam me vocabat. Et ego dolebam canos patris mei, quod solus de passione mea gavisurus non esset de toto genere meo: et confortavi eum, dicens: Hoc fiet in illa catasta, quod Deus voluerit. Scito enim nos non in nostra potestatet esse constitutos, sed in Dei, » Similia et filialis erga patrem observantiae, et Christianae fortidudinis exempla habentur § 2, qui totus quamvis describendus esset, haec ex eo tamen pauca subjiciam: « Et Hilarianus procurator... parce, inquit, canis, patris tui: parce infantiae pueri. Fac sacrum pro salute imperatorum. Et ego respondi: Non facio. Hilarianus: Christiana es? Et ego respondi: Christiana sum. Et cum staret pater ad me dejiciendum, jussus est ab Hilariano dejici, et virga percussus est. Et doluit mihi casus patris mei, quasi ego fuissem percussa: sic dolui pro senecta ejus misera. Tunc nos universos pronuntiat et damnat ad bestias, et hilares descendimus ad carcerem. » Hanc Perpetuae filialem erga patrem observantiam his sanctus Augustinus verbis commendat: « Doluit illa senis parentis injuriam; et cui non praebuit assensum, servavit affectum. Oderat quippe in illo stultitiam, non naturam, et ejus infidelitatem, non originem suam. Majore igitur gloria tam dilectum patrem male suadentem fortiter repulit, quem vapulantem videre sine moerore non potuit. » Proinde et dolor ille nihil retraxit robori fortitudinis, et aliud addidit laudibus passionis: Diligentibus enim Deum omnia cooperantur in bonum. Earumdem virtutum aliud, cap. 3, § 1, occurrit exemplum: « Ut autem proximavit dies muneris, intravit ad me pater meus consumptus taedio, et coepit barbam suam evellere, et se in terram mittere, et prosternere se in faciem, et improperare annis suis, et dicere tanta verba quae moverent universam creaturam. Ego dolebam pro infelici senecta ejus. » Hic iterum audiendus sanctus Augustinus: « Per charitatem multi mortui sunt saeculo, ut viverent Deo. Hac charitate accensi martyres, non simulati, non vana gloria ventilati, non tales, de quibus dictum est: Si tradidero corpus meum ut ardeam, etc., sed tales quos vere
implores divine help, and grieves over the distresses of others more than over her own, a wonderful proof of religion towards God and of charity towards one's neighbour. The same virtues shine out in other places too, ch. 2, § 1: "After a few days a rumour ran that we were to be heard. And my father too arrived from the city, worn out with weariness, and came up to me to cast me down, saying: Have pity, daughter, on my grey hairs, etc. These things my father said out of his affection, kissing my hands and throwing himself at my feet, and with tears he called me not daughter but lady. And I grieved for my father's grey hairs, because he alone of all my family would not rejoice at my passion; and I comforted him, saying: On that scaffold what God wills shall happen. For know that we are placed not in our own power but in God's." Similar examples both of filial regard towards her father and of Christian fortitude are found in § 2; although the whole of it deserved to be copied out, I shall nevertheless append these few things from it: "And Hilarianus the procurator... Spare, he said, your father's grey hairs; spare the infancy of the boy. Offer sacrifice for the welfare of the emperors. And I answered: I will not. Hilarianus: Are you a Christian? And I answered: I am a Christian. And when my father stood by to cast me down, he was ordered by Hilarianus to be cast down, and he was struck with a rod. And my father's misfortune grieved me as if I had been struck: so did I grieve for his wretched old age. Then he pronounces sentence on us all and condemns us to the beasts, and joyfully we went down to the prison." This filial regard of Perpetua towards her father Saint Augustine commends in these words: "She grieved at the injury done to her aged parent; and to the one to whom she did not yield assent she kept her affection. For she hated in him his folly, not his nature, and his unbelief, not her own origin. With the greater glory, therefore, did she bravely repel so beloved a father when he counselled ill, whom she could not see being beaten without sorrow." Accordingly that grief both took nothing away from the strength of her fortitude and added something more to the praises of her passion: for to those who love God all things work together for good. Another example of the same virtues occurs in ch. 3, § 1: "Now as the day of the show drew near, my father came in to me worn out with weariness, and began to pluck out his beard, and to throw himself on the ground, and to prostrate himself on his face, and to reproach his years, and to say such words as would move the whole creation. I grieved for his unhappy old age." Here again Saint Augustine must be heard: "Through charity many have died to the world, that they might live to God. Kindled by this charity were the martyrs, not feigned, not fanned by vain glory, not such as those of whom it was said: If I deliver my body to burn, etc., but such as
Editors' notes and page, col. 144
Footnotes
(50) ‹anchor: verbis commendat› · call in col 144
Serm. 281, al. de divers. 104.
Sermon 281, elsewhere [numbered] On various subjects 104.
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(51) ‹anchor: sanctus Augustinus› · call in col 144
Enarrat in Psalm. XLII, num. 13.
Exposition of Psalm 42, no. 13.
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- old-edition numerals: 140 after corpus
Christi et veritatis charitas perduceret ad passionem : quid eis fecerunt persecutiones saevientium ? Majorem violentiam habuerunt oculi flentium suorum, quam persecutiones insectantium. Quam multos enim tenebant filii, ne paterentur ? Quam multorum genibus provolvebantur uxores, ne viduae relinquerentur ? Quam multos parentes filii prohibebant mori, sicut novimus et legitur in passione BEATAE PERPETUAE ? Facta sunt ista. Sed lacrymae quantaelibet, et quantolibet impetu fluerent, quando ardorem charitatis extinguerent ? » Cap. v, § 2, plura nobis confertim exhibentur mutuae charitatis spei et magnanimitatis exempla : « Circa Felicitatem vero (nam et illi gratia Domini ejusmodi contigit), cum octo jam mensium suum ventrem haberet (nam praegnans fuerat apprehensa), instante spectaculi die, in magno erat luctu, ne propter ventrem differretur, quia non licet praegnantes poenae repraesentari, et ne inter aliquos postea sceleratos, sanctum et innocentem sanguinem funderet. Sed et commartyres ejus graviter contristabantur, ne tam bonam sociam quasi comitem solam in via ejusdem spei relinquerent. Conjuncto itaque unito gemitu, ad Domimum orationem fuderunt ante tertium diem muneris. Statim post orationem dolores eam invaserunt. Et cum pro naturali difficultate octavi mensis, in partu laborans, doleret, ait illi quidam ex ministris cataractariorum : Quae sic modo doles, quid facies objecta bestiis quas contempsisti, cum sacrificare noluisti ? Et illa respondit : Modo ego patior quod patior ; illic autem alius erit in me qui patietur pro me, quia et ego pro illo passura sum. Ita enixa est puellam, quam sibi quaedam soror in filiam educavit. » Nihilo inferiora sunt, neque minori admiratione digna quae describuntur § 3 et 4 Perpetuae et Saturi infracti excelsique animi documenta. Sed non est omittendus cap. vi, § 1, ut ex universarum virtutum connexione et varietate contextus : « Illuxit dies victoriae illorum, et processerunt de carcere in amphitheatrum, quasi in coelum, hilares, vultu decori, si forte gaudio paventes, non timore ; sequebatur Perpetua placido vultu, et pedum incessu, ut matrona Christi Dei dilecta, vigorem oculorum suorum dejiciens ab omnium conspectu. Item Felicitas salvam se peperisse gaudens, ut ad bestias pugnaret, a sanguine, ab obstetrice ad retiarium, lotura post partum baptismo scundo. Et cum delati essent in portam et cogerentur habitum induere, viri quidem sacerdotum Saturni, feminae vero sacratarum Cereri : generosa illa in finem usque constantia repugnavit. Dicebant enim : Ideo ad hoc sponte pervenimus, ne libertas nostra abduceretur. Deo animas nostras addiximus, ne tale aliquid faceremus : hoc vobiscum pacti sumus. Agnovit injustitia justitiam : concessit tribunus, ut quomodo erant,
the love of Christ and of truth truly led to suffering: what did the persecutions of the raging do to them? The eyes of their own weeping kin had greater force than the persecutions of those who pursued them. For how many were held back by their sons, so that they should not suffer? At the knees of how many did wives throw themselves down, so that they should not be left widows? How many parents did their children forbid to die, as we know and as is read in the passion of the BLESSED PERPETUA? These things happened. But however many the tears, and with whatever force they flowed, when did they extinguish the ardour of love?" In chapter 5, § 2, several examples of mutual love, of hope and of magnanimity are set before us together: "As for Felicity (for to her too the grace of the Lord came in this manner), since she was already eight months gone with child (for she had been arrested pregnant), as the day of the spectacle drew near she was in great grief lest she be put off on account of her womb, because it is not lawful for pregnant women to be brought forth for punishment, and lest she shed her holy and innocent blood afterwards among some criminals. But her fellow martyrs too were gravely saddened, lest they should leave so good a companion, as it were a fellow traveller, alone on the road of the same hope. So, with a joined and united groaning, they poured out prayer to the Lord three days before the games. Immediately after the prayer the pains came upon her. And when, labouring in childbirth, she was in pain because of the natural difficulty of the eighth month, one of the servants of the gaolers said to her: You who are in such pain now, what will you do when thrown to the beasts, which you despised when you refused to sacrifice? And she answered: Now I suffer what I suffer; but there another will be in me Who will suffer for me, because I too am going to suffer for Him. So she gave birth to a girl, whom a certain sister brought up as her own daughter." No less, nor less worthy of admiration, are the proofs of the unbroken and lofty spirit of Perpetua and Saturus which are described in §§ 3 and 4. But chapter 6, § 1, is not to be passed over, being woven as it is from the connection and variety of all the virtues: "The day of their victory dawned, and they went out from the prison into the amphitheatre as if into heaven, cheerful, comely of countenance, trembling, if at all, with joy, not with fear; Perpetua followed with a calm face and gait, as a matron of Christ, beloved of God, casting down the vigour of her eyes from the gaze of all. Likewise Felicity, rejoicing that she had given birth safely so that she might fight the beasts, from blood, from the midwife to the net-fighter, about to wash after childbirth in a second baptism. And when they had been brought to the gate and were being forced to put on the dress, the men that of the priests of Saturn, the women that of the consecrated women of Ceres, that noble constancy resisted right to the end. For they said: We came to this of our own will for this reason, that our freedom should not be taken away. We have given over our souls to God so as not to do any such thing: this is what we agreed with you. Injustice acknowledged justice: the tribune granted that, just as they were,
Editors' notes and page, col. 145
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- old-edition numerals: (none)
simpliciter inducerentur. Perpetua psallebat, caput jam Aegyptii calcans. Revocatus, et Saturninus et Saturus, populo spectanti comminabantur de hoc. Ut sub conspectu Hilariani pervenerunt. gestu et nutu coeperunt Hilariano dicere: Tu nos, inquiunt, te autem Deus judicabit. Ad hoc populus exasperatus, flagellis eos vexari pro ordine venatorum postulavit. Et utique illi gratulati sunt, quod aliquid et de Dominicis passionibus essent consecuti. »
they should be led in simply. Perpetua was singing psalms, already treading on the head of the Egyptian. Revocatus, and Saturninus and Saturus, were threatening the watching people about this. When they came within sight of Hilarianus. by gesture and nod they began to say to Hilarianus: "You [judge] us," they say, "but God will judge you." At this the people, exasperated, demanded that they be harassed with scourges along the line of the beast-fighters. And they indeed gave thanks that they had obtained some share also of the Lord's sufferings.”
Videndus et cap. VI. § 2, uti praeter invictam animi fortitudinem, qua se ferocissimae, vaccae sanctae mulieres obtulerunt, suscipienda venit et Perpetuae modestia: Jactata » enim a ferocissima bestia « concidit in lumbos, et ut conspexit tunicam a latere discissam, ad velamentum femorum adduxit, pudoris potius memor quam doloris. »
See also chap. 6, § 2, how, besides the unconquered fortitude of mind with which the holy women offered themselves to a most ferocious cow, the modesty of Perpetua also comes to be held in esteem: for, tossed by the most ferocious beast, "she fell upon her loins, and when she saw her tunic torn from the side, she drew it over to cover her thighs, mindful of modesty rather than of pain."
III. Nihil in his martyrum gestis animadvertere est ex Montani schola et institutione profectum; nihil scilicet superstitiosum, nihil incompositum, nihil tumultuosum, nihil turbidum, nihil denique, inordinatum, quae sunt, ut ex Asterio Urbano. Apollonio, Miltiade, Serapione, Aelio Publio, et aliis Patribus constat, montanistici spiritus characteres: sed in omnibus contra mira modestia, compositio, prudentia, pietas, religio, charitas, fortitudo, fides sapientiaque refulgent; ut non sit aliud sanctarum mulierum martyrium, quod illustriora virtutum omnium decora comitentur. Fieri autem minime potuisse videtur, ut mulier insania et furore percita, et daemoniaco spiritu acta, cujusmodi erant Montanistarum pseudo-prophetissae, ita sibi in omnibus caverit, ita se gesserit, ut nihil in ejus verbis procax, nihil arrogans, nihil in motibus inverecundum, nihil in actibus irreligiosum vel severissimus censor possit animadvertere. Quamdam equidem Montanistae morum externam gravitatem prae se ferebant, sese disciplinae severitate jactabant, abstinentia, pudicitia et persecutionum tolerantia se plurimum efferebant: sed qui se graviora instituta evangelicis institutionibus adjecisse, verbis insolentissimis praedicabant, moribus postea legis evangelicae sanctitatem minime referebant, sed ad ea quam longissime aberant. Perpetua vero sociique martyres Evangelium moribus referunt, atque exactissime exprimunt. Est et aliud in horum martyrum, et praesertim Perpetuae, virtutibus observatione dignum, quo a fucatis hypocritarum pseudo-prophetarumque virtutibus discerni facile possunt, quod se nativa quadam simplicitate tuentur, et quam in eis divinae cujusdam sapientiae et excelsi animi ac bene rebus humanis exempti indicia clara cernuntur; tam nativo quodam candore placent, et nihil in eis fucatum, nihil per simulationem gestum, aut per hypocrisim deprehenditur; quae quidem simplicitas et candidi pectoris decus in ipsis quoque Perpetuae verbis et scribendi charactere resplendent, quo suos, ut supra est observatum, humauos
III. Nothing is to be noticed in these acts of the martyrs that proceeds from the school and teaching of Montanus; nothing, that is, superstitious, nothing disordered, nothing tumultuous, nothing turbid, nothing, finally, unregulated, which are, as is clear from Asterius Urbanus, Apollonius, Miltiades, Serapion, Aelius Publius and other Fathers, the marks of the Montanist spirit: but in all of them, on the contrary, wonderful modesty, composure, prudence, piety, religion, charity, fortitude, faith and wisdom shine forth; so that there is no other martyrdom of holy women which more illustrious adornments of all the virtues accompany. Moreover, it seems that it could by no means have come about that a woman stirred by madness and frenzy and driven by a demonic spirit, such as were the pseudo-prophetesses of the Montanists, should have so guarded herself in all things, and so conducted herself, that even the severest censor could notice nothing wanton in her words, nothing arrogant, nothing immodest in her movements, nothing irreligious in her actions. The Montanists did indeed display a certain outward gravity of manners, they boasted of themselves for the severity of their discipline, they extolled themselves greatly for abstinence, chastity and the endurance of persecutions: but they who proclaimed in most insolent words that they had added weightier ordinances to the institutions of the Gospel, afterwards in their conduct by no means reproduced the holiness of the evangelical law, but stood as far as possible from it. Perpetua and her fellow martyrs, on the other hand, reproduce the Gospel in their conduct and express it most exactly. There is also another thing worthy of observation in the virtues of these martyrs, and especially of Perpetua, by which they can easily be distinguished from the counterfeit virtues of hypocrites and pseudo-prophets, namely that they maintain themselves with a certain native simplicity, and clear tokens are discerned in them of a certain divine wisdom and of a lofty mind well removed from human affairs; they please by a certain native candour, and nothing counterfeit, nothing done by pretence or by hypocrisy is detected in them; which simplicity indeed and the grace of a candid heart shine forth also in the very words of Perpetua and in the character of her writing, by which, as was observed above, she does
Editors' notes and page, col. 146
Footnotes
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Apud Euseb., v Hist. ecceles., cap. 16 et seqq.
In Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History V, ch. 16 and following.
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- old-edition numerals: 141 after pervenerunt.
affectus non dissimulat, se supra alios non effert, res suas minime exaggerat, ad Deum omnia refert, in fide, in spe divinae misericordiae, in sinu Providentiae et placidissime conquiescit, et casus omnes contemnit, et nihil timet, et omnia sperat, et nihil non audet. Hi profecto virtutum flores inter haeresum dumeta non germinant: hos fructus arbormala non facit. Potest quidem fieri, ut et nequam spiritus exteriorem quamdam sanctitatis umbram affectet, ut hos gestiat virtutis actus imitari; sed esse non potest ut absolutam undequaque et omni ex parte sinceram Christianae perfectionis imaginem repraesentet; non adeo sibi cavere potest hypocrisis, ut non aliquid excidat quo se prodat: falsis enim virtutibus aliquid vitii facile intermiscetur, et spiritus ille superbiae tum maxime agnoscitur, cum animi demissionem simulat, et se in exteriorem quamdam modestiae speciem componit. Sed quid habet Basnagius, in his quae ad mores pertinent, quod in Perpetua ejusque sociis reprehendat? Nihil omnino; et affirmari utique potest quod, siculi nulla est evangelicae disciplinae hac similior imago, ita nulla ab haeretica institutione magis abludit. Perpetua et Maximilla invicem conferantur; tam discrepabunt earum mores, quam a virtute vitium, a luce tenebrae amplo discrimine separantur. Fieri ergo non potest, ut eodem furoris et insaniae spiritu agerentur. Sanc si tam illustre martyrium tot virtutum parergis decoratum, inter haereticos perfectum est aut perfici potest, vel perit omnino, aut admodum infirmatur, Christianae religionis argumentum, quod et sane efficacissimum ex constantia et virtute martyrum proficiscitur. Non enim Christianorum martyrium adeo commendat mors pro fide suscepta, cum alii multis ex omnibus sectis p⟨r⟩o suis superstitionibus ultro se neci tradiderint quam caeterarum virtutum apparatus quo suum agonem catholici martyris decorarunt: fides scilicet, spes, charitas, religio, pietas, modestia, excelsi animi robur invictum, quae mirum in modum, ut ostendimus, in Perpetua sociisque martyribus refulserunt.
not conceal her own human affections, does not exalt herself above others, by no means exaggerates her own doings, refers everything to God, and rests most peacefully in faith, in hope of the divine mercy, in the bosom of Providence, and despises all mishaps, and fears nothing, and hopes all things, and there is nothing she does not dare. Assuredly these flowers of the virtues do not spring up among the thickets of the heresies: a bad tree does not produce these fruits. It can indeed happen that even a wicked spirit should affect some outward shadow of holiness, that it should be eager to imitate these acts of virtue; but it cannot be that it should represent a complete image of Christian perfection, entire on every side and genuine in every part; hypocrisy cannot guard itself so well that nothing slips out by which it betrays itself: for some vice is easily mingled with false virtues, and that spirit of pride is recognized most of all when it feigns lowliness of mind and arranges itself into some outward appearance of modesty. But what does Basnage find, in those things which pertain to conduct, to reprehend in Perpetua and her companions? Nothing at all; and it can certainly be affirmed that, just as there is no image more like the discipline of the Gospel than this, so none is further removed from heretical teaching. Let Perpetua and Maximilla be compared with each other; their conduct will differ as much as vice is separated from virtue, and darkness from light, by a wide distinction. It cannot be, therefore, that they were driven by the same spirit of frenzy and madness. Truly, if so illustrious a martyrdom, adorned with the accompaniments of so many virtues, was accomplished among heretics or can be accomplished among them, then the argument for the Christian religion, which, and indeed most effectively, proceeds from the constancy and virtue of the martyrs, either perishes entirely or is very greatly weakened. For it is not so much death undergone for the faith that commends the martyrdom of Christians, since many others from all the sects have willingly given themselves up to death for their superstitions, as the array of the other virtues with which the catholic martyrs adorned their contest: namely faith, hope, charity, religion, piety, modesty, the unconquered strength of a lofty mind, which, as we have shown, shone forth in a wonderful manner in Perpetua and her fellow martyrs.
IV. Sed ut nihil eorum negligam, aut sine refutatione dimittam, ex quibus morosus aliquis cavillator, vel impudens sycophanta sanctis martyribus conflare posset invidiam; duo in examen adducam Actorum loca in quibus naturae leges violari videntur, quibus suam unusquisque vitam conservare jubetur, et mortem cum nobis, tum aliis optare aut alios iu interitum nostrum urgere prohibemur. In has autem naturae leges martyres nostri peccasse videntur, tum cap. V, § 2, ubi
IV. But so that I may neglect none of those things, or let them go without refutation, from which some peevish caviller or shameless slanderer might stir up ill will against the holy martyrs, I shall bring under examination two passages of the Acts in which the laws of nature seem to be violated, by which each person is commanded to preserve his own life, and we are forbidden to wish death both for ourselves and for others, or to urge others towards our own destruction. Now our martyrs seem to have sinned against these laws of nature, both in ch. 5, § 2, where
Editors' notes and page, col. 147
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Παρακαλῶ ὑμᾶς, μὴ εὔνοια ἄκαιρος γένησθέ μοι· ἄφετέ με θηρίων εἶναι βορὰν, δι' ὧν ἔνεστιν Θεοῦ ἐπιτυχεῖν. Σῖτός εἰμι Θεοῦ, καὶ δι' ὀδόντων θηρίων ἀλήθομαι, ἵνα καθαρὸς ἄρτος εὑρεθῶ τοῦ Χριστοῦ· μᾶλλον κολακεύσατε τὰ θηρία, ἵνα μοι τάφος γένωνται, καὶ μηδὲν καταλίπωσι τοῦ σώματός μου, ἵνα μὴ, κοιμηθεὶς, βαρύς τινι γένωμαι... Λιτανεύσατε τὸν Χριστὸν ὑπὲρ ἐμοῦ, ἵνα διὰ τῶν ὀργάνων τούτων θυσία εὑρεθῶ. Ex epist. ad Rom. ap. Ruin. in Actis sinc., etc.
I beseech you, do not become an untimely kindness to me: let me be food for the beasts, through whom it is possible to attain to God. I am God's wheat, and I am ground by the teeth of beasts, that I may be found pure bread of Christ. Rather coax the beasts, that they may become my tomb and leave nothing of my body, so that, when I have fallen asleep, I may not be a burden to anyone... Entreat Christ for me, that through these instruments I may be found a sacrifice. From the Letter to the Romans, in Ruinart [printed "Ruin."], Acta sincera, etc.
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- marginal letters: A ‹mauos affectus non dissimulat›; B ‹scitur, cum animi demissionem›; C ‹Christianae religionis argumentum›; D ‹adducam Actorum loca›
- old-edition numerals: 142 after ‹quamdam›
communibus votis orarunt, ut immaturum partum, « instante jam spectaculi die, » Felicitas ederet, « ne propter ventrem differetur, quia non licet praegnantes poenae repraesentari; » tum gravius cap. VI, § ult., ubi Perpetua necis instrumenta ad accelerandum martyrium ipsa suis manibus aptavit « Perpetua autem, ut aliquid doloris gustaret, inter costas puncta exulavit, et errantem dexteram tirunculi gladiatoris ipsa in jugulum suum posuit. » Haec in Perpetua sociisque martyribus reprehendi posse, nemo mirabitur qui animum adverterit ad ea, quae ob similem omnino causam in martyrem Ignatium Dallaeus effudit. Quod enim sanctissimusmartyr Romanos per litteras monuerit, ne optatum martyrium suis ad Deum precibus aut officiis retardarent, et bestias etiam repugnantes se in suum interitum adacturum esse significaverit, violatae a Dallaeo pietatis et modestiae reus agitur. Sed ut melius intelligatur, quam bene sibi invicem in ejusmodi votis Ignatius et Perpetua sociique martyres concinant, ipsa hic Ignatii verba subjiciam: « Obsecro vos, ne intempestivam mihi benevolentiam exhibeatis. Sinite me ferarum cibum esse, per quas Deum consequi licet, Frumentum sum Dei, et per ferarum dentes molor, ut purus panis Christi inveniar. Feris potius blandimini, ut mihi sepulcrum fiant, nihilque mei corporis relinquant, ne postquam obdormiero, gravis alicui fiam. . . . . . Christo pro me supplicate, ut per haec instrumenta hostia inveniar. » Quod pro se fieri a Romanis optabat Ignatius, id officii erga Felicitatem nostri martyres praestiterunt. Volebat ille a Romanis conjunctas ad Deum preces effundi, quo bestiarum dentibus moleretur, et per haec instrumenta Christi efficeretur hostia; id vero Felicitatis sociis in votis erat, et ut foetum immaturo tempore emitteret, fusis ad Deum precibus postulabant, ne martyrium ejus differretur, sed una cum aliis bestiis objiceretur. Pergit Ignatius et non solum ardens martyrii desiderium ostendit, sed bestias, invitas etiam et repugnantes, se ait ad suam ipsius necem provocaturum: « Utinam fruar bestiis mihi praeparatis, quas et opto mihi prompta inveniri, quibus et blandiar, ut cito me devorent, non ut quosdam veritae non tetigerunt. Si autem illae repugnantes noluerint, ego vi impellam. « Nihil refert ad gladiatoris dexteram in suum quisquam jugulum ponat, quod Perpetua fecit, an feras ad se devorandum impellat, quod se facturum scribebat Ignatius, Unde utrumque, aut iisdem reprehensionibus patet, aut iisdem est laudibus prosequendum. Interim autem quemadmodum
they prayed with common vows that Felicity might bring forth an immature birth, "the day of the spectacle being now at hand," "lest she be put off on account of her womb, because it is not lawful for pregnant women to be brought forward for punishment"; then, more seriously, in chap. 6, last §, where Perpetua with her own hands fitted the instruments of death so as to hasten her martyrdom: "But Perpetua, that she might taste something of pain, pierced between the ribs, cried out, and herself placed the wandering right hand of the novice gladiator upon her own throat." That these things could be censured in Perpetua and her fellow martyrs, no one will wonder who has turned his attention to what Daillé poured out against the martyr Ignatius for an altogether similar reason. For because the most holy martyr warned the Romans by letter not to delay the martyrdom he longed for by their prayers to God or their good offices, and declared that he would drive the beasts, even if they resisted, to his own destruction, he is arraigned by Daillé as guilty of having violated piety and modesty. But that it may be better understood how well Ignatius and Perpetua and her fellow martyrs agree with one another in desires of this kind, I shall here subjoin the very words of Ignatius: "I beseech you, do not show me an untimely goodwill. Allow me to be the food of the beasts, through which it is granted to attain to God. I am the wheat of God, and I am ground by the teeth of the beasts, that I may be found the pure bread of Christ. Rather coax the beasts, that they may become a tomb for me and leave nothing of my body, lest after I have fallen asleep I become a burden to anyone. . . . . . Entreat Christ for me, that through these instruments I may be found a sacrifice." What Ignatius wished the Romans to do for him, that office our martyrs performed towards Felicity. He wished the Romans to pour out joint prayers to God, so that he might be ground by the teeth of beasts and through these instruments become a sacrifice of Christ; and this indeed was what Felicity's companions desired, and with prayers poured out to God they asked that she might bring forth her child before its time, so that her martyrdom might not be put off, but she might be thrown to the beasts together with the others. Ignatius goes on, and not only shows a burning desire for martyrdom, but says that he will provoke the beasts, even unwilling and resisting, to his own death: "Would that I may enjoy the beasts prepared for me, which I also pray may be found ready for me; and I shall coax them to devour me quickly, not as with some whom they feared and did not touch. But if they resist and are unwilling, I shall drive them on by force." It makes no difference whether someone places the gladiator's right hand on his own throat, as Perpetua did, or drives the beasts to devour him, as Ignatius wrote that he would do. Hence both either lie open to the same censures or must be honoured with the same praises. Meanwhile, however,
Editors' notes and page, col. 148
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Ὀναίμην τῶν θηρίων τῶν ἐμοὶ ἡτοιμασμένων, καὶ εὔχομαι ἕτοιμά μοι εὑρεθῆναι, ἃ καὶ κολακεύσω συντόμως με καταφαγεῖν, οὐχ ὥσπερ τινῶν δειλαινόμενα οὐχ ἥψαντο· κἂν αὐτὰ δὲ ἄκοντα μὴ θελήσῃ, ἐγὼ προσβιάσομαι. Euseb. lib v Hist. eccl., cap. 16 et seqq.
May I have joy of the beasts prepared for me, and I pray that they may be found ready for me; I will even coax them to devour me quickly, not as with some, whom they were afraid of and did not touch; and if they themselves are unwilling and will not, I will force them. Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History, book V, ch. 16 and following.
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- marginal letters: A ‹communibus votis orarunt›; B ‹officiis retardarent, et bestias›; C ‹officii erga Felicitatem›; D ‹ego vi impellam›
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Pearsonius Ignatii vota ut sancto martyre non indigna, nostrorum martyrum exemplo demonstrat: ita nos eorumdem martyrum pro Felicitate preces Ignatii exemplo tuebimur: cur enim plebeios martyres, ut Pontii Diaconi verbis utar, et a baptismo recentes inde arguemus, unde sapientissimum episcopum, et apostolorum discipulum honori et admirationi habemus?
as Pearson shows from the example of our martyrs that the wishes of Ignatius are not unworthy of a holy martyr, so we shall defend the prayers of those same martyrs for Felicity by the example of Ignatius: for why should we censure "common martyrs", to use the words of Pontius the Deacon, and those fresh from baptism, on the very ground for which we hold a most wise bishop, and a disciple of the apostles, in honour and admiration?
V. Verum quoniam ex Protestantium grege non pauci, et in his etiam Basnagius, Ignatii epistolas ut pseudepigraphum et adulterinum opus rejiciunt, et inter caetera quae in eis ut ab Ignatii virtutibus aliena notant, ardens illud martyrii votum sugillant, aliis exemplis et epistolicum Ignatium, et nostros martyres cum Pearsonio tuebor. Celerinus confessor ad Lucianum confessorem epistola inter Cyprianicas 20: «Haec cum tibi scriberem, domine frater, gaudens et tristis eram: gaudens, ex eo quod audierim te pro Domini nostri Jesu Christi Salvatoris nostri nomine tentum, et illius nomen penes magistratus hujus mundi confessum, etc.» Et infra: «Sic coronet te, cujus nomen confessus es...... Pete, ut sim dignus coronari cum numero vestro.» Et rursum: «O te felicem! suscipere vota tua, quae semper desiderasti, vel in terra dormiens optasti pro nomine illius in carcerem mitti, quod nunc tibi contingit, sicut scriptum est: Det tibi Dominus secundum cor tuum.» Haec Celerimus, a moderatione praesertim, humilitate, timore, cautione et verecundia sancto Cypriano commendatus. ita etiam Lugdunenses martyres Christianae religionis praecipnum decus, fide et sapientia non minus quam invicta animi, fortitudine insignes, profusis lacrymis, ut est apud Eusebium, «obsecrabant fratres, ut continuae ad Deum preces fierent, quod tandem ipsi perficerentur.» De sancto Cypriano Pontius ejus diaconus: «Conveniebant interim plures egregii et clarissimi ordinis, sed et saeculi nobilitate generosi, qui propter amicitiam secessum subinde suaderent; et ne parum esset nuda suadela, etiam loca, in quae secederet, offerebant. Ille vero jam mundum suspensa ad coelum mente neglexerat, nec suadelis blandientibus anunebat. Fecisset fortasse tunc etiam, quod a pluribus et fidelibus petebatur, si et divino imperio juberetur.» Nam ut ipse Pontius docet, in priore secessu, «Domino latebram tunc jubente paruit.» Populus autem fidelis, sancto Cypriano ad supplicium ducto, tantum aberant ab orando Deum, ut illi parceretur, aut quovis modo martyrium impediendo, ut simul cum illo potius mori cuperent: «Quamvis enim non potuerit evenire, quod optabant vota communia, ut consortio paris gloriae simul plebs tota pateretur; quicunque sub Christi spectantis oculis. et sub auribus sacerdotis ex animo pati voluit, per idoneum voti sui testem legationis quodammodo
V. But since not a few of the Protestant flock, and among them Basnage too, reject the letters of Ignatius as a pseudepigraphal and spurious work, and among the other things in them which they mark as foreign to the virtues of Ignatius, they decry that ardent longing for martyrdom, I shall defend, with Pearson, both the Ignatius of the letters and our martyrs by other examples. Celerinus the confessor, to Lucian the confessor, in letter 20 among Cyprian's: "When I was writing this to you, lord brother, I was both glad and sad: glad, because I had heard that you had been held for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ our Saviour, and had confessed His name before the magistrates of this world, etc." And below: "So may He crown you whose name you have confessed...... Ask that I may be worthy to be crowned with your number." And again: "O happy you! to receive your wishes, which you always longed for; even sleeping on earth you wished to be sent into prison for His name, which has now befallen you, as it is written: The Lord grant you according to your heart." So wrote Celerinus, who was commended to Saint Cyprian above all for his moderation, humility, fear, caution and modesty. So too the martyrs of Lyons, the chief glory of the Christian religion, distinguished in faith and wisdom no less than in unconquered fortitude of mind, with abundant tears, as it stands in Eusebius, "besought the brethren that continual prayers should be made to God, that they themselves might at last be perfected." Of Saint Cyprian, Pontius his deacon says: "Meanwhile many came together, of distinguished and most illustrious rank, and noble too by the nobility of the world, who out of friendship would repeatedly urge him to withdraw; and lest bare persuasion should be too little, they even offered places into which he might withdraw. But he, his mind now lifted towards heaven, had disregarded the world, and did not assent to their flattering persuasions. Perhaps he would have done even then what was being asked by many, and by faithful ones, if he had also been bidden by divine command." For, as Pontius himself teaches, in his earlier withdrawal "he obeyed the Lord, Who then bade him hide." But the faithful people, when Saint Cyprian was led to execution, were so far from praying God that he be spared, or from hindering his martyrdom in any way, that they rather desired to die together with him: "For although what the common wishes desired could not come about, that the whole people should suffer together in fellowship of equal glory; whoever under the eyes of Christ looking on, and in the hearing of the bishop, wished from the heart to suffer, through a fit witness of his wish, in a manner by an embassy
Editors' notes and page, col. 149
Footnotes
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Epist. 27; al. 23.
Letter 27; elsewhere [numbered] 23.
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(56) ‹anchor: apud Eusebium› · call in col 149
Μετὰ δακρύων παρεκάλουν τοὺς ἀδελφοὺς, δεόμενοι ἵνα ἐκτενεῖς εὐχαὶ γίνωνται πρὸς τὸ τελειωθῆναι αὐτούς. Lib. v Hist ecc., cap. 2.
With tears they besought the brethren, begging that earnest prayers be made that they might be perfected. Ecclesiastical History, book V, ch. 2.
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- marginal letters: A ‹admodum Pearsonius Ignatii vota›; B ‹nicas 20: «Haec cum tibi›; C ‹nis praecipnum decus, fide›; D ‹«Domino latebram tunc jubente paruit.»›
- old-edition numerals: 144 after ‹tentum›
litteras ad Deum misit. » Sanctus Hieronymus, de Vita Pauli Eremitae : « Sub Decio et Valeriano persecutoribus, quo tempore Cornelius Romae, et Cyprianus Carthagine felici cruore damnati sunt, multas apud Aegyptum et Thebaida ecclesias tempestas saeva populata est. Voti tunc Christianis erat pro Christi nomine gladio percuti. Verum hostis callidus, tarda ad mortem supplicia conquirens, animas cupiebat jugulare, non corpora ; et ut, ipse qui ab eo passus est Cyprianus ait : Volentibus mori, non permittebatur occidi. » Notum est et illud sancti Polycarpi martyris ad proconsulem, nunc bestias, nunc flammas illi minitantem : ἀλλὰ τί βραδύνεις ; Φέρε ὃ βούλει, « Quid autem moras trahis ? Affer quod vis. « Ταῦτα καὶ ἄλλα πλοίοντα λέγων θάρσους καὶ χεῖρας ἐνεπίμπλατο · « Haec et plura alia cum diceret, fiducia et laetitia impletus est, » ut vetustissima ejus Acta testantur. Plura autem illa, quae fortitudine et exsultatione plenus pronuntiavit, qualia, amabo, fuere, si non Ignatianis, si non Perpetuae. Felicitatis et sociorum martyrum votis similia ? Si non illi voci consona, quam e coelo audivit, Ἴσχυε καὶ ἀνδρίζου, Πολύκαρπε, « Fortis esto, et viriliter age, Polycarpe. » Notissima est etiam illa Romani Caesareensis diaconi vox Antiochiae audita, Ποῦ μοι τὸ πῦρ ; Ubinam mihi ignis ? His quae in Ignatii defensionem Pearsonius affert exemplis, aliud adjiciam praecedentibus non minus insigne ex Actis sinceris sanctorum Montani, Lucii, etc. Damnatis caeteris, Flavianus in carcerem revocatus est, martyrium ejus dilatum : id ipse non minus quam ejus socii aegre tulerunt ; unde Montanus, cum, ut est in Actis, « jam carnifex immineret et gladius super cervicem ejus libratus penderet, expansis ad coelum manibus, voce clara, ita ut non tantum ad aures plebis, sed et gentiles quoque ipsos sonus voce feriret, oravit rogans et deprecans, ut Flavianus qui per suffragium populi de comitatu eorum remanserat, sequeretur die tertia. » Non alia erant matris ipsius Flaviani affectus et vota, de qua in Actis subjungitur : « Haerebat lateri ejus incomparabilis mater, quae praeter fidem, qua ad patriarchas pertinebat, in hoc etiam se Abrahae filiam comprobavit, quod filium suum et optabat occidi, et quod interim remansisset, contristabatur intimo dolore. » Ipse autem Flavianus his afflictam matrem verbis consolabatur : « Scis, mater merito charissima, ut semper tentaverim si confiteri contigisset, martyrio meo frui, et frequenter catenatus videri, et saepe differri ? Si ergo contigit quod optavi, gloriandum est potius quam dolendum. » Haec erant martyrum vota quae si in crimen vocentur, innumeri erunt martyres quibus martyrii corona detrahenda erit.
sent a letter to God." Saint Jerome, in the Life of Paul the Hermit: "Under the persecutors Decius and Valerian, at the time when Cornelius at Rome and Cyprian at Carthage were condemned in blessed bloodshed, a savage storm laid waste many churches throughout Egypt and the Thebaid. It was then the wish of Christians to be struck with the sword for the name of Christ. But the cunning enemy, seeking out punishments slow to bring death, desired to slay souls, not bodies; and, as Cyprian himself, who suffered at his hands, says: Those who wished to die were not permitted to be killed." Well known too is that saying of the holy martyr Polycarp to the proconsul, who was threatening him now with beasts, now with flames: "But why do you delay? Bring what you wish," that is, "Why then do you drag out delays? Bring what you will." And: "Saying these and more things besides, he was filled with courage and [joy]," that is, "While he said these and many other things, he was filled with confidence and gladness," as his most ancient Acts testify. But those many things which he uttered, full of fortitude and exultation, what, pray, were they like, if not like the wishes of Ignatius, if not like those of Perpetua, Felicity and their fellow martyrs? What, if not in harmony with that voice which he heard from heaven, "Be strong and play the man, Polycarp," that is, "Be strong, and act manfully, Polycarp"? Very well known also is that cry of Romanus, deacon of Caesarea, heard at Antioch, "Where is my fire?" that is, Where then is my fire? To these examples which Pearson brings forward in defence of Ignatius I will add another, no less remarkable than the foregoing, from the genuine Acts of the saints Montanus, Lucius and the rest. When the others had been condemned, Flavian was called back to prison and his martyrdom was postponed: this he himself, no less than his companions, took hard; whence Montanus, as it is in the Acts, "when the executioner was already at hand and the sword hung poised above his neck, with his hands spread out to heaven, in a clear voice, so that the sound with its voice struck not only the ears of the people but even the gentiles themselves, prayed, asking and beseeching that Flavian, who by the suffrage of the people had been left behind from their company, should follow on the third day." No different were the feelings and wishes of Flavian's own mother, of whom it is added in the Acts: "His incomparable mother clung to his side, who, besides the faith by which she belonged to the patriarchs, proved herself a daughter of Abraham in this also, that she both wished her son to be slain, and grieved with inmost sorrow that he had meanwhile been left behind." And Flavian himself consoled his afflicted mother with these words: "You know, mother most deservedly dear, how I always strove, if it should befall me to confess, to enjoy my martyrdom, and to be seen often in chains, and often to be deferred? If then what I wished for has come about, it is a thing to glory in rather than to grieve over." Such were the wishes of the martyrs; and if these are to be charged as a crime, countless will be the martyrs from whom the crown of martyrdom will have to be taken away.
VI. Major ex altero capite Perpetuae conflari posset
VI. From another head a greater ill will could be stirred up against Perpetua
Editors' notes and page, col. 150
Page
- running head: [cut off at left edge] STUA, FELICITATE ET SOCIIS. 150
- marginal letters: A litteras ad Deum misit; B λέγων θάρσους καὶ χεῖρας; C tum : id ipse non minus; D autem Flavianus his afflictam
- old-edition numerals: 145 after martyrum
- other: the word posset was split at the column break and stands whole here (joined on receipt); check that the English reads whole across the break into col 151
invidia : sed illa etiam, ut dixi. Ignatii exemplo depellitur. Non enim aliud Perpetua fecit, quam quod se facturum scribit Ignatius. Sed quoniam de illius actis et epistolis controversia movetur, alia exempla non desunt quae plena manu in suas epistolarum Ignatii vindicias Pearsonius congessit. In Smyrnensis Ecclesiae vetustissima epistola repraesentatur Germanicus, quasi nobilis et insignis bestiarius, ἐπισήμως θηριομαχῶν. Quid autem judicio antiquissimae Ecclesiae ἐπίσημον, insigne aut nobile, in ejus martyrio breviter descripto invenitur? Hoc unum unde Perpetua violatae naturae legis argui forsitam posset: « Nam cum proconsul flectere eum vellet, diceretque ut suam ipse aetatem miseraretur, ille bestiam ultro ad se attraxit, eique vim intulit. » Hoc enim fecisse narratur, ut martyrium acceleraret : « Cupiens velocius ex injusta et iniqua eorum hominum vita effugere. Inde autem factum est, ut universa multitudo fortitudinem pii ac religiosi generis Christianorum admirata, etc. » Ille Igitur Germanicus, quem ut insignem et nobilem in primis martyrem proposuit antiqua et celebris Ecclesia Smyrnensis, cujus ob insigne facinus ethnici ipsi nobilitatem et generositatem Christianae gentis admirati sunt, id erga bestias fecit, quod cum gladiatore Perpetua; ille videlicet, martyrio flagrans, « bestiam ultro ad se attraxit; » haec autem eodem ardens desiderio, « tirunculi gladiatoris dexteram in suum ipsa jugulum posuerit. » Dionysius Alexandriae episcopus Apolloniam virginem magnopere laudat, quod cum ipsi verberatis maxillis cuncti dentes excussi, flammaeque admotae essent, « celeriter in ignem insiliit, et conflagravit. » Sanctus Hilarius, Enarratione in Psalmum LXV : « Alii enim in vinculis carcerum gloriantur, alii caesi in verberibus gratulantur, alii potestati irreligiosorum desecanda felicium capitum colla submittunt; plures in exstructos rogos currunt, et trepidantibus poenae ministris ignem saltu devotae festinationis insiliunt. » Hunc in martyribus patiendi ardorem optime describit sanctus Chrysostomus oratione in Romanum, diabolum ita loquentem introducens: « Prunas substravi, hi autem tanquam ad rosas currebant; ignem accendi, illi autem tanquam in fontes aquarum frigidarum seipsos projiciebant... Et tanquam in sacra pompa choreas agentes, et in viridi prato ludentes, ita tormenta quisque arripuit, non tanquam
but that too, as I said, is repelled by the example of Ignatius. For Perpetua did nothing other than what Ignatius writes that he would do. But since controversy is raised about his acts and letters, there is no lack of other examples, which Pearson gathered with a full hand into his defence of the letters of Ignatius. In the most ancient letter of the Church of Smyrna, Germanicus is represented as a noble and distinguished fighter with beasts, "fighting the beasts in distinguished fashion". But what, in the judgement of that most ancient Church, is found "distinguished", that is, notable or noble, in his martyrdom as briefly described? This one thing, on account of which Perpetua might perhaps be charged with violating the law of nature: "For when the proconsul wished to bend him, and told him to have pity on his own youth, he of his own accord drew the beast towards himself and did it violence." For he is related to have done this in order to hasten his martyrdom: "Desiring to escape more quickly from the unjust and wicked life of those men. And from this it came about that the whole multitude, marvelling at the fortitude of the pious and religious race of the Christians, etc." That Germanicus, therefore, whom the ancient and celebrated Church of Smyrna set forth as a distinguished and noble martyr above others, on account of whose distinguished deed the very heathen marvelled at the nobility and high spirit of the Christian people, did towards the beasts what Perpetua did with the gladiator; he, that is, burning for martyrdom, "of his own accord drew the beast towards himself"; she, aflame with the same desire, "herself placed the right hand of the novice gladiator to her own throat". Dionysius, bishop of Alexandria, greatly praises the virgin Apollonia because, when her jaws had been beaten and all her teeth knocked out, and flames had been brought near her, "she swiftly leapt into the fire and was burned up." Saint Hilary, in his Exposition of Psalm 65: "For some glory in the chains of prisons, others, beaten, rejoice in their scourgings, others submit the necks of their blessed heads to be cut off by the power of the irreligious; many run onto the pyres built up, and, while the ministers of punishment tremble, leap into the fire with a bound of devoted haste." This ardour for suffering in the martyrs Saint Chrysostom describes excellently in his oration on Romanus, introducing the devil speaking thus: "I spread live coals beneath them, but they ran as if to roses; I kindled a fire, but they threw themselves into it as if into springs of cold waters... And as if leading dances in a sacred procession, and playing in a green meadow, so each one seized upon the torments, not so
Editors' notes and page, col. 151
Footnotes
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Βουλομένου γὰρ τοῦ ἀνθυπάτου πείθειν αὐτὸν, καὶ λέγειν (vel λέγοντος) τὴν ἡλικίαν αὐτοῦ κατοικτεῖραι, ἑαυτῷ ἐπεσπάσατο τὸ θηρίον προσβιασάμενος, τάχιον τοῦ ἀδίκου καὶ ἀνόμου βίου αὐτῶν ἀπαλλαγῆναι βουλόμενος. Ἐκ τούτου οὖν πᾶν τὸ πλῆθος θαυμάσαν τὴν γενναιότητα τοῦ θεοφιλοῦς καὶ θεοσεβοῦς γένους τῶν Χριστιανῶν, etc.
For when the proconsul wished to persuade him, and to tell him (or: telling him) to have pity on his youth, he drew the beast upon himself, forcing it on, wishing to be rid the sooner of their unjust and lawless life. At this the whole multitude, marvelling at the nobility of the God-loving and God-fearing race of the Christians, etc.
(printed under page 128)
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Συντόνως ἐπεπήδησεν εἰς τὸ πῦρ, καὶ καταπέφλεκται. Epist. ad Fab. Antioch. apud Euseb. lib. VI, cap. 41.
She leapt eagerly into the fire and was burned up. Letter to Fabius of Antioch, in Eusebius, book VI, ch. 41.
(printed under page 128)
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Ἄνθρακας ὑπεστόρεσα, οἱ δὲ ὡς ἐπὶ ῥόδα ἔτρεχον· πῦρ ἀνῆψα, οἱ δὲ ὡς εἰς πηγὰς ὑδάτων ψυχρῶν ἑαυτοὺς ἔῤῥιψαν..... Καὶ ὥσπερ ἐν ἱερᾷ πομπῇ χορεύοντες, καὶ ἐν λειμῶνι παίζοντες χλοερῷ, αὐτῷ τὰς τιμωρίας ἕκαστος ἥρπαζον, οὐχ ὡς ποινὰς, ἀλλ' ὡς ἄνθη λαμβάνοντες ἐαρινὰ, καὶ στεφανούμενοι, καὶ τῇ τῆς οἰκείας προθυμίας ὑπερβολῇ τὰς ἐμὰς προέφθανον τιμωρίας.
I spread live coals beneath them, and they ran as if onto roses; I lit a fire, and they threw themselves in as into springs of cold water..... And as though dancing in a sacred procession and playing in a green meadow, each one seized on the torments, taking them not as punishments but as spring flowers, and being crowned, and by the excess of their own eagerness they outran my torments.
(printed under page 128)
Page
- running head: 151 DISSERTATIO APOLO (cut off at the image edge)
- marginal letters: A set invidia : sed illa etiam; B intulit. » Hoc enim fecisse narratur; C verberatis maxillis cuncti dentes; D in sacra pompa choreas agentes
- old-edition numerals: 146 after quem
- other: the word tanquam was split at the column break and stands whole here (joined on receipt); check that the English reads whole across the break into col 152
poenas, sed velut vernos flores accipientes, et coronati et propriae alacritatis excessu tormenta mea praeripiebant. »
much as punishments, but receiving them like spring flowers, and crowned, and by the excess of their own eagerness they snatched my torments away beforehand."
VII. Neque mirum est, aliquos bestias jam paratas ad suam ipsorum necem provocasse, aut crudelitatis instrumenta in procinctu posita ad accelerandum martyrium ultro adhibuisse: cum certissime constet, id quod multo majus est, quam plurimos mortem pro Christi nomine appetivisse, cum in hostium potestate non essent, seipsos indicasse hostesque ipsos ad supplicium infligendum provocasse. De Christianis sui temporis Lucianus in Peregrino: « Miseri homines, a seipsis persuasi fore integre immortales semperque victuros, mortem contemnunt, multique ultro seipsos dedunt. » Justinus Martyr fatetur Christianum se factum esse quod ei nemo malus videretur « mortem optare; nedum ut quisquam se ipsum necandum ultro proderet ac deferret, » quod Christiani tunc temporis fecerunt. Tertullianus ad Scapulam, cap. 1: « Cum omni saevitia vestra concertamus, etiam ultro erumpentes, magisque damnati, quam absoluti gaudemus. » Et cap. 4: « Vide tantum, ne hoc ipso, quod talia sustinemus, ad hoc solum videamus erumpere, ut hoc ipsum probemus, nos haec non timere, sed ultro vocare. Arius Antominus in Asia cum persequeretur instanter, omnes illius civitatis Christiani ante tribunatia se, manu facta, obtulerunt, cum ille, paucis duci jussis, reliquis ait: Ὦ δειλοὶ, εἰ θέλετε ἀποθνήσκειν, κρημνοὺς ἢ βρόχους ἔχετε. Hoc si placuerit et hic fieri, quid facies de tantis millibus hominum, tot viris et feminis omnis sexus, omnis aetatis, omnis dignitatis, offerentibus se tibi? » De nona persecutione Sulpicius: « Certatim gloriosa in certamina ruebatur, multoque avidius tum martyria gloriosis mortibus quaerebantur, quam nunc episcopatus pronis ambitionibus appetuntur. » Idem, epist. XI de B. Martino: « Quid si ei Neronianis Decianisque temporibus in illa quae tunc exstitit, dimicare congressione licuisset, testor Deum coeli atque terrae, sponte equuleum ascendisset, ultro se ignibus intulisset... Si vero gentium doctoris exemplo gladio deputatus inter alias, ut saepe provenit, victimas duceretur, primus omnium carnifice compulso, palmam sanguinis occupasset. » Sanctus Joannes Chrysostomus observat sub imperio Juliani
VII. Nor is it surprising that some provoked beasts already made ready to bring about their own death, or of their own accord applied to themselves the instruments of cruelty set in readiness, so as to hasten their martyrdom; since it is most certainly established (and this is a much greater thing) that very many sought death for the name of Christ when they were not in the power of their enemies, informed against themselves, and provoked the enemies themselves to inflict punishment. Of the Christians of his time Lucian says in the Peregrinus: "Wretched men, having persuaded themselves that they will be wholly immortal and will live for ever, despise death, and many give themselves up of their own accord." Justin Martyr confesses that he became a Christian because it seemed to him that no wicked man would "desire death; much less would anyone of his own accord betray and denounce himself to be killed," which is what the Christians of that time did. Tertullian, To Scapula, chapter 1: "We contend with all your savagery, even bursting forth of our own accord, and we rejoice more when condemned than when acquitted." And chapter 4: "Only see to it that, by this very fact that we endure such things, we do not seem to burst forth for this alone: to prove this very thing, that we do not fear these things but even summon them of our own accord. When Arius Antoninus was persecuting vigorously in Asia, all the Christians of that city presented themselves before his tribunal, forming a band; whereupon he ordered a few to be led away and said to the rest: 'Wretches, if you wish to die, you have cliffs or nooses.' If it should be decided that this be done here too, what will you do with so many thousands of people, so many men and women of every sex, every age, every rank, offering themselves to you?" Of the ninth persecution Sulpicius says: "Men rushed eagerly into glorious contests, and martyrdoms were then sought by glorious deaths far more avidly than bishoprics are now pursued by eager ambitions." The same, in Letter 11, on Blessed Martin: "What if it had been permitted to him, in the times of Nero and Decius, to fight in that conflict which then took place? I call to witness the God of heaven and earth: he would willingly have mounted the rack, he would of his own accord have thrown himself into the fires... But if, after the example of the teacher of the Gentiles, he had been assigned to the sword and led among other victims, as often happens, he would have been the first of all to compel the executioner and seize the palm of blood." Saint John Chrysostom observes that under the rule of Julian
Editors' notes and page, col. 152
Footnotes
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Πεπείκασι γὰρ αὑτοὺς οἱ κακοδαίμονες τὸ μὲν ὅλον ἔσεσθαι καὶ βιώσεσθαι τὸν ἀεὶ χρόνον· παρ' ὃ καὶ καταφρονοῦσι τοῦ θανάτου, καὶ ἑκόντες αὑτοὺς ἐπιδιδόασιν οἱ πολλοί.
For the wretches have persuaded themselves that they will, in a word, exist and live for all time; that is why they despise death, and most of them give themselves up of their own accord.
(printed under page 128)
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Θάνατον ἀσπάζεσθαι, οὐχ' ὅτι ἑαυτὸν κατήγγελλε φονευθησόμενον.
To welcome death, not that he announced that he himself would be put to death.
(printed under page 128)
Page
- running head: …ATIO APOLOGETICA 152 (left edge cut off in the image)
- marginal letters: A ‹quam poenas, sed velut›; B ‹cturos, mortem contemnunt›; C ‹ἀποθνήσκειν, κρημνοὺς›; D ‹pulso, palmam sanguinis›
- old-edition numerals: 147 after ‹damnati,›
- column break: "tan-|quam" is split from col 151 and stands whole there; this column's English begins "much as punishments" to complete col 151's "not so" (Q1b)
- misprints kept as printed: Antominus (for Antoninus); tribunatia (for tribunalia) (Q1b)
omnem aetatem et utrumque sexum ad mortem pro vera religione subeundam exsilientem. » Hanc rationem reddit, cur Julianus Apostata apertam contra Christianos persecutionem moliri noluerit. « Novit enim, aperte novit, quod si hoc auderet ille, omnes pro Christo animas suas prodidissent: Omnes enim, inquit, ut ad favum apes. ad martyrium convolabant. »
every age and both sexes leaping forward to undergo death for the true religion." He gives this reason why Julian the Apostate was unwilling to set in motion an open persecution against the Christians: "For he knew, he plainly knew, that if he should dare this, all would have given up their souls for Christ: for all, he says, like bees to the honeycomb, were flying together to martyrdom."
Neque vero tantum fortia locuti sunt antiquae Ecclesiae Christiani, sed et fecere et passi sunt. Celebre in primis fuit nomen Phocae martyris qui eum lictores forte hospitio accepisset, qui narrabant missos se ad interficiendum Phocam, promisit die erastino se illis Phocam ostensurum, et loco ad sepulturam prius praeparato, astans, eis dixit: « Ego ille Phocas. » Illi cum jam haesitarent, animos eis, ut ipsum interficerent, exhortatione addebat: « Dixit, persuasit, passus est, ac capite truncatus, grata Deo hostia oblatus est; » ut loquitur Asterius Amasenus Epiphanio synchronus. Sub Valeriani persecutione Priscus, Malchus et Alexander, seipsos invicem insimulabant tanquam ignavos et desides, quod occasione oblata adhuc cessassent, μὴ οὐχὶ προαρπάζοντες τὸν τοῦ μαρτυρίου στέφανον, « nec martyrii coronam paeripuissent. » Quare judicem adorti, ad bestias condemnati, θείῳ κατεκοσμήθησαν μαρτυρίῳ, « divino martyrio coronati sunt, » ut narrat Eusebius lib. VII, cap. 12. Romanus Caesareensis diaconus videns multos sacrifiantes, ζήλῳ θεοσεβείας πρόσεισι, « zelo divini cultus ipsum incitante, propius accessit, » et contenta voce inclamans eos objurgavit, judici vim fecit, et ob audaciam comprehensus « generoso, si quis alius, martyrio decoratus est. » Quin etiam Appianus fervente persecutione, clam omnibus in eadem domo degentibus, et militum etiam cohorte, Urbani praesidis dextra apprehensa, sacrificium omittere coegit et gravissimis tormentis sese dedens, passus est. Id autem Eusebius, illi familiaris, eum fecisse judicavit, divina virtute ad hoc ipsum impellente, ac tantum non per hoc facinus inclamante, etc. » qui et Aedesium idem quod a fratre factum est, facere conatum, eodem modo passum narrat. Longum esset omnes recensere, quos Eusebius aliique se ultro et de industria martyrio obtulisse commemorant. Haec
But the Christians of the ancient Church not only spoke brave words; they also did and suffered brave things. Celebrated above all was the name of the martyr Phocas, who, having by chance received into his house as guests some lictors, who were relating that they had been sent to kill Phocas, promised to show them Phocas on the next day; and having first prepared a place for burial, he stood before them and said to them: "I am that Phocas." When they now hesitated, he added courage to them by exhortation, so that they would kill him: "He spoke, he persuaded, he suffered, and, beheaded, he was offered as a victim pleasing to God," as Asterius of Amasea, a contemporary of Epiphanius, puts it. Under the persecution of Valerian, Priscus, Malchus and Alexander accused one another as cowardly and idle, because, though the opportunity had been offered, they had so far held back, "and had not snatched beforehand the crown of martyrdom." Therefore, having approached the judge, they were condemned to the beasts and "were crowned with a divine martyrdom," as Eusebius relates, book 7, chapter 12. Romanus, a deacon of Caesarea, seeing many sacrificing, "with zeal for divine worship urging him on, came nearer," and, crying out with raised voice, rebuked them, used force against the judge, and, seized on account of his boldness, "was adorned with a martyrdom as noble as anyone's." Indeed even Appianus, while the persecution was raging, unknown to all who lived in the same house, and to the cohort of soldiers too, seized the right hand of Urbanus the governor, forced him to leave off the sacrifice, and, giving himself up to the most grievous torments, suffered. Eusebius, who was his intimate, judged that he did this "with divine power driving him to this very thing, and all but crying aloud through this deed, etc.", and he also relates that Aedesius, having attempted to do the same thing that had been done by his brother, suffered in the same manner. It would be long to review all those whom Eusebius and others record to have offered themselves to martyrdom of their own accord and deliberately. These
Editors' notes and page, col. 153
Footnotes
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Πᾶσαν ἡλικίαν ἁπλῶς καὶ φύσιν ἑκατέραν πηδῶσαν ἐπὶ τὰς ὑπὲρ τῆς εὐσεβείας σφαγάς.
Every age, simply, and either sex leaping to the slaughter for the sake of godliness.
(printed under page 129)
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Ἤδει γὰρ, ᾔδει σαφῶς, ὅτι τοῦτο τολμήσαντος αὐτοῦ, πάντες ἂν ὑπὲρ τοῦ Χριστοῦ τὰς ἑαυτῶν προὔδωκαν ψυχάς. Πάντες γὰρ, φησὶν, ὡς ἐπὶ κηρίον μέλιτται ἥξουσιν, ὡς ἐπὶ μαρτύριον πετόμενοι.
For he knew, he knew clearly, that if he dared this, all would have given up their lives for Christ. For all, he says, will come like bees to the honeycomb, flying as to martyrdom.
(printed under page 129)
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Εἶπεν, ἔπεισεν, ἔπαθεν, καὶ τὴν κεφαλὴν ἀποτμηθεὶς ἱερεῖον τῷ Θεῷ κεχαρισμένον προσήχθη.
He spoke, he persuaded, he suffered; and, beheaded, he was brought to God as an acceptable victim.
(printed under page 129)
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Γενναιότατος, εἰ καί τις ἄλλος, ἀποδέδεικται μάρτυς τῆς ἀληθείας. Euseb. de martyrib. Palaestin., cap. 2.
He has been shown a most noble martyr of the truth, if anyone ever was. Eusebius, On the Martyrs of Palestine, ch. 2.
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Τῆς ἐπὶ τοῦτ' αὐτὸν προαγούσης ἐνθέου δυνάμεως μονονουχὶ βοώσης διὰ τοῦ γενομένου, etc. Ibid., cap. 4.
The divine power that led him on to this all but crying aloud through what was done, etc. Ibid., ch. 4.
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Ἀνδροφόνον ἀπολύει ἄρκτον, ὥς τινες ἔλεγον ὑπ' αὐτῆς τρεῖς ἄνδρας ἐκ ἐκείνῃ τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἀναιρεῖσθαι· καὶ αὐτὴ δὲ ἀπολυθεῖσα ἐγγύς τε αὐτῶν γενομένη, τῶν μὲν λοιπῶν σωμάτων διαβᾶσα, ἐπέδραμε ἁγίῳ μάρτυρι Ἀνδρονίκῳ, κἀκεῖθεν παρακαθισθεῖσα τὸν ἰχῶρα τῶν τραυμάτων ἀπέλειχεν..... Ὁ δὲ ἅγιος Ἀνδρόνικος προσθεὶς τὴν κεφαλὴν αὐτοῦ, ἐξεβιάζετο θυμῶσαι τὸ θηρίον ὅπως ἁψάμενον αὐτοῦ, τοῦ ζῆν ἀπαλλάξῃ· ἡ δὲ ἄρκτος παραμείνασα συνανέπιπτε τῷ ἁγίῳ. Ἡ δὲ (λέαινα), ὡς εἶδε τὰ ἅγια σώματα ἐῤῥιμμένα, ἔρχεται πρὸς τὸν μακάριον Τάραχον, καὶ κύψασα τοῖς ποσὶν αὐτοῦ προσεκύνησεν· ὁ δὲ ὅσιος Τάραχος τὴν χεῖρα ἐκτείνας καὶ τῶν τριχῶν καὶ τῶν ὤτων αὐτῆς ἁψάμενος, ἐφείλκετο πρὸς αὐτόν· ἡ δὲ ὥσπερ πρόβατον ἑλκόμενον, etc. Ap. Ruin. in Actis sinceris prim. martyr.
He releases a man-killing she-bear, which, some said, had slain three men that very day; and she, once loosed and come near them, stepped past the other bodies, ran to the holy martyr Andronicus, and, sitting down beside him there, licked the matter from his wounds..... Holy Andronicus, thrusting his head at her, tried hard to enrage the beast, so that it might lay hold of him and release him from life; but the she-bear stayed and lay down beside the saint. And she (the lioness), when she saw the holy bodies cast down, came to blessed Tarachus and, bowing down, did reverence at his feet; and holy Tarachus, stretching out his hand and taking her by the hair and the ears, drew her to himself; and she, drawn like a sheep, etc. In Ruinart, Acta sincera primorum martyrum.
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- running head: 153 PRO SS. PERPETUA, FELICIT (cut off at the image edge)
- marginal letters: A ‹liani (62) omnem aetatem›; B ‹mos eis, ut ipsum interficerent›; C ‹sit, » et contenta voce inclamans›; D ‹(62) Πασαν ἡλικίαν (footnote area)›
- old-edition numerals: 148 after ‹Eusebius›
Pearsonius pro Ignatio, quae in nostros martyres quam bene conveniant memo non videt.
Pearson adduces on behalf of Ignatius; and how well these things fit our martyrs no one fails to see.
VIII. Sed tot ab ipso commemoratis adjungendum omnino existimo insigne illud et audax Andronici et Tarachi facinus, quorum alter ursum, alter leaenam divina virtute mansuefactos, ad se devorandum, ut in eorum actis legitur, incitarunt. » Dimiserunt ursum pessimum, quem dicebant ipsa die tres homines occidisse. Et appropinquavit ad corpora sanctorum, et nullum corpus contaminavit. Et cum transisset, venit ad sanctum Andronicum, et sedens lingebat vulnera ejus: sanctus vero Andronicus posuit caput suum super ursum, et instigabat eum ut irasceretur, et celerius redderet, spiritum. Ursus autem quasi mansuetus subito factus est. » Et paulo post: « Et cum exisset (leaena) vidit corpora sanctorum projecta, et venit ad beatum Tarachum, deposuit se ante pedes ejus, quasi eum adorans. Sanctus autem Tarachus trahebat manu eam se ad ut irasceretur, bestia, et celerius consummaretur. Leaena autem sicut ovis, etc. » Praeter naturalem legem qua nobis mortem aut accersere, aut accelerare vetamur, accedere etiam videbatur manifestum divinae voluntatis indicium. quae immanissimas bestias, ne sanctos laederent, mansuefaciebat. At sancti martyres nihil horum cogitantes, et sola martyrii cupiditate flagrantes, in mortem (si ita loqui fas est) praecipites ferebantur; ad quam eos divino Spiritu intus inspirante, anhelasse, vel ex miraculo constat. Cum enim nemini liceat in suam perniciem nisi Deo jubente, grassari, temerarium et audax facinus nunquam Deus miraculis comprobasset, nisi fuisset ejus auctoritate susceptum. Eodem Spiritu et illos actos fuisse, qui seipsos ultro tyrannis obtulerunt, vel, majori quam debuissent libertate utentes, ad saeviendum magis magisque inflammarunt, et eorum postea memoriam inter sanctos martyres semper coluit Ecclesia, pro certo tenendum est, nisi innumeros martyres e sacris fastis expungere, nostro arbitratu velimus. In horum numero martyrum jam inde ab initio, et non interrupta postmodum tot saeculorum serie, Perpetua locum habuit. Unde quod jugulum gladiatori praestiterit, et errantem gladium sibi attemperarit, vitio illi dandum non est, sed ad divinum, quo intus agebatur, Spiritum
VIII. But to the many examples he has recalled I think there must by all means be added that remarkable and bold deed of Andronicus and Tarachus, of whom the one incited a bear, the other a lioness, both made tame by divine power, to devour them, as is read in their acts. "They let loose a most savage bear, which they said had killed three men that very day. And it approached the bodies of the saints, and defiled no body. And when it had passed by, it came to Saint Andronicus, and sitting down it licked his wounds; but Saint Andronicus laid his head upon the bear, and goaded it to grow angry and to give up [his] spirit more quickly. But the bear suddenly became as if tame." And a little after: "And when it (the lioness) had come out, it saw the bodies of the saints cast down, and came to the blessed Tarachus, and lay down before his feet, as if worshipping him. But Saint Tarachus drew it towards himself with his hand, that the beast might grow angry and he might be finished more quickly. But the lioness, like a sheep, etc." Besides the natural law by which we are forbidden either to summon death or to hasten it, there seemed also to be added a manifest sign of the divine will, which tamed the most savage beasts so that they should not harm the saints. But the holy martyrs, thinking nothing of these things and burning with the desire of martyrdom alone, were borne headlong (if one may so speak) into death; and that they panted after it by the inward inspiration of the divine Spirit is clear even from the miracle. For since no one is permitted to rush to his own destruction except at God's command, God would never have approved a rash and bold deed with miracles had it not been undertaken by His authority. That those too were moved by the same Spirit who of their own accord offered themselves to the tyrants, or, using more freedom than they ought, inflamed them to rage more and more, and whose memory the Church has ever since always honoured among the holy martyrs, must be held for certain, unless we wish to strike countless martyrs out of the sacred calendars at our own discretion. In the number of these martyrs, from the very beginning and thereafter through an unbroken succession of so many centuries, Perpetua has held a place. Hence the fact that she offered her throat to the gladiator and guided the wandering sword to herself is not to be laid against her as a fault, but to be referred to the divine Spirit by Whom she was moved within, as a glorious deed
Editors' notes and page, col. 154
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- running head: [DE SS. PERPE]TUA, FELICITATE ET SOCIIS. 154 (left part cut off at image edge)
- marginal letters: A Pearsonius pro Ignatio; B subito factus est; C bente, grassari; D ὑπ' αὐτῆς (footnote)
- old-edition numerals: 149 after martyrii
praeclarum facinus referendum. Aliquo enim spiritu actam fuisse Perpetuam, sine controversia est. Quaeritur tantum, bonone an malo spiritu duceretur. Sed cum in ejus actibus nihil animadversione dignum occurrat, sed omnia potius cum sapientia et cum virtute gesta; quin inhabitantem in suo pectore Spiritum sanctum habuerit visionum suarum ac revelationum auctorem, eoque propterea intus impellente, ad martyrium properasse, dubitandum non esse videtur.
For that Perpetua was driven by some spirit is beyond dispute. The only question is whether she was led by a good or by an evil spirit. But since in her acts nothing worthy of censure is found, but rather everything was done with wisdom and with virtue, it seems there should be no doubt that she had the Holy Spirit dwelling in her breast as the author of her visions and revelations, and that, with Him therefore impelling her from within, she hastened to martyrdom.
IX. Sed ut omnis haec de re ambigendi de medio ratio tollatur, non solum generatim, quod hactenus fecimus, Perpetuae sociorumque martyrum virtutes inspici volo, sed ad eas praesertim animum advertere, quae inhabitantis in ea spiritus et visionum ac revelationum ejus fructus exstiterunt. Si enim ex fructibus qualis sit arbor agnoscitur, ex fructibus utique qualis in Perpetua fuerit spiritus, deprehendemus. Hujus spiritus magisterio cum baptizaretur, edocta didicit, nihil aliud Christiano expetendum quam patientiam tolerantiamque passionum: « In ipso spatio paucorum dierum baptizati sumus; mihi autem Spiritus dictavit, nihil aliud petendum in aqua, nisi sufferentiam carnis. » Quodnam isto certius boni ac divini Spiritus argumentum? Non id certe suus, fortassis etiam cum baptizaretur, Montanum spiritus docuit, ut quem a baptismo recentem impotenti ambitione, et immoderata primi loci cupiditate aestuasse narrat Asterius: Vicus quidam esse dicitur in Mysia contermina Phrygiae, nomine Ardaba: in quo aiunt Montanum quemdam ex iis qui fidelium numero recens ascripti fuerant, immodica primi loci cupiditatc captum primum sub Grato Asiae proconsule, aditum in se adversario spiritui praebuisse et daemone repletum subito quodam furore ac mentis excessu concuti coepisse, et nova quaedam atque inaudita proloqui. etc. » Ait quidem de suo Paracleto Tertullianus: Exhortatorem ipsum fuisse omnium tolerantiarum; sed nos hic non verborum folia quaerimus, sed operum fructus, Quae in Montanistis quantum inter se invicem discreparent, vel ex hoc Tertulliani loco cum alio Apollonii collato manifestissime liquet. Sic enim Tertullianus: « Et ideo Paracletus necessarius dedoctor
IX. But so that every ground for doubt on this matter may be removed, I wish not only to examine in general, as we have done so far, the virtues of Perpetua and her fellow martyrs, but to turn attention especially to those which were the fruits of the spirit dwelling in her and of her visions and revelations. For if the kind of tree is recognized from its fruits, from the fruits we shall certainly discover what kind of spirit was in Perpetua. Under the teaching of this spirit, when she was being baptized, she was instructed and learned that nothing else is to be sought by a Christian but patience and endurance of sufferings: "Within the space of a few days we were baptized; and the Spirit dictated to me that nothing else was to be asked for in the water but endurance of the flesh." What surer proof than this of a good and divine Spirit? Certainly his spirit did not teach this to Montanus, perhaps even when he was being baptized, since Asterius relates that, fresh from baptism, he burned with unbridled ambition and immoderate desire for the first place: There is said to be a certain village in Mysia bordering on Phrygia, by the name of Ardaba: in which they say that a certain Montanus, one of those who had recently been enrolled in the number of the faithful, seized by an immoderate desire for the first place, first under Gratus, proconsul of Asia, gave access within himself to the adversary spirit, and, filled with a demon, began to be shaken by a sudden frenzy and ecstasy of mind, and to utter certain new and unheard-of things, etc." Tertullian indeed says of his Paraclete that He was the exhorter to all endurances; but here we seek not the leaves of words but the fruits of works, And how much these differed from one another among the Montanists is most plainly evident even from this passage of Tertullian compared with another of Apollonius. For Tertullian says thus: "And therefore the Paraclete [was] necessary
Editors' notes and page, col. 155
Footnotes
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Κώμη τις εἶναι λέγεται ἐν τῇ κατὰ τὴν Φρυγίαν Μυσίᾳ καλουμένη Ἀρδαβᾶν τοὔνομα· ἔνθα φασί τινα τῶν νεοπίστων πρώτως, Μοντανὸν τοὔνομα, κατὰ Γράτον Ἀσίας ἀνθύπατον, ἐν ἐπιθυμίᾳ ψυχῆς ἀμέτρῳ φιλοπρωτείας δόντα πάροδον εἰς ἑαυτὸν τῷ ἀντικειμένῳ πνεύματι, προφηθῆναί τε καὶ αἰφνιδίως ἐν κατοχῇ τινι καὶ παρεκστάσει γενόμενον ἐνθουσιᾷν· ἄρξασθαί τε λαλεῖν καὶ ξενοφωνεῖν. Apud Eusebium, libro quinto Hist. eccles., cap. 16.
There is said to be a village in the Mysia that borders Phrygia, called Ardabau by name; there, they say, one of the recent converts, Montanus by name, in the time of Gratus, proconsul of Asia, in the unbounded desire of his soul for pre-eminence, first gave the adversary spirit entrance into himself, and prophesied, and, suddenly falling into a kind of possession and ecstasy, raved, and began to babble and speak strange things. In Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History, book five, ch. 16.
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Lib. De fugua in persecut., in fine.
The book On Flight in Persecution [printed "fugua"], at the end.
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Αὖθις δὲ ὑποκαταβὰς περί τινος τῶν κατ' αὐτοὺς ὁμολογητῶν ταῦτά φησιν· Ἔτι δὲ καὶ Θεμίσων ὁ τὴν ἀξιόπιστον πλεονεξίαν ἠμφιεσμένος, ὁ μὴ βαστάσας τῆς ὁμολογίας τὸ σημεῖον, ἀλλὰ πλήθει χρημάτων ἀποθέμενος τὰ δεσμά· δέον ἐπὶ τοῦτο ταπεινοφρονεῖν, ὡς μάρτυς καυχώμενος, etc... Ἵνα δὲ τοῖς βουλομένοις τὰ κατὰ Ἀλέξανδρον ᾖ γνώρισμα, κέκριται ὑπὸ Αἰμιλίου Φροντίνου ἀνθυπάτου ἐν Ἐφέσῳ, οὐ διὰ τὸ ὄνομα ἀλλὰ δι' ἃς ἐτόλμησε ληστείας, ὢν ἤδη παραβάτης· εἶτα ἐπιψευσάμενος τῷ ὀνόματι τοῦ Κυρίου, ἀπολέλυται πλανήσας τοὺς ἐκεῖ πιστούς· καὶ ἡ ἰδία παροικία αὐτοῦ ὅθεν ἦν οὐκ ἐδέξατο, διὰ τὸ εἶναι αὐτὸν ληστήν· καὶ οἱ θέλοντες μαθεῖν τὰ κατ' αὐτὸν, ἔχουσι τὸ τῆς Ἀσίας δημόσιον ἀρχεῖον. Lib. v Hist. eccles. cap. 18.
Again, going further on, he says this about one of those who were confessors among them: "Moreover Themiso too, who was clothed in a plausible covetousness, who did not endure the sign of confession but put off his bonds by a quantity of money; when on this account he ought to have been humble, boasting as a martyr, etc... And that those who wish may know the facts about Alexander: he was judged by Aemilius Frontinus, proconsul at Ephesus, not for the Name but for the robberies he dared to commit, being already an apostate; then, lying in the name of the Lord, he was released, having deceived the faithful there; and his own community, from which he came, did not receive him, because he was a robber; and those who wish to learn about him have the public archive of Asia." Ecclesiastical History, book V, ch. 18.
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- running head: 155 DISSERTATIO APOL[cut off at image edge]
- marginal letters: A ritum praeclarum facinus referendum; B revelationum ejus fructus exstiterunt; C numero recens ascripti fuerant; D τινα τῶν νεοπίστων πρώτως (footnote 68)
- old-edition numerals: 150 after pro- (proconsule)
- other: the word dedoctor was split at the column break and stands whole here (joined on receipt); check that the English reads whole across the break into col 156
omnium veritatum, exhortator omnium tolerantiarum: quem qui receperunt, neque fugere persecutionem neque redimere noverunt, habentes ipsum, qui pro nobis erit, sicut locuturus in interrogatione ita juvaturus in passione. » Quid vero de primariis Montani discipulis et illius sectae, ut se jactabant, martyribus, Themisone et Alexandro Apollonius? Annon his omnino contraria apud Eusebium memoriae prodidit? Et paulo post, inquit Eusebius, de quodam ex eorum numero qui confessores apud ipsos habentur, haec dicit: « Praeter⟨e⟩a Themison speciosa avaritia obvelatus, qui confessionis signum non pertulit, sed magna pecuniae vi erogata vincula abjecit; cum ob eam causam modestius deinceps ac submissius agere deberet, tanquam martyr sese efferens, etc....... Quod vero ad Alexandrum pertinet, ut veritas omnibus nosse cupientibus innotescat, judicatus est ab Aemilio Frontino Asiae proconsule, non ob nomen Christi, sed ob ea quae perpetraverat latrocinia, cum jam desertor fidei esset. Deinde vero ementitus nomen Christi, dimissus est, cum urbis illius fideles fefellisset. Ecclesia vero ejus loci, unde erat oriundus, ipsum non recepit, eo quod latrocinia exerceret. Si qui vero totum illius negotium scire desiderant. praesto et publicum Asiae tabularium. » Hi sunt montanisticae sectae martyres et confessores: hi sunt quibus Paracletus suum efflaverat spiritum, quos Tertullianus buccis inflatis praedicat, neque persecutionem fugere novisse, neque redimere. Ab hac etiam passionum tolerantia prophetissis suis suggerenda Priscae (seu Priscillae) et Maximillae spiritus quam longissime aberat, de quibus idem audiendus Apollonius qui, ut est apud Eusebium. de Montani prophetissis loquitur in hunc modum: « Ostendimus igitur, inquit, has principes prophetissas, simul ac Spiritu impletae sunt, viros suos dimisisse. Quantopere ergo mentiebantur, qui Priscam virginem vocabant! » Deinde subjungit haec verba: « Non tibi videtur Scriptura universa prohibere, ne propheta munera et pecunias accipiat? Cum igitur videam prophetissam aurum et argentum vestesque pretiosas accepisse, quomodo eam non repudiabo? » Hi reapse erant montanistici
teacher of all truths, exhorter to all endurances: those who have received Him have known neither how to flee persecution nor how to buy it off, having Him Who will be for us, Who, as He will speak in the interrogation, so will help in the suffering." And what [does] Apollonius [say] about the chief disciples of Montanus and the martyrs of that sect, as they boasted, Themiso and Alexander? Did he not hand down to memory, in Eusebius, things entirely contrary to these? And a little later, says Eusebius, concerning a certain one of their number who are held as confessors among them, he says this: "Moreover Themiso, cloaked in specious avarice, who did not bear the sign of confession, but by paying out a great sum of money cast off his chains; although for that reason he ought thereafter to have conducted himself more modestly and more humbly, vaunting himself as a martyr, etc. As for what concerns Alexander, so that the truth may become known to all who desire to know it, he was judged by Aemilius Frontinus, proconsul of Asia, not on account of the name of Christ, but on account of the robberies he had committed, when he was already a deserter of the faith. Then, having falsely claimed the name of Christ, he was released, after he had deceived the faithful of that city. But the church of the place from which he came did not receive him, because he practised robbery. If any wish to know the whole of his affair, the public record office of Asia is also at hand." These are the martyrs and confessors of the Montanist sect: these are those into whom the Paraclete had breathed His spirit, whom Tertullian proclaims with puffed-out cheeks to have known neither how to flee persecution nor how to buy it off. From this endurance of sufferings too, which was to be prompted in his prophetesses Prisca (or Priscilla) and Maximilla, the spirit was as far removed as possible; concerning whom the same Apollonius must be heard, who, as is found in Eusebius, speaks of the prophetesses of Montanus in this manner: "We show, then," he says, "that these chief prophetesses, as soon as they were filled with the Spirit, left their husbands. How greatly, therefore, did they lie who called Prisca a virgin!" Then he adds these words: "Does not the whole of Scripture seem to you to forbid that a prophet should accept gifts and money? Since, therefore, I see that the prophetess has accepted gold and silver and costly garments, how shall I not reject her?" These were in fact the fruits of the Montanist spirit,
Editors' notes and page, col. 156
Footnotes
(71) ‹anchor: apud Eusebium› · call in col 156
Περὶ τῶν προφητίδων δὲ αὐτοῦ (Μοντανοῦ) ὑποκαταβὰς οὕτω γράφει· Δείκνυμεν οὖν αὐτὰς πρώτας τὰς προφήτιδας ταύτας, ἀφ' οὗ τοῦ πνεύματος ἐπληρώθησαν, τοὺς ἄνδρας καταλιπούσας· πῶς οὖν ἐψεύδοντο, Πρίσκαν παρθένον ἀποκαλοῦντες; Εἶτ' ἐπιφέρει λέγων· Δοκεῖ σοι πᾶσα Γραφὴ κωλύειν προφήτην λαμβάνειν δῶρα καὶ χρήματα; Ὅταν οὖν ἴδω τὴν προφῆτιν εἰληφυῖαν καὶ χρυσὸν καὶ ἄργυρον καὶ πολυτελεῖς ἐσθῆτας, πῶς αὐτὴν μὴ παραιτήσομαι; Ubi supra.
Going further on, he writes thus about his (Montanus's) prophetesses: "We show, then, that these first prophetesses themselves, from the time they were filled with the spirit, left their husbands. How then did they lie, calling Prisca a virgin?" Then he goes on, saying: "Does not all Scripture seem to you to forbid a prophet to take gifts and money? When, then, I see that the prophetess has taken gold and silver and costly garments, how shall I not reject her?" Where cited above.
(printed under page 130)
Page
- running head: [...]TATIO APOLOGETICA 156 (left part of the running head cut off at the image edge)
- marginal letters: A ‹doctor omnium veritatum›; B ‹ret, tanquam martyr›; C ‹suggerenda Priscae›; D ‹τῷ ὀνόματι τοῦ Κυρίου› (in the footnotes, not set)
- old-edition numerals: 151 after ‹Montani›
- other: the word montanistici was split at the column break and stands whole here (joined on receipt); check that the English reads whole across the break into col 157
spiritus fructus, non quos Tertullianus ambitiosis inflatisque verbis mentitur.
not those which Tertullian falsely alleges with ambitious and inflated words.
X. Sed est ad Perpetuam sociosque martyres redeundum. Ejus visionis qua sibi mortem imminere Perpetua et Saturus intellexerunt, et de qua Basnagius tantopere cavillatur, fructus exstitit martyrii candidatis, quo expeditiores ad Deum pergant, adeo necessarium, rerum omnium humanarum fastidium, « Intelleximus, inquit, passionem esse futuram, et coepimus nullam jam spem in saeculo habere. » Ex altera visione qua Dinocratem in poenis vidit, id boni profluxit, quod mira in Deum fiducia praedita, tandiu Perpetua coelum votis et lacrymis fatigavit, quandiu fratrem poenis eximere, et in requiem transferre promeruit: « Confidebam profuturam orationem meam labori ejus, et orabam pro eo omnibus diebus, quousque transivimus in carcerem castrensem......... et feci pro illo orationem die et nocte, gemens et lacrymans ut mihi donaretur. » Suam Saturus quoque visionem vidit, et propria manu litteris consignavit, quae pariter sine fructu non exstitit, et divini Spiritus testimoniis. Per eam Optatum inter et Aspasium gratia componitur. Monetur Optatus ut plebem corrigat, ejusque mores componat. Saturus expergiscitur, et de futura passione gaudet. Quo tempore a ferocissima vacca Perpetua in amphitheatro vexata est, in exstasi fuit: exspergefacta pudoris potius meminit quam doloris, et pro socia magis quam pro se ipsa sollicita, « elisam Felicitatem cum vidisset, accessit et manum ei tradidit, et sublevavit illam. » His denique verbis quibus nulla magis fortissimam martyrem sanctissimamque decebant, fratrem allocuta est: « In fide state, et invicem omnes diligite; et passionibus nostris ne scandalizemini. » Si, uti saepius dictum est, ut ex fructibus naturam arboris, ita ex visionum et revelationum fructu quo propheta fuerit Spiritu afflatus, agnoscere ac dijudicare debemus: quis amplius dubitabit, Spiritu sancto plenam fuisse Perpetuam, eumque divinum Spiritum causam illi uberemque fontem exstitisse coelestium revelationum? Malignus enim spiritus non has illi visiones immisisset, ex quibus ad martyrii tolerantiam, ad saeculi contemptum, et ad omnium Christianarum virtutum actus inflammata plurimum est; ex quibus fidei, spei, charitatis, religionis, modestiae, patientiae seges amplissima germinavit, ex quibus nihil non sanctum profluxit, nihil denique quod cum Ecclesiae utilitate conjunctum omnino non esset. « Nunquid colligunt de spinis uvas, aut de tribulis ficus? Sic omnis arbor bona bonos fructus facit; mala autem arbor malos fructus facit. Non potest arbor bona malos fructus facere: neque
X. But we must return to Perpetua and her fellow martyrs. From that vision by which Perpetua and Saturus understood that death was imminent for them, and over which Basnage cavils so much, there arose for the candidates of martyrdom a fruit so necessary for proceeding more readily to God, namely disdain for all human things: "We understood," she says, "that there would be a passion, and we began to have no further hope in the world." From the other vision, in which she saw Dinocrates in torments, this good flowed: that Perpetua, endowed with a wonderful trust in God, wearied heaven with prayers and tears for as long as it took until she merited to release her brother from torments and to transfer him into rest: "I was confident that my prayer would profit his suffering, and I prayed for him every day until we passed over into the military prison......... and I made prayer for him day and night, groaning and weeping that he might be granted to me." Saturus too saw his own vision, and set it down in writing with his own hand; it likewise was not without fruit, and not without the testimonies of the divine Spirit. Through it concord is restored between Optatus and Aspasius. Optatus is admonished to correct his people and to set their morals in order. Saturus awakes and rejoices over the passion to come. At the time when Perpetua was tossed about by a most ferocious cow in the amphitheatre, she was in ecstasy; when awakened she was mindful of modesty rather than of pain, and, anxious for her companion more than for herself, "when she had seen Felicity crushed, she went up and gave her her hand, and raised her up." Finally, with words than which none more befitted a most valiant and most holy martyr, she addressed her brother: "Stand fast in the faith, and all of you love one another; and do not be scandalized by our sufferings." If, as has often been said, just as we must recognize the nature of a tree from its fruits, so we must recognize and judge from the fruit of visions and revelations by what Spirit a prophet was inspired: who will any longer doubt that Perpetua was full of the Holy Spirit, and that that divine Spirit was for her the cause and abundant source of heavenly revelations? For a malign spirit would not have sent her these visions, by which she was most greatly inflamed to the endurance of martyrdom, to contempt of the world, and to the acts of all Christian virtues; from which a most ample harvest of faith, hope, charity, religion, modesty and patience sprang up; from which nothing flowed that was not holy, nothing, finally, that was not wholly bound up with the benefit of the Church. "Do they gather grapes from thorns, or figs from thistles? So every good tree bears good fruit; but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor
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- old-edition numerals: 152 after ‹germinavit,›
arbor bona malos fructus facere. » (Matth., cap. VII, v. 16 et seqq.)
can a bad tree bear good fruit. » (Matt. 7:16 ff.)
CAPUT VII.
Chapter VII.
PERPETUAM SOCIOSQUE MARTYRES PROPHETICO FUISSE SPIRITU AFFLATOS, EX VATICINIORUM EVENTIS ET MIRACULIS DEMONSTRATUR. EORUM DOCTRINAM ET CONVERSATIONEM FUISSE A MONTANISTARUM DOGMATIS ET INSTITUTIS PERQUAM ALIENAS.
THAT PERPETUA AND HER FELLOW MARTYRS WERE INSPIRED BY THE PROPHETIC SPIRIT IS DEMONSTRATED FROM THE OUTCOMES OF THEIR PREDICTIONS AND FROM MIRACLES. THAT THEIR TEACHING AND MANNER OF LIFE WERE ENTIRELY FOREIGN TO THE DOGMAS AND INSTITUTIONS OF THE MONTANISTS.
I. Perpetuae revelationibus eventus in omnibus et ad amussim responderunt. II. De miraculis quae in nostrorum martyrum Actis referuntur. III. Non modo martyrum, sed aliorum quoque fidelium animas Perpetuam et Saturam in paradiso vidisse. IV. Cum catholicis martyribus communicasse. V. Dinocratis animam in aeternam gloriam Perpetuae precibus fuisse translatum. VI. Optatum episcopum in Actis memoratum catholicis praefuisse. Nullum id temporis fuisse Carthagine Montanistarum episcopum. VII. Nostrorum martyrum in carcere victus communis et usitatus et a Montanistarum de jejunio legibus maxime abhorrens. VIII. De catholicae Ecclesiae in suis alendis fovendisque confessoribus sollicitudine. IX. Catholicos martyres paratum sibi fidelium pietate cibum, imo et delicias, neutiquam respuisse. X. Disputationis ἀνακεφαλαίωσις.
I. The outcomes corresponded to Perpetua's revelations in all things and exactly. II. On the miracles which are related in the Acts of our martyrs. III. That Perpetua and Saturus saw in paradise the souls not only of martyrs but also of other faithful. IV. That they were in communion with the Catholic martyrs. V. That the soul of Dinocrates was translated into eternal glory by Perpetua's prayers. VI. That Optatus, the bishop mentioned in the Acts, presided over the Catholics. That there was at that time no bishop of the Montanists at Carthage. VII. That the food of our martyrs in prison was common and ordinary, and utterly at variance with the laws of the Montanists on fasting. VIII. On the solicitude of the Catholic Church in feeding and cherishing its confessors. IX. That the Catholic martyrs by no means refused the food prepared for them by the piety of the faithful, nay even delicacies. X. Recapitulation of the discussion.
I. Post mores prophetarum eorumque visionum fructus, ex quibus maximum semper in hisce controversiis praejudicium exstitit; ex oraculorum eventu prima prophetici Spiritus nascitur conjectura. Nam si affectu oracula careant, illico animum dubitatio subit, num prophetae mentem Spiritus sanctus afflaverit, an potius aut maligni spiritus seductio, aut humani sensus deceptio fuerit. Saepius memoratus Asterius Maximillae spiritum hoc potissimum argumento falsitatis convincit, quod non responderit vaticiniis effectus. Etenim cum illa post suum obitum bella et tumultus imminere praedixisset, diuturnam pacem cum imperium obtinuit tum Christiana ⟨r⟩espublica. In eodem quoque libro, inquit Eusebius de Asterii adversus Montanistas lucubrationibus, loquens, « Postquam nonnulla ad falsam illam Maximillae prophetiam convincendam interseruit, tum tempus ipsum quo haec scripta sunt designat, tum mulieris illius vaticinia commemorat, quibus bella et tumultus imminere praedixerat. » Quorum quidem vaticiniorum falsitatem convincit his verb⟨i⟩s: « Nonne, inquit, etiam hoc mendacium omnibus manifestum apparuit? Etenim ab obitu Maximillae usque in hunc diem plusquam tredecim anni jam elapsi sunt: nec tamen ullum aut particulare bellum aut universale in terris fuit. Imo Christianis praecipua quadam misericordia pax stabilis et firma permansit. » Atque haec in secundo leguntur libro. Contra vero Ecclesia Smyrnensis Polycarpum, « doctorem apostolicum et propheticum
I. After the conduct of the prophets and the fruits of their visions, from which the weightiest presumption has always arisen in these controversies, the first indication of the prophetic Spirit springs from the outcome of the oracles. For if oracles lack fulfilment, doubt at once enters the mind whether the Holy Spirit inspired the prophet's mind, or rather whether it was either the seduction of an evil spirit or the deception of human sense. The often-mentioned Asterius convicts the spirit of Maximilla of falsehood chiefly by this argument, that the outcome did not correspond to the predictions. For although she had foretold that wars and tumults were imminent after her death, both the empire and the Christian commonwealth enjoyed a lasting peace. In the same book also, says Eusebius, speaking of the writings of Asterius against the Montanists, « after he has inserted some things to refute that false prophecy of Maximilla, he both indicates the very time at which these things were written and recalls the predictions of that woman, by which she had foretold that wars and tumults were imminent. » And he convicts these predictions of falsehood with these words: « Has not this lie too, he says, appeared manifest to all? For from the death of Maximilla up to this day more than thirteen years have already passed, and yet there has been no war on earth, either local or universal. Nay rather, by a special mercy a stable and firm peace has remained for the Christians. » And these things are read in the second book. But on the other hand the Church of Smyrna demonstrates that Polycarp was « an apostolic and prophetic teacher
Editors' notes and page, col. 158
Footnotes
(72) ‹anchor: lucubrationibus, loquens› · call in col 158
Ἐν ταυτῷ δὲ πάλιν, ἕτερα μεταξὺ πρὸς ἔλεγχον τῶν τῆς Μαξιμίλλης ψευδοπροφητειῶν εἰπὼν, ὁμοῦ τόν τε χρόνον, καθ' ὃν ταῦτ' ἔγραφε σημαίνει, καὶ τῶν προῤῥήσεων αὐτῆς μέμνηται. δι' ὧν καὶ τὴν ψευδολογίαν εὐθύνει ὧδε λέγων· « Καὶ πῶς οὐ καταφανὲς ἤδη γέγονε καὶ τοῦτο τὸ ψεῦδος, πλείω γὰρ ἢ τρισκαίδεκα ἔτη εἰς ταύτην τὴν ἡμέραν, ἐξ οὗ τετελεύτηκεν ἡ γυνὴ, καὶ οὔτε μερικὸς οὔτε καθολικὸς κόσμῳ γέγονε πόλεμος· ἀλλὰ καὶ Χριστιανοῖς μᾶλλον εἰρήνη διάμονος ἐξ ἐλέους Θεοῦ· » καὶ ταῦτα δὲ ἐκ τοῦ δευτέρου συγγράμματος. Lib. v Hist. eccles. cap. 16.
In the same work again, after saying other things meanwhile to refute the false prophecies of Maximilla, he both indicates the time at which he was writing this and recalls her predictions, by which he also convicts her falsehood, saying thus: "And how has not this lie too become plain already? For it is more than thirteen years to this day since the woman died, and there has been neither a local nor a general war in the world; rather, by the mercy of God, there has been lasting peace even for the Christians." And this is from the second book. Ecclesiastical History, book V, ch. 16.
(printed under page 131)
(75) [printed so; the call in col 158 is (73)] ‹anchor: Polycarpum› · call in col 158
Διδάσκαλος ἀποστολικὸς καὶ προφητικός..... Πᾶν γὰρ ῥῆμα ὃ ἐξαφῆκεν ἐκ τοῦ στόματος αὐτοῦ, (continues)
An apostolic and prophetic teacher..... For every word that he let fall from his mouth, (continues)
(printed under page 131)
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fuisse, » inde demonstrat, quod « omne verbum, quod ex ore suo emisit, aut impletum esset, aut exspectaretur implendum. » Eodem et nos argumento martyres nostros prophetico perfusos fuisse spiritu demonstrabimus. Siquidem quidquid eis revelatum est, et omne verbum quod ex ore suo emiserunt ἐτελειώθη, impletum est, quanquam ex eorum genere essent, quorum praenotio ad divinam tantum sapientiam pertinet, cujusmodi sunt futura contingentia, ea praesertim quae ex libera ipsius Dei aut hominum voluntate dependent. Cum adhuc in incerto res versaretur an passio futura esset, an commeatus, passionem esse futuram Perpetua priore sua revelatione intellexit; et passio reapse secuta est. Nec solum passi sunt martyres, sed eo etiam ordine, quo illos Perpetua passuros esse praevidit: Saturum enim priorem scalam ascendere Perpetua conspexit; prior autem reipsa, ut passionis auctor observat, martyrium Saturus consummavit: « Saturus, qui et prior scalam ascenderat, prior reddidit spiritum. Nam et Perpetuam sustinebat. » Hilarianus procurator universos jam pronuntiaverat et damnarat ad bestias, cum altera, sancta eadem Perpetua, revelatione cognovit, se non ad bestias, ut ait, sed contra diabolum pugnaturam; id est supremum sibi durissimunque certamen adversus bestias non fore, sed adversus diabolum quocum sibi visa fuerat in arena luctari. Res ut praevisa est, ita evenit: bestiis objecta, nullum ab eis dolorem experta est; sed acerbissimum sustinuit, cum a gladiatore inter costas puncta exululavit: cui postea jugulum praebens de diabolo triumphavit, qui eam fuerat gladiatoris opera adortus. Nunc illud quaero, an Basnagius hasce revelationes Perpetuam, ut in Actis dicitur, manu sua scripsisse concedat, an prorsus neget? Si enim a Perpetua scriptas fuisse non credit, quae causa est cur non in auctorem passionis, velut in impostorem, id omne rejiciat, quod ejus animum offendit? Non autem sanctos ipsos martyres ob ea, quae illis aliena fraude tributa sunt, criminetur. Si autem revelationes suas Perpetuam in litteras misisse concedit, cum eas rerum postea gestarum eventis confirmatas fnisse videat: quae causa est cur earum auctorem fuisse Spiritum sanctum in dubium revocet? Nec solum Perpetuam, sed caeteros quoque ejusdem agonis commilitones prophetico lumine fuisse collustratos, eodem argumento facile demonstratur. Quod enim unusquisque certaminis genus optaverat, et futurum esse forte praesenserat, consecutus est, Qua de re audiendus Actorum scriptor: « Sed qui dixerat: Petite et accipietis, petentibus dedit eum exitum quem quisque desideraverat. Nam si quando inter se de martyrii sui voto sermocinabantur. Saturninus quidem omnibus bestiis velle se objici profitebatur: ut scilicet gloriosiorem gestaret coronam Itaque in commissione spectaculi, ipse et Revocatus
», from the fact that "every word that he had uttered from his mouth either had been fulfilled or was expected to be fulfilled." By the same argument we too shall demonstrate that our martyrs were steeped in the prophetic spirit. For whatever was revealed to them, and every word that they uttered from their mouth, ἐτελειώθη, was fulfilled, although these things were of that kind whose foreknowledge belongs to divine wisdom alone, such as are future contingents, especially those which depend on the free will of God Himself or of men. While the matter still stood in uncertainty whether there would be a passion or a reprieve, Perpetua understood from her first revelation that the passion would come; and the passion did in fact follow. Nor did the martyrs merely suffer, but they suffered also in the very order in which Perpetua had foreseen that they would suffer: for Perpetua saw Saturus ascend the ladder first; and in actual fact, as the author of the passion observes, Saturus completed his martyrdom first: "Saturus, who had also ascended the ladder first, gave up his spirit first. For he was also waiting for Perpetua." The procurator Hilarianus had already pronounced sentence on them all and condemned them to the beasts, when the same holy Perpetua learned by a second revelation that she would fight, as she says, not against the beasts but against the devil; that is, that her final and hardest contest would not be against the beasts, but against the devil, with whom she had seemed to herself to wrestle in the arena. As it was foreseen, so the matter turned out: thrown to the beasts, she suffered no pain from them; but she bore the sharpest pain when, pierced between the ribs by the gladiator, she cried out aloud: and afterwards, offering him her throat, she triumphed over the devil, who had attacked her through the agency of the gladiator. Now I ask this: does Basnage grant that Perpetua wrote these revelations with her own hand, as is said in the Acts, or does he deny it altogether? For if he does not believe that they were written by Perpetua, what reason is there why he does not throw back upon the author of the passion, as upon an impostor, everything that offends his mind? He should not, however, accuse the holy martyrs themselves on account of things attributed to them by another's fraud. But if he grants that Perpetua put her revelations into writing, since he sees that they were confirmed by the outcome of things done afterwards, what reason is there why he calls into doubt that the Holy Spirit was their author? That not only Perpetua but also the other comrades in the same contest were illumined by prophetic light is easily demonstrated by the same argument. For each one obtained the kind of contest that he had chosen, and had perhaps foreseen would come, On which matter the writer of the Acts should be heard: "But He who had said: Ask and you shall receive, gave to those who asked the end that each had desired. For whenever they conversed among themselves about the desire for their martyrdom. Saturninus indeed declared that he wished to be thrown to all the beasts: so that, namely, he might wear a more glorious crown So at the staging of the show, he himself and Revocatus,
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leopardum experti, etiam super pulpitum ab urso vexati sunt. Saturus autem nihil magis quam ursum abominabatur: sed uno morsu leopardi confici se jam praesumebat. Itaque cum aper subministraretur, venator potius qui illum aprum subministraverat, subfossus ab eadem bestia, post dies muneris obiit. Saturus solummodo tractus est. Et cum ad ursum substrictus esset in ponte, ursus de cavea prodire noluit. Itaque secundo Saturus illaesus revocatur. » Haec autem martyrum non qualiacunque fuisse vota, sed vota, ut ita dixerim, prophetica, quae non multo post subjungit, Saturi verba aperte demonstrant: « Item Saturus in alia porta militem Pudentem exhortabatur dicens: Adsum, certe sicut promisi et praedixi: nullam neque adhuc bestiam sensi; et nunc de toto corde credas. Ecce prodeo illo, et ab uno morsu leopardi consumor. » Vaticinio respondit eventus; ut enim passionis auctor subjungit: « Statim in fine spectaculi leopardo objectus, de uno morsu ejus tanto perfusus est sanguine, ut populus revertenti illi secundi baptismatis testimonium reclamaverit: Salvum lotum! salvum lotum! Plane utique salvus erat, qui hoc spectaculo inclaruerat. » Sed et quamvis nihil hic propheticum intervenisset, quid tamen ad miram illam erga martyres, et ad eorum vota suscipienda Dei providentiam animum advertens, non statim intelligit quam Deo placita fuerit eorum confessio, adeoque et eorum fides? cum, ut ait Apostolus, sine fide impossibile sit placere Deo.
having had experience of the leopard, were also mauled by a bear upon the platform. Saturus, however, loathed nothing more than the bear, but he already presumed that he would be finished off by a single bite of a leopard. So when a boar was set upon him, it was rather the huntsman who had set that boar upon him who was gored by the same beast and died after the days of the games. Saturus was only dragged along. And when he had been tied up on the bridge for the bear, the bear refused to come out of its cage. So for the second time Saturus was called back unharmed." That these were no ordinary wishes of the martyrs, but wishes that were, so to speak, prophetic, the words of Saturus which [the author] adds not long after plainly show: "Likewise Saturus at another gate was exhorting the soldier Pudens, saying: Here I am, certainly just as I promised and foretold: I have not yet felt any beast at all; and now believe with your whole heart. See, I go out there, and I am consumed by a single bite of a leopard." The outcome answered the prophecy; for, as the author of the passion adds: "Immediately at the end of the spectacle he was thrown to a leopard, and from one bite of it he was drenched with so much blood that the people, as he came back, shouted out in testimony to his second baptism: Well washed! well washed! Plainly he was indeed saved who had become illustrious by this spectacle." But even if nothing prophetic had come in here, yet who, turning his mind to that wonderful providence of God towards the martyrs and in granting their wishes, does not at once understand how pleasing to God their confession was, and so their faith too? since, as the Apostle says, without faith it is impossible to please God.
II. Est et aliud magni sane ponderis argumentum, ex quo prophetis maxima accedit auctoritas, et ex miraculis conficitur, quae vel per ipsos aut pro ipsis ipsa per se divina omnipotentia demonstravit. Haec autem, quibus nulla sunt martyrum Acta quae non abundent, nostris quoque martyribus non defuerunt, ut vel ex modo dictis jam constat. Non enim absque miraculo factum est, ut aper in Saturum immissus, in ipsum potius venatorem iras et impetum verteret: et quod ursus in eumdem incitatus de cavea prodire noluerit. Et est hic minus, quam ubi de visionibus agunt, de Actorum fide dubitandum, cum res in propatulo et in medio amphitheatro gestas referant, quas nemo illorum temporum scriptor vel impudentissimus confingere ausus fuisset. Est et illud inter miracula computandum, quod a ferocissima vacca Perpetua cum vexaretur, adeo in exstasi fuerit, ut nullam doloris sensum experta sit. Unde quod jam evenerat, « non prius credidit, nisi quasdam notas vexationis in corpore et habitu suo recognovisset. » Est et hoc palam et in media arena et stupentibus omnibus gestum. Neque res tam mira, ne forte illam Basnagius in Montanismi suspicionem trahat, in aliis martyribus ab omni id genus suspicione liberis, exemplo vacat. Geminus omnino est huic Actorum nostrorum loco alter de beata Blandina in
II. There is also another argument of very great weight indeed, from which the greatest authority accrues to the prophets, and it is drawn from the miracles which divine omnipotence itself, of itself, displayed either through them or on their behalf. These, in which there are no Acts of martyrs that do not abound, were not lacking to our martyrs either, as is already clear even from what has just been said. For it did not happen without a miracle that the boar set upon Saturus turned its rage and its attack rather upon the huntsman himself; and that the bear urged against the same man refused to come out of its cage. And here there is less reason than where they deal with visions to doubt the trustworthiness of the Acts, since they relate things done in the open and in the middle of the amphitheatre, which no writer of those times, even the most shameless, would have dared to invent. This too must be counted among the miracles, that Perpetua, when she was tossed by a most ferocious cow, was so far in ecstasy that she felt no sense of pain. Hence, as to what had already happened, "she did not believe it until she had recognized certain marks of the tossing on her body and her dress." This too was done openly, in the middle of the arena, and with all looking on in amazement. Nor is so wonderful a thing, lest Basnage should perhaps draw it into the suspicion of Montanism, without example in other martyrs free from all suspicion of that kind. Wholly a twin to this passage of our Acts is another about the blessed Blandina in
Editors' notes and page, col. 160
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- marginal letters: A ‹tus leopardum experti›; B ‹que adhuc bestiam sensi›; C ‹ex quo prophetis maxima›; D ‹tandum, quod a ferocissima›
- old-edition numerals: 155 after ‹Perpetua›
epistolae Lugdunensium, ubi narrant quomodo et ipsa « reticulo inclusa, tauro objecta est; a quo diu in altum jactata, nihil jam eorum quae fiebant, penitus sentiens, tum ob spem et comprehensionem eorum quae credebat bonorum, tum ob familiarem congressum, quem cum Christo in oratione habebat, tandem et ipsa victimae instar jugulata est. Adempti etiam in poenis doloris sensus insigne habemus exemplum in eadem Blandina, quae, ut est in laudata epistola Lugdunensium, « Instar generosi cujusdam athletae, in ipsa confessione vires atque animos resumebat. Eratque ei refectio et quies, sensumque omnem praesentis doloris adimebat prolatio horum verborum: Christiana sum, et nihil apud nos mali geritur. » Non minus insigne illud quod de Theodoro in ecclesiasticis historiis memoriae proditum est. Jussu enim Salustii praetorio sub Juliano praefecti, diu et crudelissime tortus, laeto inter tormenta et sereno vultu illum psalmi versiculum iterabat: « Confundantur omnes, qui adorant sculptilia, et qui confidunt in simulacris suis. » — « Hunc Theodorum, » inquit Rufinus, « ipsi nos postinodum apud Antiochiam vidimus, et cum requireremus ab eo si sensum doloris habuisset, ex integro dicebat, dolores se quidem parum sensisse: astitisse autem quemdam juvenem, qui sudanti sibi linteo candidissimo et sudores extergeret, et aquam frigidam frequenter infunderet: et ita esse delectatum ut tunc moestior factus sit quando deponi de equuleo jussus est. » Denique sanctus Flavianus, cujus supra mentio non semel facta est, hanc ipse suam revelationem narat: « Cum adhuc episcopus noster solus passus fuisset, ostensum est mihi hoc, quasi Cyprianum ipsum interrogarem, an pati ictus doleret: scilicet martyr futurus, de passionis tolerantia consulebam, qui mihi respondit, et dixit: Alia caro patitur, cum animus in coelo est. Nequaquam corpus hoc sentit, cum se Deo tota meus devovit. Quibus sancti martyris verbis haec adjicit Actorum compilator: « O verba martyris martyrem cohortantis! Negavit esse in passionis ictu dolorem et qui et ipse habebat occidi, animari constantius posset, quod nec parvum sensum doloris in passionis ictu timeret. » In coelo Perpetuae non minus quam Cypriani fuisse animum, cum bestiis objecta, et ab eis vexata, nullo doloris sensu affecta est, sanctus Augustinus sibi facile persuasit, qui hunc Actorum locum his verbis illustrat: « Ubi era illa femina, quando ad asperrimam vaccam se pugnare
the letter of the people of Lyons, where they relate how she too, "enclosed in a net, was thrown to a bull; and having been tossed high in the air by it for a long time, no longer feeling at all anything of what was being done, both because of her hope and her grasp of the good things she believed in, and because of the intimate converse which she held with Christ in prayer, at last she too was slaughtered like a sacrificial victim. Of the sense of pain being taken away in torments we have also a remarkable example in the same Blandina, who, as stands in the cited letter of the people of Lyons, "like some noble athlete, in the very act of confession recovered her strength and spirit. And her refreshment and rest, and what took away all sense of the present pain, was the uttering of these words: I am a Christian, and nothing evil is done among us." No less remarkable is what has been handed down to memory in the ecclesiastical histories concerning Theodore. For, tortured long and most cruelly by order of Salustius, praetorian prefect under Julian, with a joyful and serene countenance amid the torments he kept repeating that little verse of the psalm: "Let all be confounded who adore graven things, and who trust in their idols." "This Theodore," says Rufinus, "we ourselves afterwards saw at Antioch, and when we asked him whether he had had any sense of pain, he told us candidly that he had felt the pains but little: but that a certain young man had stood by him who both wiped away his sweat with a most white linen cloth as he sweated, and frequently poured cold water over him: and that he had been so delighted that he became sadder at the moment when he was ordered to be taken down from the rack." Finally St Flavian, of whom mention has been made above more than once, himself relates this revelation of his: "When our bishop had as yet suffered alone, this was shown to me, as though I were asking Cyprian himself whether the stroke of martyrdom were painful: being, that is, a future martyr, I was consulting him about the endurance of the passion; and he answered me and said: It is a different flesh that suffers when the mind is in heaven. The body does not feel this at all when the mind has devoted itself wholly to God. To which words of the holy martyr the compiler of the Acts adds this: "O words of a martyr exhorting a martyr! He denied that there is pain in the stroke of martyrdom, so that he who was himself also to be killed might be the more steadfastly encouraged, since he would not fear even a slight sense of pain in the stroke of martyrdom." That the mind of Perpetua, no less than Cyprian's, was in heaven when, thrown to the beasts and harried by them, she was affected by no sense of pain, St Augustine readily persuaded himself, who illustrates this passage of the Acts with these words: "Where was that woman when she did not perceive that she was fighting against a most savage cow,
Editors' notes and page, col. 161
Footnotes
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Τοὔσχατον εἰς γύργαθον βληθεῖσα ταύρῳ παρεβλήθη· καὶ ἱκανῶς ἀναβληθεῖσα πρὸς τοῦ ζώου, μηδὲ αἴσθησιν ἔτι τῶν συμβαινόντων ἔχουσα διὰ τὴν ἐλπίδα καὶ ἐποχὴν τῶν πεπιστευμένων, καὶ ὁμιλίαν πρὸς Χριστὸν, ἐτύθη καὶ αὐτή.
At the last, put into a net, she was thrown to a bull; and when she had been tossed a good while by the animal, no longer having any sense of what was happening because of her hope and grasp of the things believed, and her converse with Christ, she too was sacrificed.
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Ἀλλ' ἡ μακαρία ὡς γενναῖος ἀθλητὴς ἀνενέαζεν ἐν τῇ ὁμολογίᾳ, καὶ ἡ αὐτῆς ἀνάληψις, καὶ ἀνάπαυσις καὶ ἀναλγησία τῶν συμβαινόντων, τὸ λέγειν ὅτι, Χριστιανή εἰμι· καὶ παρ' ἡμῖν οὐδὲν φαῦλον γίνεται.
But the blessed woman, like a noble athlete, grew young again in her confession; and her recovery, rest and freedom from pain in what was happening was to say: "I am a Christian, and nothing wicked is done among us."
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Rufin. lib. x Hist. eccles., cap. 36; Sanctus Augustinus. lib. XVIII, De civitate Dei, cap 52; Socrates, lib. III Hist. eccles., cap. 18 et 19, Sozomenus, lib. v, cap. 19 et 20; Theodorit., lib. III. Hist eccles.. cap. 10 et 11.
Rufinus, Ecclesiastical History, book X, ch. 36; St Augustine, The City of God, book XVIII, ch. 52; Socrates, Ecclesiastical History, book III, chs. 18 and 19; Sozomen, book V, chs. 19 and 20; Theodoret, Ecclesiastical History, book III, chs. 10 and 11.
(printed under page 133)
(77) ‹anchor: revelationem narat› · call in col 161
Apud Ruin. in Actis sanctorum Montani, Lucii, etc., § 21.
In Ruinart, the Acts of Saints Montanus, Lucius, etc., § 21.
(printed under page 133)
(78) ‹anchor: verbis illustrat› · call in col 161
Serm. 280, alias 103, de divers.
Sermon 280, otherwise [numbered] 103 On various subjects.
(printed under page 133)
(79) ‹anchor: not visible in the page-foot image› · call in col 161 or 162
Serm. 281, al. de divers., 104.
Sermon 281, elsewhere [numbered] On various subjects 104.
(printed under page 133)
Page
- running head: 161 PRO SS. PERPETUA, FELICIT[...] (cut off at the image edge)
- marginal letters: A epistolae Lugdunensium, ubi narrant; B insigne illud quod de Theodoro; C tio non semel facta est; D et ab eis vexata, nullo doloris
- old-edition numerals: 156 after Quibus
- other: the word pugnare was split at the column break and stands whole here (joined on receipt); check that the English reads whole across the break into col 162
non sensit, et quando futurum esset quod jam fucrat, inquisivit? Ubi erat? Quid videns ista non viderat? Quo fruens ista non senserat? Quo amore alienata, quo spectaculo avocata, quo poculo inebriata?» etc.
and asked when what had already happened was going to happen? Where was she? What was she seeing, that she had not seen these things? What was she enjoying, that she had not felt these things? By what love was she carried out of herself, by what spectacle called away, by what cup made drunk?" etc.
Inter miracula etiam referri debet immaturus Felicitatis partus. Quamvis enim feminam acerbum foetum emittere, miraculum absolute non sit, circumstantiae tamen cum quibus Felicitatis partus conjunctus fuit, ipsum ex speciali Dei providentia, et non secundum communes et ordinarias naturae leges exstitisse plane suadent. Nam statim post orationem quam martyres ad Deum tulerant ut partum acceleraret, « dolores eam invaserunt. » Qua de re audiendus laudatus idem sanctus Augustinus: « Denique editus est partus immaturo mense maturus. Actum est enim divinitus, ut non suo tempore onus uteri poneretur, ne suo tempore honor martyrii differretur. Actum est inquam, divinitus, ut indebito die foetus ederetur, dum tamen tanto comitatui debita Felicitas redderetur, » etc.
The premature delivery of Felicity must also be counted among the miracles. For although it is not, absolutely speaking, a miracle for a woman to bring forth an unripe foetus, yet the circumstances with which Felicity's delivery was bound up clearly argue that it came about by a special providence of God, and not according to the common and ordinary laws of nature. For immediately after the prayer which the martyrs had offered to God that He would hasten the birth, "pains came upon her." On this matter we should hear the same Saint Augustine already cited: "In the end the child was born, ripe in an unripe month. For it was brought about by God that the burden of the womb was laid down not at its proper time, so that the honour of martyrdom might not be put off past its proper time. It was brought about, I say, by God that the foetus was brought forth on a day not owed, provided that Felicity, who was owed, was rendered to so great a company," etc.
Denique sine miraculo factum non esse videtur, ut cum pater, ultra modum iratus, infantem Perpetuae reddere noluisset, ut apud illam, sicut antea, in carcere permaneret, et ab ea lactaretur, nullus aut ex lactis subtractione puerum, aut ex mammarum fervore matrem dolor invaderet: « Tunc quia consuverat a me infans mammas accipere et mecum in carcere manere, statim mitto ad patrem Pomponium Diaconum, postulans infantem; sed pater dare noluit, et quomodo Deus voluit, neque ille amplius mammas desideravit: neque mihi fervorem fecerunt, ne sollicitudine infamis et dolore mammarum macerarer. » Quae sane omnia si quis pro veris miraculis habere nolit, illud saltem fateatur necesse est, spectalem hinc ost⟨e⟩ndi divinae bonitatis erga suos martyres providentiam. De rerum autem gestarum fide, ipsa narrationis simplicitas quae potissimum in Perpetuae verbis elucet, dubitare non sinit.
Finally, it seems not to have happened without a miracle that, when her father, angered beyond measure, had refused to give the infant back to Perpetua, so that it might stay with her in prison as before and be suckled by her, no pain came upon either the boy from the withdrawal of milk or the mother from the inflammation of her breasts: "Then, because the infant had been accustomed to take the breast from me and to stay with me in prison, I at once send the deacon Pomponius to my father, asking for the infant; but my father would not give him, and as God willed, neither did he want the breast any longer, nor did my breasts become inflamed, so that I should not be tormented by anxiety for the infant and by pain in my breasts." If anyone is unwilling to count all these things as true miracles, he must at least admit that a special providence of the divine goodness towards its martyrs is shown here. As for the trustworthiness of the events, the very simplicity of the narrative, which shines out above all in Perpetua's own words, does not allow us to doubt it.
III. Argumenta quae hactenus prosecuti sumus, generatim ostendunt, Perpetuae sociisque martyribus propheticum spiritum neutiquam defuisse: quae modo subjiciam aperte demonstrant, quam longissime a Montanistarum doctrinis et institutis sanctos eosdem martyres abfuisse. Montanistarum sententia fuit, ut ex Tertulliano saepius dictum est, solos ante diem judicii solemnis in coelum martyres recipi. Quam opinionem idem Tertullianus in libro De anima, Perpetuae « fortissimae martyris » auctoritate
III. The arguments we have pursued so far show in general that the prophetic spirit was by no means lacking to Perpetua and her fellow martyrs; those I shall now set out show plainly how very far these same holy martyrs were from the doctrines and practices of the Montanists. It was the opinion of the Montanists, as has often been said on the evidence of Tertullian, that before the day of the solemn judgement martyrs alone are received into heaven. This opinion the same Tertullian, in his book On the Soul, by the authority of Perpetua, "most valiant martyr,"
Editors' notes and page, col. 162
Footnotes
(79) ‹anchor: sanctus Augustinus› · call in col 162
Serm. 281, al. de divers., 104.
Sermon 281, otherwise On Various Subjects 104.
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Page
- running head: ...TUA, FELICITATE ET SOCIIS. 162 (cut off at the left edge of the image; presumably DE SS. PERPETUA, FELICITATE ET SOCIIS.)
- marginal letters: A gnare non sensit, et quando; B tinus: « Denique editus est partus; C ille amplius mammas desideravit; D tia fuit, ut ex Tertulliano
- old-edition numerals: 157 after opinionem
- misprints kept as printed: fucrat (for fuerat); consuverat (for consueverat); infamis (for infantis); spectalem (for specialem)
- other: the word auctoritate was split at the column break and stands whole here (joined on receipt); check that the English reads whole across the break into col 163
confirmat; quae, inquit, « sub die passionis in revelatione gloriae paradisi solos illic commartyres suos vidit. » Sed aut fallitur aperte Tertullianus, aut fallit: solos enim se in paradiso vidisse martyres Perpetua non dicit; quin oppositum clare et aperte testatur: «Et coepimus illic multos fratres cognoscere, sed et martyres. » Igitur non solos ibi commartyres, sed et confratres etiam eosque non paucos Perpetua, seu potius Saturus vidit: hanc enim revelationem Saturus accepit, et manu sua litteris consignavit. Cur autem specialem de martyribus mentionem faciant, ratio in promptu est. In ipso paradisi limine quatuor martyres, paulo ante in eadem Severi persecutione cousummatos, obvios habuerant, a quibus de caeteris cum requisissent, moniti sunt ab angelis ut prius introirent et Dominum salutarent: « Ibi invenimus Jocundum, et Saturninum, et Artaxium, qui eamdem persecutionem passi, vivi arserunt: et quintum, qui et ipse martyr in carcere exierat; et quaerebamus ab illis ubi essent caeteri. Dixerunt autem nobis angeli: Venite prius, introite et salutate Dominum. » Quae ubi facta sunt, muitos se fratres vidisse testantur, sed et nominatim martyres, quo scilicet desiderio suo factum fuisse satis apertius luculentiusque declarent. Quamvis mirum esse non debeat, si animus de martyrii candida laetus, et martyrio proximus, in martyrum praemium specialiter ac distincte loquatur. Ad quae enim afficitur animus, ea libenter recolit, et saepe ac frequenter usurpat.
confirms; who, he says, "on the day of her passion, in the revelation of the glory of paradise, saw there only her fellow martyrs." But either Tertullian is plainly mistaken, or he misleads: for Perpetua does not say that she saw only martyrs in paradise; on the contrary, she clearly and openly testifies to the opposite: "And we began to recognize many brethren there, and martyrs too." Therefore Perpetua, or rather Saturus, saw there not only fellow martyrs but also fellow brethren, and those not few: for it was Saturus who received this revelation and set it down in writing with his own hand. But why they make special mention of the martyrs, the reason is ready to hand. At the very threshold of paradise they had met four martyrs, consummated a little before in the same persecution of Severus, and when they had asked them about the rest, they were admonished by the angels first to go in and greet the Lord: "There we found Jocundus, and Saturninus, and Artaxius, who, having suffered the same persecution, were burned alive; and Quintus, who had also himself departed a martyr in prison; and we were asking them where the rest were. But the angels said to us: Come first, go in and greet the Lord." When this was done, they testify that they saw many brethren, and also, by name, martyrs, in order, namely, to declare plainly and clearly enough that this had been done according to their desire. Although it ought not to be surprising if a soul rejoicing over the white [robe] of martyrdom, and very near to martyrdom, speaks specially and distinctly about the reward of the martyrs. For the things by which the soul is affected it gladly recalls, and makes use of often and frequently.
V. Est aliud quod in hac Saturi visione animadvertam, in quo non parum momenti inesse videtur, ad nostrorum martyrum orthodoxiam adversus Basnagium vindicandam. Vult enim ipse, nullam Montanistis cum catholicis etiam martyribus consuetudinem intercessisse, sed omnem earum communionem, ut quos ludibrio et contemptui habebant, et tanquam psychicos traducebant, esse aversatos. Si ita est, non Saturem modo, et Perpetuam sociosque martyres, sed et Jocundum, et Saturninum, et Artaxium, et Quintum, et caeteros martyres quos requirebant, et quorum postea gloriam viderunt, et in eadem Severi persecutione passi jam fuerant, montanismi reos agere debebimus. Nam Saturus et Perpetua suae tantum communionis martyres requisivissent. Quare aut praedictos omnes martyres de Montanistarum grege fuisse dicemus, aut omnes pariter in catholicorum martyrum album referemus. Quis autem ob leves quasdam, quae Basnagio in mentem venerunt conjecturas, tot e Catholicorum dypticis expungi martyres et ex eis Montanistarum ditari laterculos, patienter et aequo animo ferat?
V. There is another thing that I shall note in this vision of Saturus, in which there seems to be no small weight for vindicating the orthodoxy of our martyrs against Basnage. For he maintains that the Montanists had no dealings even with Catholic martyrs, but shunned all communion with them, as people whom they held in mockery and contempt and decried as psychics. If that is so, we shall have to arraign on a charge of Montanism not only Saturus, and Perpetua and her fellow martyrs, but also Jocundus, and Saturninus, and Artaxius, and Quintus, and the other martyrs whom they were seeking, and whose glory they afterwards saw, and who had already suffered in the same persecution of Severus. For Saturus and Perpetua would have sought out only martyrs of their own communion. Therefore we shall either say that all the aforesaid martyrs were of the flock of the Montanists, or we shall likewise enter them all in the roll of the Catholic martyrs. But who would bear patiently and with equanimity that, on account of certain trivial conjectures which came into Basnage's mind, so many martyrs should be struck out of the diptychs of the Catholics and the registers of the Montanists be enriched with them?
V. Sed ut institutum superius argumentum prosequamur, et ex Perpetuae revelationibus, secus atque habebat Montanistarum doctrina, non solos in coelo fuisse martyres collocatos, luculentius demonstremus:
V. But to pursue the argument begun above, and from the revelations of Perpetua, contrary to what the doctrine of the Montanists held, that not only martyrs had been placed in heaven, more clearly
Editors' notes and page, col. 163
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- running head: 163 DISSERTATIO APOLO[...] (cut off at the image edge)
- marginal letters: A ritate confirmat; B sissent, moniti sunt ab angelis; C vertam, in quo non parum momenti; D nes martyres de Montanistarum grege
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: the word demonstremus: was split at the column break and stands whole here (joined on receipt); check that the English reads whole across the break into col 164
in memoriam nobis ea sanctae martyris visio reducenda est, qua fratrem Dinocratem intellexit, translatum esse de ⟨p⟩oena. Locum enim et gloriam ad quae fuerat translatus, iis Perpetua verbis describit quibus aperte significatur, in enmdem locum et gloriam ipsum fuisse receptum, in quibus postea martyres Saturus vidit, ut ex uriusque visionis collatione manifeste liquet. Sic enim de sua visione Perpetua: « Video locum illum, quem videram tenebrosum, esse lucidum, et Dinocratem mundo corpore, bene vestitum, refrigerantem. Et ubi erat vulnus, video cicatricem, et piscinam illam quam retro videram, submisso margine usque ad umbilicum pueri: et aquam de ea trahebat sine cessatione, et super margine phiala erat plena aqua; et accessit Dinocrates, et de ea bibere coepit, quae phiala non deficiebat. Et satiatus abscessit de aqna, ludere more infantium gaudens.» Iis omnino consona sunt, quae postea Saturus vidit: « Et vidimus, inquit, prope locum, cujus loci parietes tales erant quasi de luce aedificati, et ante ostium loci illius quatuor angeli stabant, qui introeuntes vestierunt stolas candidas. Et nos vestiti introivimus et vidimus lucem immensam, etc. Et dixerunt nobis seniores: Ite et ludite. Et dixit: Perpetua, habes quod vis. Et dixit mihi; Deo gratias, ut quomodo in carne hilaris fui, hilarior sum et hic modo.» Et infra: « Et dum lequimur cum eis, dixerunt illis angeli: Simite illos, refrigerent... Universi odore inenarrabili alebamur, qui nos satiabat.» Quam bene sibi concinunt Perpetuae de Dinocratis et Saturi de martyrum gloria revelationes! Locum in quo Dinocratem Perpetua vidit, lucidus erat; loci illius in quo martyres Saturus vidi, parietes tales crant quasi de luce aedificati. Dinocrates mundo corpore erat et bene vestitus; martyres angeli stolis candidis induerunt. Dinocrates satiatus, infantium more ludebat: Perpetuam et Saturum seniores, ut luderent, hortabantur, Dinocratem Perpetua se refrigerantem aspexit; de Perpetua et Saturo angeli: « Sinite illos inquiunt, refrigerent.» De aqua Dinocrates sine cessatione bibebat, eoque potu veluti inebriabatur; Perpetua et Saturus odore inenarrabili alebantur, qui eos mirifice satiabat. Quis neget, sub adeo consonis symbolis et figuris eamdem fuisse gloriam repraesentatam? Quis neget, aquam, ad quam primum Dinocrates anhelabat, quam postea sine cessatione bibebat, qua satiabatur, quae nunquam ei dificiebat, perennem illum aeternae vitae fontem adumbrasse, et voluntatis torrentem, de quo olim propheta cecinit: « Inebriabuntur ab ubertate domus tuae, et torrente voluptatis tuae potabis eos: quoniam apud te est fons vitae, et in lumine tuo videbimus lumen?» Quibus utique verbis non aliam quam coelestem, id est beatae aeternitatis et clarae Dei visionis gioriam, felicitatemque descripsit.
let us show: we must call back to mind that vision of the holy martyr in which she understood that her brother Dinocrates had been transferred out of punishment. For the place and the glory to which he had been transferred Perpetua describes in such words that it is plainly signified that he had been received into the same place and glory in which Saturus afterwards saw the martyrs, as is clearly evident from a comparison of the two visions. For thus Perpetua says of her own vision: "I see that place, which I had seen dark, to be bright, and Dinocrates with a clean body, well clothed, refreshing himself. And where there had been a wound, I see a scar; and that pool which I had seen before, with its rim lowered as far as the boy's navel: and he was drawing water from it without ceasing, and upon the rim was a bowl full of water; and Dinocrates came up and began to drink from it, and the bowl did not fail. And, satisfied, he went away from the water, rejoicing to play in the manner of children." With these things wholly in accord are the things which Saturus afterwards saw: "And we saw," he says, "near a place, the walls of which place were such as though built of light, and before the door of that place four angels were standing, who clothed those entering with white robes. And we, clothed, went in and saw an immense light, etc. And the elders said to us: Go and play. And he said: Perpetua, you have what you wish. And she said to me: Thanks be to God, that as I was cheerful in the flesh, I am more cheerful here now." And below: "And while we were speaking with them, the angels said to them: Let them be, let them refresh themselves... We were all nourished by an indescribable fragrance, which satisfied us." How well the revelations of Perpetua concerning Dinocrates and of Saturus concerning the glory of the martyrs agree with each other! The place in which Perpetua saw Dinocrates was bright; of that place in which Saturus saw the martyrs, the walls were such as though built of light. Dinocrates had a clean body and was well clothed; the angels clothed the martyrs with white robes. Dinocrates, satisfied, played in the manner of children: the elders urged Perpetua and Saturus to play; Perpetua beheld Dinocrates refreshing himself; of Perpetua and Saturus the angels say: "Let them be, let them refresh themselves." Dinocrates drank of the water without ceasing, and was as it were inebriated by that drink; Perpetua and Saturus were nourished by an indescribable fragrance, which satisfied them wonderfully. Who would deny that under symbols and figures so much in accord the same glory was represented? Who would deny that the water, after which Dinocrates at first panted, which he afterwards drank without ceasing, by which he was satisfied, which never failed him, foreshadowed that perennial fountain of eternal life, and the torrent of pleasure, of which the prophet once sang: "They shall be inebriated with the plenty of Thy house, and with the torrent of Thy pleasure Thou shalt give them to drink: for with Thee is the fountain of life, and in Thy light we shall see light"? By which words assuredly he describes no other than the heavenly glory, that is, that of blessed eternity and of the clear vision of God, and its happiness.
Editors' notes and page, col. 164
Footnotes
(80) ‹anchor: propheta cecinit› · call in col 164
Psalm. XXXIII, 10.
Psalm 33[:10] [as printed; the verse quoted is Ps. 35:9–10 Vulgate].
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- running head: [DISSER]TATIO APOLOGETICA 164
- marginal letters: A ‹monstremus: in memoriam›; B ‹bibere coepit, quae phiala›; C ‹Dinocratis et Saturi de martyrum›; D ‹riam repraesentatam? Quis neget›
- old-edition numerals: 158 after ‹translatum›
- other: the word descripsit. was split at the column break and stands whole here (joined on receipt); check that the English reads whole across the break into col 165
Cum ita martyr Dinocrates non obierit, falsum omnino est, quod ait Tertullianus, solos Perpetuam in paradiso martyres vidisse : falsum, quod ait Basnagius, Perpetuam ex Montanistarum opinione, omnes extra paradisum in loco tenebroso, praeter martyrum animas, collocasse : et falsum denique erit, Perpetuam eosque martyres qui se mortis socios ipsi addidere, e schola processisse Montanistarum, eorumque imbutos fuisse dogmatibus et disciplina.
Since, then, Dinocrates did not die a martyr, what Tertullian says is altogether false, that Perpetua saw only martyrs in paradise; false is what Basnage says, that Perpetua, following the opinion of the Montanists, placed everyone outside paradise in a dark place, except the souls of the martyrs; and false, finally, will be the claim that Perpetua and those martyrs who themselves joined her as companions in death came out of the school of the Montanists and were steeped in their dogmas and discipline.
VI. Ex eadem Saturi visione alia mihi nascitur conjectura, qua facile suadeam Perpetuam sociosque martyres a Montanistarum communione fuisse perquam alienos, sed in Ecclesiae catholicae pace atque unitate et vitam duxisse, et gloriosum pro Christo sanguinem effudisse : « Et exivimus, inquit Saturus, et vidimus ante fores Optatum episcopum ad dexteram, et Aspasium presbyterum, doctorem ad sinistram, separatos et tristes, et miserunt se ad pedes nobis, et dixerunt nobis : Componite inter nos, quia existis et sic nos relinquitis. Et diximus illis : Non tu es papa noster, et tu presbyter ? ut quis vos ad pedes nostros mittatis ? Et misimus nos, et complexi illos sumus... Et dum loquimur cum eis, dixerunt illis angeli : Sinite illos, refrigerent ; et si quas habetis inter vos dissensiones, dimittite vobis invicem ; et conturbaverunt eos. Et dixerunt Optato : Corrige plebem tuam, quia sic ad te conveniunt quasi de circo redeuntes, et de factionibus certantes. » Optatum istum Carthaginensium Montanistarum episcopum, et Aspasium ejusdem sectae presbyterum Basnagius facit, et alterutrum existimat nostrorum martyrum Acta concinnasse. Contra eruditissimus Pagius ex subministrata sibi a cl. abbate Ludovico de Feur observatione docet, Carthaginensium, utique Catholicorum, Optatum fuisse episcopum, et Aggrippini successorem, et hisce Actis supplendum eorumdem episcoporum Laterculum apud Schelstratium in dissert. de Ecclesia Africana. Hanc opinionem sequendam omnino, existimo, eamque inde confirmo, quod nullus tunc fuisse videatur Carthagine Montanistarum episcopus. Nullius profecto in suis libris unquam meminit Tertullianus, quin nullum tum fuisse, pluribus in locis manifestissime indicat. Id enim evidentissime nihil colligere videor ex iis omnibus locis, in quibus traditionum auctoritatem adversus haereticos urget. Vult enim Christum doctrinam suam apostolis communicasse : apostolos viris apostolicis quos per singulas civitates episcopos constituerunt ; hos vero suis successoribus, id est iis qui deinceps viris apostolicis ordinatione legitima successerunt. Statuit, eas duntaxat ecclesias, pro veris et apostolicis existimandas, quae in suis fastis digerendis episcoporum catalogum ad aliquem vel ex apostolis perduxerint,
VI. From the same vision of Saturus another conjecture arises for me, by which I could easily persuade that Perpetua and her fellow martyrs were thoroughly estranged from the communion of the Montanists, but both led their life and shed their glorious blood for Christ in the peace and unity of the Catholic Church: "And we went out," says Saturus, "and we saw before the doors Optatus the bishop on the right, and Aspasius the presbyter, a teacher, on the left, separated and sad, and they threw themselves at our feet and said to us: Make peace between us, because you have gone out and thus you leave us. And we said to them: Are you not our papa, and you our presbyter? How is it that you throw yourselves at our feet? And we threw ourselves down, and we embraced them... And while we were speaking with them, the angels said to them: Let them be, let them refresh themselves; and if you have any dissensions among yourselves, forgive one another; and they put them into confusion. And they said to Optatus: Correct your people, for they gather to you thus as though returning from the circus and contending over factions." This Optatus Basnage makes the bishop of the Montanists of Carthage, and Aspasius a presbyter of the same sect, and he thinks that one or the other of them composed the Acts of our martyrs. On the contrary the most learned Pagi, from an observation supplied to him by the celebrated abbé Louis de Feur, teaches that Optatus was bishop of the Carthaginians, that is, of the Catholics, and successor of Aggrippinus, and that from these Acts the List of those same bishops in Schelstrate, in his dissertation on the African Church, must be supplemented. This opinion, I think, is altogether to be followed, and I confirm it from this, that there appears to have been at that time no bishop of the Montanists at Carthage. Tertullian certainly never mentions any in his books; indeed he indicates most plainly in several places that there was none at that time. For I seem to gather this most evidently from all those passages in which he presses the authority of the traditions against the heretics. For he holds that Christ communicated His doctrine to the apostles; the apostles to the apostolic men whom they appointed bishops in the several cities; and these to their successors, that is, to those who thereafter succeeded the apostolic men by legitimate ordination. He lays down that only those churches are to be reckoned true and apostolic which, in drawing up their records, have carried the catalogue of bishops back to some one either of the apostles
Editors' notes and page, col. 165
Footnotes
(81) ‹anchor: not visible in the page-foot image› · call in col 165 or 166
Cap. 3 et seqq.
Ch. 3 and following.
(printed under page 135)
(82) ‹anchor: not visible in the page-foot image› · call in col 165 or 166
Cap. 5.
Ch. 5.
(printed under page 135)
Page
- running head: PRO SS. PERPETUA, FELICIT[...] (cut off at the image edge); column number 165
- marginal letters: A ‹psit. Cum ita martyr Dinocrates›; B ‹quit Saturus, et vidimus ante fores›; C ‹et Aspasium ejusdem sectae presbyterum›; D ‹nibus locis, in quibus traditionum›
- old-edition numerals: 159 after ‹martyrum›
- other: the word perduxerint, was split at the column break and stands whole here (joined on receipt); check that the English reads whole across the break into col 166
vel ex apostolicis viris qui tamen cum apostolis perseveraverit ; aut si serius fuerint institutae, traducem fidei ab apostolicis ecclesiis acceperint, et ab earum deinceps communione nunquam exciderint, cujusmodi erant Ecclesiae Africanae quae ad Romanam Ecclesiam suam originem referebant. Urget haereticos, ut suarum ecclesiarum origines edant et episcoporum catalogum, aut ad apostolos perducant, vel ad apostolicos viros, vel primum sibi episcopum ab ecclesiis apostolicis datum, una cum fidei semine, ostendant. Ita adversus haereticos argumentatur, tum libro De praescriptionibus, tum libro quarto Contra Marcionem, ubi Marcionitas his inter caetera verbis lacessit : « Habet plane et illud ecclesias, sed suas, tam posteras, quam adulteras, quarum si censum requiras, facilius apostaticum invenies, quam apostolicum, Marcione scilicet conditore, vel aliquo de Marcionis examine. Faciunt favos et vespae, faciunt ecclesias et Marcionitae. » Hoc utique argumento nunquam Tertullianus fuisset usus, si unum episcopum a catholico episcopo separatum, Montanistae Carthaginenses id temporis habuissent ; cum nihil proclivius fuisset et facilius, quam illud in suum regerere auctorem, et Montanistas urgere, ut suorum episcoporum catalogum ederent, num forte originem suam vel apostolis, vel apostolicis viris, aut saltem apostolicis ecclesiis deberent, an potius Montano, vel alicui de Montani examine. At Tertullianus, ut supra ostendimus, non se adhuc putabat ab apostolicarum ecclesiarum communione praecisum, et ex Catholicis et Montanistis unum couflari arbitrabatur Ecclesiae corpus : quod in adversis membris diversis institutionibus regeretur ; nec disciplinarum varietatem, salva fidei regula, ecclesiarum laedere unitatem ; unde illa ejus vox de apostolicis ecclesiis loquentis : « Una Ecclesia sumus. » Sed quomodo una Ecclesia, si cathedram adversus cathedram erexissent, et episcopum adversus episcopum constituissent ?
or of the apostolic men who nevertheless persevered with the apostles; or, if they were founded later, have received the transmission of the faith from the apostolic churches and have never thereafter fallen away from their communion, of which kind were the African Churches, which traced their origin to the Roman Church. He presses the heretics to publish the origins of their churches and the catalogue of their bishops, and either to trace them back to the apostles, or to apostolic men, or to show their first bishop given to them by the apostolic churches together with the seed of the faith. So he argues against the heretics both in the book On Prescriptions and in the fourth book Against Marcion, where among other things he assails the Marcionites with these words: "That [sect] too certainly has churches, but its own, as late as they are adulterous; and if you seek their census, you will more easily find an apostate than an apostolic one, Marcion, to be sure, being the founder, or someone from Marcion's swarm. Wasps too make combs; the Marcionites too make churches." Tertullian would certainly never have used this argument if the Carthaginian Montanists had at that time had a bishop of their own, separated from the catholic bishop; since nothing would have been readier and easier than to turn it back upon its author and to press the Montanists to publish the catalogue of their bishops, [to see] whether perhaps they owed their origin to the apostles, or to apostolic men, or at least to apostolic churches, or rather to Montanus, or to someone from Montanus' swarm. But Tertullian, as we have shown above, did not yet think himself cut off from the communion of the apostolic churches, and judged that one body of the Church was formed out of Catholics and Montanists, which was governed in its opposed members by diverse institutions; and that variety of disciplines, the rule of faith being kept safe, did not harm the unity of the churches; whence that saying of his, speaking of the apostolic churches: "We are one Church." But how one Church, if they had raised up chair against chair and set up bishop against bishop?
Verum quemadmodum Tertullianus, ubi contra haereticos disputat, episcoporum ordinem extollit, ita in libris adversus Catholicos deprimit, ac fere laicis peraequat, adversus haereticos disputans, nullam sine episcopis apostolicis veram agnoscit Ecclesiam ; qui tamen in libris adversus Catholicos Ecclesiam in tribus laicis constituit, ut libro De exhort. castit. : « Ubi tres, Ecclesia est, licet laici. » Et libro De fuga in persecut. : « Non potes discurrere per singulos, sit tibi et in tribus Ecclesia. » Et lib. De pudicit. : « Non Ecclesia numerus episcoporum. » Cogitanti nihil, cur adeo sibi contraria in hisce libris effutiret, id unum ad animum occurrit. Cum catholici episcopi Montanistas a communione repellerent, neque ipsi alium suae sectae haberent episcopum, hoc ad solalium
But just as Tertullian, where he disputes against the heretics, extols the order of bishops, so in the books against the Catholics he lowers it and almost makes it equal with the laity; disputing against the heretics, he acknowledges no true Church without apostolic bishops; yet in the books against the Catholics he establishes the Church in three laymen, as in the book On the Exhortation to Chastity: "Where there are three, there is the Church, even though they are laymen." And in the book On Flight in Persecution: "You cannot run about among individuals; let there be a Church for you even in three." And in the book On Modesty: "The Church is not a number of bishops." To me, as I ponder why he should blurt out things so contrary to himself in these books, this one thing comes to mind. Since the catholic bishops were driving the Montanists away from communion, and they themselves had no other bishop of their own sect, this he devised by way of consolation for himself,
Editors' notes and page, col. 166
Footnotes
(83) ‹anchor: Ecclesia sumus› · call in col 166
Lib. De virgin. veland.. cap. 2.
The book On the Veiling of Virgins, ch. 2.
(printed under page 135)
(84) ‹anchor: De exhort. castit.› · call in col 166
Cap. 7.
Ch. 7.
(printed under page 135)
(85) ‹anchor: De fuga in persecut.› · call in col 166
Cap. 14.
Ch. 14.
(printed under page 135)
(86) ‹anchor: De pudicit.› · call in col 166
Cap. 21.
Ch. 21.
(printed under page 135)
Page
- running head: TUA, FELICITATE ET SOCIIS. (left part cut off at the image edge)
- marginal letters: A ‹rint, vel ex apostolicis viris›; B ‹tam posteras, quam adulteras›; C ‹et ex Catholicis et Montanistis›; D ‹cos Ecclesiam in tribus laicis›
- old-edition numerals: 160 after ‹libro›
suum excogitasse, nullam esse jure divino clericorum in laicos protestatem, nullam, quae in causa necessitatis laicos contringeret. Ita enim fiebat ut laici communione a clericis segregati, ipsi sibi clerici essent, ipsi sacerdotes, ipsi et tinguerent et offerrent; nullaque proinde eos obligatio manebat, ut se, sacramentornm recipiendorum gratia, clericorum deinceps arbitrio permitterent: Nonne, inquit, loco citato De exhort, cast, « et laici sacerdotes sumus? Scriptum est: Regnum quoque nos et sacerdotes Deo et Patri suo fecit. » Differentiam inter ordinem et plebem constituit Ecclesiae auctoritas et honor per ordinis consessum sanctificatus: adeo ubi ecclesiastici ordinis non est consessus, et offers, et tinguis, et sacerdos es tibi solus. Sed ubi tres, Ecclesia est, licet laici. Unusquisque enim sua fide vivit; nec est personarum acceptio apud Deum, etc. Igitur si habes jus sacerdotis in temetipso, ubi necesse est, habeas oportet etiam disciplinam sacerdotis, ubi necesse sit habere jus sacerdotis. Digamus tinguis? Digamus offers? Quanto magis laico digamo capitale est agere pro sacerdote, cum ipsi sacerdoti, digamo facto, conferatur agere sacerdotem? « Annon haec optima conjectura est, nullum tum fuisse Carthagine Montanistarum episcopum? Etenim si adversus haereticos episcopalis ordinis auctoritas urgenda est, Catholicorum indices proferuutur. Si pro Montanistis adversus Catholicos decertandum episcoporum auctoritas contemnitur, et Ecclesia in tribus laicis constituitur. Optatus itaque episcopus, qui in Actis nostrorum martyrum memoratur, perperam fuisse dicitur Montanistarum Carthaginensium episcopus: sed catholicae communioni praefuit. Id quod etiam iis angelorum verbis confirmatur, quibus jubetur plebem suam corrigere, « quia sic, inquiunt, ad te conveniunt, quasi de circo redeuntes et de factionibus certantes. » Haec enim verba non in eum bene conveniunt, qui paucorum hominum sectae praeesset, qualis tunc erat in Africa Montanistarum: sed qui populum et multitudinem gubernaret, qua se merito Catholici, ut ex eodem Tertulliano discimus, efferebant. Jam vero argumento liquere puto, Perpetuam et Saturum sociosque martyres catholicae communionis fuisse, non autem de grege Montanistarum: cum eorum catholicus episcopus curam gerat, ad eos accurrat, cum eis communicet, ad eorum se pedes mittat, sermones cum eis misceat, eorum denique opem imploret, et ipsi martyres suum expresse papam et episcopum appellent.
that there is by divine right no power of the clergy over the laity, none which would constrain the laity in a case of necessity. For thus it came about that the laity, separated from communion with the clergy, were themselves clergy to themselves, themselves priests, themselves both baptized and offered; and consequently no obligation remained upon them to commit themselves thereafter, for the sake of receiving the sacraments, to the judgement of the clergy: "Are not we laymen also priests," he says in the place cited, On the Exhortation to Chastity. "It is written: He has made us also a kingdom and priests to God and His Father." The authority of the Church and the honour sanctified through the bench of the order have established the difference between the order and the people: so that where there is no bench of the ecclesiastical order, you both offer and baptize and are a priest to yourself alone. But where there are three, there is a church, even though they be laymen. For each one lives by his own faith, nor is there respect of persons with God, etc. Therefore, if you have the right of a priest in yourself, where it is necessary, you must also have the discipline of a priest, where it may be necessary to have the right of a priest. Do you, a digamist, baptize? Do you, a digamist, offer? How much more is it a capital offence for a digamist layman to act as priest, when from the priest himself, once he has become a digamist, the acting as priest is taken away?" Is this not the best conjecture, that there was at that time no bishop of the Montanists at Carthage? For if the authority of the episcopal order is to be pressed against heretics, the lists of the Catholics are brought forward. If one has to contend for the Montanists against the Catholics, the authority of bishops is despised, and the Church is constituted in three laymen. Accordingly the bishop Optatus, who is mentioned in the Acts of our martyrs, is wrongly said to have been bishop of the Carthaginian Montanists: rather, he presided over the Catholic communion. This is confirmed also by those words of the angels by which he is bidden to correct his people, "because thus," they say, "they come together to you, as if returning from the circus and contending over factions." For these words do not fit well one who presided over a sect of few men, such as that of the Montanists then was in Africa, but one who governed a people and a multitude, in which the Catholics, as we learn from the same Tertullian, deservedly prided themselves. Now indeed I think it is clear from the argument that Perpetua and Saturus and their fellow martyrs were of the Catholic communion, and not of the flock of the Montanists: since their Catholic bishop takes care of them, runs to them, communicates with them, throws himself at their feet, joins in conversation with them, and finally implores their help, and the martyrs themselves expressly call him their pope and bishop.
VII. Postremo pro sanctis martyribus conjectura nascitur, cum ex Ecclesiae sollicitudine, ut splendite
VII. Finally, a conjecture arises in favour of the holy martyrs, both from the solicitude of the Church that the holy martyrs should be treated splendidly
Editors' notes and page, col. 167
Footnotes
(87) ‹anchor: Tertulliano discimus› · call in col 167
De jejuniis, cap. 11.
On Fasting, ch. 11.
(printed under page 136)
Page
- running head: 167 DISSERTATIO APOL (cut off at the image edge)
- marginal letters: A ‹lium suum excogitasse›; B ‹es tibi solus. Sed ubi tres›; C ‹pus, qui in Actis nostrorum martyrum›; D ‹cum eorum catholicus episcopus curam gerat›
- old-edition numerals: 161 after ‹Patri›
in carcere sancti martyres et liberaliter tractarentur; tum ex facilitate qua exhibitum sibi refrigerium ipsi martyres admittebant, ab omni prorsus morositate alieni, quae in hypocritis et haereticis, iis praesertim qui se morum gravitate et disciplinae asperitate jactant, ut erant Montanistae, solet ut plurimum eminere. Actorum loca, quae huc pertinent, adnotanda sunt, cap. I, § 2: « Ibi tunc Tertius et Pomponius, benedicti diacones qui nobis ministrabant, constituerunt pretio ut paucis horis emissi, in meliorem locum carceris refrigeraremus: » cap III, § 1: « Deinde post paucos dies, Pudens miles Optio praepositus carceris, qui non magni facere coepit, intelligens magnam virtutem esse in nobis, multos fratres ad nos admittebat, ut et nos et illi invicem refrigeraremus; cap. V, § 3: « Cum a tribuno castigatius eo tractarentur, quia ex admonitionibus hominum vanissimorum verebatur, ne subtraherentur de carcere incantationibus aliquibus magicis, in faciem respondit Perpetua, et dixit: Quid utique non permittis refrigerare noxlis nobilissimis, Caesaris scilicet, et natali ejusdem pugnaturis? Aut non tua gloria est, si pinguiores illo producamur? Horruit et erubuit tribunus, et ita jussit illos humanius haberi, ut fratribus ejus et caeteris facultas fieret introeundi, et refrigerandi cum eis, jam et ipso Optione carceris credente. » Et cap. V, 4: Pridie quoque cum illa coena ultima, quam liberam vocant, quantum in ipsis erat, non coenam liberam, sed agapen coenarent, etc. »
and liberally in prison; then from the readiness with which the martyrs themselves accepted the refreshment offered to them, being utterly free of all peevishness, which is wont for the most part to stand out in hypocrites and heretics, above all in those who boast of strictness of morals and severity of discipline, as the Montanists did. The passages of the Acts that bear on this are to be noted, chap. 1, § 2: "Then Tertius and Pomponius, the blessed deacons who ministered to us, arranged for a price that we should be let out for a few hours and refresh ourselves in a better part of the prison:" chap. 3, § 1: "Then after a few days Pudens, a soldier, an optio in charge of the prison, who began to hold us in great esteem, understanding that there was great power in us, admitted many brethren to us, so that both we and they might refresh one another; chap. 5, § 3: "When they were being treated rather harshly by the tribune, because, from the warnings of most foolish men, he feared that they might be removed from the prison by some magical incantations, Perpetua answered him to his face and said: Why indeed do you not permit us to refresh ourselves, the most noble of the condemned, namely Caesar's, who are to fight on his birthday? Or is it not your glory if we are brought out fatter there? The tribune shuddered and blushed, and so ordered them to be held more humanely, so that her brothers and the others had leave to come in and refresh themselves with them, the optio of the prison himself now being a believer." And chap. 5, 4: "On the day before, too, at that last meal which they call the free meal, as far as lay in them, they ate not a free meal but an agape, etc."
VIII. Quam haec consentanea sunt vetustissimae Ecclesiae catholicae disciplinae, quae maximam semper et maternam erga confessores in vinculis constitutos ostendit sollicitudinem, tam aliena videntur ab asperrimis in speciem Montanistarum institutis. Lucianus in epistola de Morte Peregrini, veterum Christianorum erga fratres suos pro fide in vinculis positos, pietatis et charitatis officia, quanvis ea nefarie deridens, graphice tamen his verbis luculenterque describit: « Magistratus autem eorum etiam intus cum eo condormiebant, custodibus corruptis: Dein coenae variae introducebantur, et sacri eorum sermones dicebantur... Aliqui etiam ex quibusdam Asiae civitatibus venerunt, e communi mittentibus Christianis, qui viro opem ferrent, ipsumque defenderent et consolarentur. Incredibilem autem quamdam celeritatem ostendunt, si quid tale publicum contingat. Illico enim nulli rei parcunt. Proinde Peregrino tunc multae pecuniae mittebantur, et non exiguum proventum hunc lucrifecit. » Sed Christianos hac de re disserentes audiamus. Sanctus Cyprianus pluribus epistolarum suarum locis veteris hujus Ecclesiae consuetudinis meminit, et in
VIII. As much as these things agree with the discipline of the most ancient Catholic Church, which always showed the greatest and a motherly solicitude towards confessors placed in chains, so foreign do they seem to the institutions of the Montanists, outwardly most severe. Lucian, in his letter on the Death of Peregrinus, although wickedly mocking them, nevertheless vividly and clearly describes in these words the offices of piety and charity of the ancient Christians towards their brethren placed in chains for the faith: "Their magistrates, moreover, even slept inside with him, the guards having been bribed: then various meals were brought in, and their sacred discourses were spoken... Some even came from certain cities of Asia, the Christians sending them from their common [fund], to bring the man help and to defend and console him. They show a certain incredible speed whenever any such public thing happens. For at once they spare nothing. Accordingly much money was then sent to Peregrinus, and he made no small revenue out of this." But let us hear Christians discoursing on this matter. Saint Cyprian, in several places of his letters, mentions this ancient custom of the Church, and
Editors' notes and page, col. 168
Footnotes
(88) ‹anchor: terque describit› · call in col 168
Οἱ δ' ἐν τέλει καὶ αὐτῶν καὶ συνεκάθευδον ἔνδον μετ' αὐτοῦ, διαφθείραντες τοὺς δεσμοφύλακας· εἶτα δεῖπνα ποικίλα εἰσεκομίζετο, καὶ λόγοι ἱεροὶ αὐτῶν ἐλέγοντο..... Καὶ μὴν καὶ τῶν ἐν Ἀσίᾳ πόλεων ἔστιν ὧν ἧκόν τινες, τῶν Χριστιανῶν στελλόντων ἀπὸ τοῦ κοινοῦ, βοηθήσοντες καὶ συναγορεύσοντες καὶ παραμυθησόμενοι τὸν ἄνδρα. Ἀμήχανον δέ τι τὸ τάχος ἐπιδείκνυνται ἐπειδάν τι τοιοῦτον γένηται δημόσιον, ἐν βραχεῖ γὰρ ἀφειδοῦσι πάντων. Καὶ δὴ καὶ τῷ Περεγρίνῳ πολλὰ τότε ἧκε χρήματα παρ' αὐτῶν ἐπὶ προφάσει τῶν δεσμῶν, καὶ πρόσοδον οὐ μικρὰν ταύτην ἐποιήσατο.
Their officials even slept inside with him, having bribed the jailers; then elaborate meals were brought in, and their sacred discourses were recited..... And indeed from some of the cities in Asia there came certain men, sent by the Christians from their common fund, to help, to speak in his defence and to console the man. They show an extraordinary speed whenever any such public matter arises; in a short time they spare nothing. And so at that time much money came to Peregrinus from them on account of his bonds, and he made no small revenue of it.
(printed under page 136)
Page
- running head: [DISSER]TATIO APOLOGETICA 168
- marginal letters: A ‹dite in carcere sancti martyres›; B ‹et illi invicem refrigeraremus›; C ‹Ecclesiae catholicae disciplinae›; D ‹tem quamdam celeritatem ostendunt›
- old-edition numerals: 102 after ‹ex›
haec non minus quam in alia curae pastoralis officia sedulo ac solerter incubuit. Ita enim hac de re praecipit epistola quinta, quam e secessu scripsit ad Clerum : Quantum autem ad sumptus suggerendos, sive illis qui gloriosa voce Deum confessi, in carcere sunt constituti, sive iis, qui pauperes et indigentes laborant, peto nihil desit ; cum summa omnis quae redacta est illic sit apud clericos distributa propter ejusmodi casus ; ut haberent plures, unde ad necessitates et pressuras singulorum operari possint. » Is porro erat christiauae plebis erga confessores affectus, ut non ei hac in parte stimulos addere, sed fratrum ad carceres concursum, ad fovendos scilicet atque refocillandos confessores, ex prudentiae legibus moderari opus esset. Unde statim subjungit : « Peto quoque, ad procurandam quietem, solertia et sollicitudo vestra non desinat ; nam etsi fratres pro dilectione sua cupidi sunt ad conveniendum et visitandum confessores bonos, quos illustravit jam gloriosis initiis divina dignatio, tamen caute hoc, et non glomeratim, nec per multitudinem simul junctam puto esse faciendum, ne ex hoc ipso invidia concitetur, et introeundi aditus denegetur, et dum insatiabiles multum volnmus, totum perdamus. Consnlite ergo et providete, ut cum temperamento hoc agi tutius possit : ita ut presbyteri quoque, qui illic apud confessores offerunt, singuli cum singulis diaconis per vices alternent : quia et mutatio personarum, et vicissitudo convenientium minuit invidiam. » Et epistola 12, ad Pamelii nameros 37, de eodem argumento ita rursus scribit ad clerum : « Quanquam sciam vos, fratres charissimi, litteris meis frequenter admonitos esse, ut gloriosa voce Dominum confessis, et in carcere constitutis omnis diligentia praebeatur ; tamen identidem vobis incumbo, ne quid ad curam desit iis quibus ad gloriam nihil deest. Atque utinam loci, et gradus mei conditio permitteret, ut ipse nunc praesens esse possem : Promptus et libens solemni ministerio cuncta circa fortissimos fratres nostros dilectionis obsequia complerem, sed officium meum vestra diligentia repraesentet, et faciat omnia quae fieri oportet circa eos quos in talibus meritis fidei ac virtutis illustravit divina dignatio. » Et infra in eadem epistola. Tertulli in iis pietatis officiis diligentiam, atque sollicitudinem lauda : « Quanquam Tertullus, fidelissimus et devotissimus frater noster, pro caetera sollicitudine et cura sua, quam fratribus in omni obsequio operationis impertit, qui nec illic circa curam corporum deest, etc. » Ad diaconos haec cura specialiter pertinebat, ut non solum ex nostrorum martyrum Actis, sed etiam ex ejusdem Cypriani epistolis et ex Dionysii Alex. epistola ad Domitium et Didymum, ubi Eusebii Diaconi sedulitatem commendat, qui in martyres
to these, no less than to the other duties of pastoral care, he applied himself diligently and skilfully. For thus on this matter does the fifth letter direct, which he wrote from his retreat to the clergy: "But as regards supplying expenses, whether for those who, having confessed God with glorious voice, have been placed in prison, or for those who labour in poverty and need, I ask that nothing be lacking; since the whole sum which was collected there has been distributed among the clergy on account of emergencies of this kind, so that more might have the means to work for the necessities and distresses of individuals." Moreover, such was the affection of the Christian people towards the confessors that there was need in this respect not to add spurs to it, but rather to regulate by the laws of prudence the crowding of the brethren to the prisons, that is, to cherish and refresh the confessors. Hence he immediately adds: "I ask also that your skill and solicitude not cease in securing quiet; for although the brethren, out of their love, are eager to meet and visit the good confessors, whom the divine favour has already made illustrious with glorious beginnings, nevertheless I think this should be done cautiously, and not in crowds nor by a multitude gathered together at once, lest from this very thing ill will be stirred up, and access for entering be refused, and while in our insatiability we want much, we lose all. Take counsel, therefore, and see to it that this may be done more safely with moderation: so that the presbyters also, who offer there among the confessors, may take turns one at a time, each with one deacon; for both the change of persons and the alternation of those who come lessen ill will." And in letter 12, number 37 in Pamelius's numbering, on the same subject he again writes thus to the clergy: "Although I know, dearest brethren, that you have frequently been admonished by my letters that all diligence should be shown to those who have confessed the Lord with glorious voice and have been placed in prison, nevertheless I press upon you again and again that nothing be lacking for the care of those to whom nothing is lacking for glory. And would that the condition of my place and rank permitted me to be present myself now: ready and willing, I would fulfil by solemn ministry all the services of love towards our bravest brethren; but let your diligence stand in for my office, and do all that ought to be done concerning those whom the divine favour has made illustrious in such merits of faith and virtue." And below in the same letter he praises the diligence and solicitude of Tertullus in these duties of piety: "Although Tertullus, our most faithful and most devoted brother, besides the other solicitude and care which he bestows on the brethren in every service of work, who is not lacking there either in the care of bodies, etc." This care belonged especially to the deacons, as [appears] not only from the Acts of our martyrs, but also from the letters of the same Cyprian and from the letter of Dionysius of Alexandria to Domitius and Didymus, where he commends the zeal of the deacon Eusebius, who expended on the martyrs
Editors' notes and page, col. 169
Footnotes
(89) ‹anchor: not visible in the page-foot image› · call in col 169 or 170
Εὐσέβιος ὃν ἐξ ἀρχῆς ὁ Θεὸς ἐνεδυνάμωσε καὶ παρεσκεύασε τὰς ὑπηρεσίας τῶν ἐν ταῖς φυλακαῖς γενομένων ὁμολογητῶν ἐναγῶν ὡς ἀποπληροῦν, καὶ τὰς τῶν σωμάτων περιστολὰς τῶν τελείων καὶ μακαρίων μαρτύρων οὐκ ἀκινδύνως ἐκτελεῖν. Apud Euseb.. libr. XII, cap. 2.
Eusebius, whom God from the beginning strengthened and prepared to fulfil zealously the services of the confessors who were in the prisons, and, not without danger, to carry out the laying-out of the bodies of the perfected and blessed martyrs. In Eusebius, book XII [as printed], ch. 2.
(printed under page 137)
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- running head: 169 PRO SS. PERPETUA, FELICIT⟨...⟩ (cut off at image edge)
- marginal letters: A haec non minus quam in alia; B statim subjungit : « Peto quoque; C ita rursus scribit ad clerum; D « Quanquam Tertullus
- old-edition numerals: 162 after confessores
Alexandrinos eam curam impendit, quam erga martyres Carthaginenses Tertullus : « Eusebius, quem Deus jam inde ab initio roboravit, impulitque ut confessoribus in custodia positis ministeria strenue exhiberet, utque consummatorum ac beatorum martyrum cadavera non sine capitis sui periculo sepeliret. » Tertullianus antequam se ab Ecclesia omnino abalienasset, et abruptius adversus eam disputare coepisset, in libro ad Martyres ejusdem moris cum laude meminit : « Inter carnis alimenta, benedicti martyres designati, quae vobis et domina mater Ecclesia de uberibus suis et singuli fratres de opibus suis propriis in carcerem subministrant, capite educandum. Carnem saginari, et spiritum esurire non prodest. » Et infra, capite secundo : « Ipsam interim conversationem saeculi et carceris comparemus, si non plus in carcere spiritus acquirit, quam caro amittit ; imo et quae justa sunt, caro non amittit per curam Ecclesiae et agapen fratrum. » Sed postquam sese prorsus in disciplinam Montani tradidit· et acerbius atque inverecundius cum Catholicis gerere simultates coepit, tum Ecclesiae erga confessores charitatem longe quam Lucianus invidiosius traduxit ; tum quae Christianis observanda foret in vinculis ex Montanistarum legibus et institutis victus et disciplinae severitas, his in libro de Jejuniis verbis exposuit : « Plane vestrum est, in carceribus popinas exhibere martyribus incertis, ne consuetudinem quaerant, ne taedeat vitae, ne nova abstinentiae disciplina scandalizentur, cum nec ille Pristinas vester non christianus martyr attingeret, quem et facultate custodiae liberae aliquandiu fartum omnibus balneis quasi baptismate melioribus, et omnibus luxuriae secessibus quasi Ecclesiae secretioribus, et omnibus vitae istius illecebris quasi aeternae dignioribus, hoc puto obligatum ne mori vellet : postremo ipso tribunalis de luce summa condito mero tanquam antidoto praemedicatum, ita enervastis, ut paucis singulis titillatus (hoc enim ebrietas sentiebat) quem Dominum confiteretur interroganti praesidi respondere non potuerit amplius : atque ita de hoc jam extortus, cum singultus et ructus solos haberet, in ipsa negatione digessit. » Haec Tert.. de Catholicis, quae quamvis ad invidiam faciendam sint ultra modum exaggerata clare tamen ostendunt, fuisse catholicos martyres in vinculis, quoad per milites et custodes licebat, splendide ac liberaliter habitos. De Montanistarum vero duritia gravitateque haec antea praemiserat : « Ut ab Joanne Paracletus obmutuisset, ipsi nobis prophetae in hanc maxime causam exstitissemus.. indicentes omnem ταπεινοφρόνησιν cum carcer ediscendus, et fames ac sitis exercendae, et tam inediae quam anxii victus tolerantia usurpanda sit, ut in carcerem talis introeat christianus, qualis inde prodisset;
of Alexandria that care which Tertullus [expended] on the Carthaginian martyrs: "Eusebius, whom God from the very beginning strengthened and impelled to render services vigorously to the confessors placed in custody, and to bury the bodies of the perfected and blessed martyrs not without peril to his own life." Tertullian, before he had wholly estranged himself from the Church and had begun to dispute against it rather abruptly, mentions the same custom with praise in the book To the Martyrs: "Among the nourishments of the flesh, blessed martyrs-designate, which both the lady mother Church from her breasts and the individual brethren from their own resources supply to you in prison, take [something] for the nurturing [of the spirit]. It does not profit for the flesh to be fattened and the spirit to go hungry." And below, in chapter two: "Let us meanwhile compare the very life of the world and of the prison, [to see] whether the spirit does not gain more in prison than the flesh loses; nay, even what things are proper the flesh does not lose, through the care of the Church and the agape of the brethren." But after he had handed himself over entirely to the discipline of Montanus and had begun to carry on feuds with the Catholics more bitterly and more shamelessly, he both misrepresented the Church's charity towards the confessors far more spitefully than Lucian did, and set out what severity of diet and discipline Christians in chains ought to observe according to the laws and institutions of the Montanists, in these words in the book On Fasts: "Plainly it is your way to provide cook-shops in the prisons for unreliable martyrs, lest they miss their habits, lest they grow weary of life, lest they be scandalized by the new discipline of abstinence, which not even that Pristinus of yours, no Christian martyr, touched; him whom, having for some time, through the convenience of free custody, been stuffed with all the baths as though better than baptism, and with all the retreats of luxury as though more secret than those of the Church, and with all the allurements of this life as though worthier than the eternal, bound by this, I suppose, not to wish to die; lastly, on the very day of the tribunal, from first light premedicated with spiced unmixed wine as with an antidote, you so unnerved that, tickled by a few single [strokes] (for drunkenness felt this much), he could no longer answer the governor asking whom he confessed as Lord; and so, being now racked on this account, since he had only hiccups and belches, he passed away in the very denial." These things Tertullian [says] about the Catholics; and although they have been exaggerated beyond measure to stir up odium, they nevertheless show clearly that the Catholic martyrs in chains, so far as the soldiers and guards permitted, were maintained splendidly and liberally. But of the harshness and gravity of the Montanists he had set down this beforehand: "As though, the Paraclete having fallen silent from John onwards, we ourselves had arisen as prophets to ourselves chiefly for this cause, enjoining all humility (tapeinophronēsis) when prison is to be learned, and hunger and thirst to be practised, and the endurance both of fasting and of anxious diet to be taken up, so that the Christian may enter prison in such a state as he would have come out from it,
Editors' notes and page, col. 170
Footnotes
(90) ‹anchor: verbis exposuit› · call in col 170
Cap. 12.
Ch. 12.
(printed under page 137)
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- running head: ‹…›TUA, FELICITATE ET SOCIIS. 170
- marginal letters: A Alexandrinos eam curam impendit; B secundo : « Ipsam interim; C nus martyr attingeret; D in vinculis, quoad per milites
- old-edition numerals: 164 after ‹capite›
- other: the word prodisset; was split at the column break and stands whole here (joined on receipt); check that the English reads whole across the break into col 171
non poenam illic passurus, sed disciplinam, nec saeculi tormenta, sed officia, eoque fidentior processurus ad certamen e custodia abusus nihil habens carnis, sic ut nec habeant tormenta materiam; cum sola et arida sit cute loricatus, et contra ungulas corneus, praemisso jam sanguinis succo, tanquam animae impedimentis, properante jam et ipsa, quae saepe jejunans, mortem de proximo norit. » Haec victus austeritas, quam hic Tertullianus ex Montanistarum disciplina describit, non hic solum in nostrorum martyrum Actis nullibi apparet; quin eos contra superius vidimus cibo potuque libere utentes, et cum castigatius tractarentur, Perpetuam audivimus his tribunum verbis objurgantem, eique sancta securitate dicentem: « Quid utique non permittis retrigerare noxiis nobilissimis, Caesaris scilicet, et aliquid et a nobis quod faciat ad Spiritum quoque natali ejusdem pugnaturis? aut non tua gloria est, si pinguiores illo producamur? » Quae certe verba, praeter excelsam animi securitatem et indolem, quam prae se ferunt, mentem etiam Perpetuae demonstrant a Montanistarum institutis omnino alienam, et aliis quam Tertullianus cogitationibus praeditam. Quid enim adeo contrarium quam Perpetuae et ⟨T⟩ertulliani hac de re sensus et verba? Hic christianum vult ad certamen e custodia procedere, nihil habentem carnis, sola et arida cute loricatum, praemisso jam sanguinis succo, etc. Perpetua vero cum tribuno de victas tenuitate expostulat et, quanquam festive, ait tamen pinguiorem velle se in amphitheatrum produci. Ille Catholicos reprehendit, quod Pristino, ipso tribunalis die, lautius convivium paraverint. Perpetua vero, sociique martyres, pridie quam bestiis objicerentur, coenam quam liberam vocabant, et quae bestiariis lantissima parabatur, neutiquam respuerunt.
not about to suffer punishment there, but discipline, nor the torments of the world, but its duties, and so about to go forth to the contest from custody the more confidently, worn down, having no flesh, so that the torments may not even have material; since he is armoured with skin alone, and that dry, and horny against the claws, the juice of the blood having already been sent ahead, as being the encumbrances of the soul, the soul itself also already hastening, which, often fasting, has come to know death at close quarters. » This austerity of diet, which Tertullian here describes from the discipline of the Montanists, not only appears nowhere in the Acts of our martyrs; on the contrary, we saw above that they made free use of food and drink, and when they were being treated more strictly, we heard Perpetua rebuking the tribune in these words and saying to him with holy assurance: « Why indeed do you not permit us, most noble condemned persons, belonging, that is, to Caesar, to refresh ourselves, and [to receive] something also from us that may avail for the Spirit too, since we are to fight on his very birthday? Or is it not your glory if we are brought out fatter on that day? » These words certainly, besides the lofty assurance and character of mind which they display, also show that the mind of Perpetua was wholly alien from the institutions of the Montanists, and endowed with thoughts other than those of Tertullian. For what is so contrary as the sentiments and words of Perpetua and of Tertullian on this matter? He wants the Christian to go forth from custody to the contest having no flesh, armoured with skin alone, and that dry, the juice of the blood having already been sent ahead, etc. Perpetua, however, remonstrates with the tribune about the meagreness of their diet and, though playfully, nevertheless says that she wishes to be brought out into the amphitheatre fatter. He censures the Catholics because they prepared a rather lavish banquet for Pristinus on the very day of the tribunal. Perpetua, however, and her fellow martyrs, on the day before they were thrown to the beasts, by no means refused the supper which they called the free [supper], and which was prepared most sumptuously for those condemned to the beasts.
IX. In quo sane catholicorum martyrum consuetudinem secuti sunt, qui illatos sibi cibos cum gratiarum actione percipere consueverunt. Alcibiades, unus e martyribus Lugdunensibus, austerum vivendi genus, antequam pro fide comprehenderetur, sectatus fuerat, in carcere retinebat, Attalo autem per visionem ostensum est, non recte neque ordine facere Alcibiadem, quod duro illo et autcro et singulari vitae genere uteretur. Testes hujus rei habemus longe gravissimos, Lugdunenses ipsos atque Viennenses in Encyclica de martyrio suorum, apud Eusebium, epistola: Alcibiades quidam, unus ex illorum martyrum numero, durum et squalidum vivendi genus sectabatur; nullumque omnino cibum admittens, solo pane et aqua ad id
IX. In which indeed they followed the custom of the Catholic martyrs, who were accustomed to receive with thanksgiving the food brought to them. Alcibiades, one of the martyrs of Lyons, kept up in prison the austere manner of life which he had followed before he was arrested for the faith; but it was shown to Attalus through a vision that Alcibiades was not acting rightly or properly in using that hard, austere and singular manner of life. We have by far the weightiest witnesses of this matter, the people of Lyons themselves and of Vienne, in the encyclical on the martyrdom of their own, in Eusebius, a letter: A certain Alcibiades, one of the number of those martyrs, followed a hard and squalid manner of life; and admitting no food at all, [using] only bread and water up to that
Editors' notes and page, col. 171
Footnotes
(91) ‹anchor: apud Eusebium, epistola› · call in col 171
Ἀλκιβιάδου γάρ τινος ἐξ αὐτῶν, πάνυ αὐχμηρὸν βιοῦντος βίον, καὶ μηδενὸς ὅλως πρότερον μεταλαμβάνοντος ἀλλ' ἢ ἄρτῳ μόνῳ καὶ ὕδατι χρωμένου, πειρωμένου τε καὶ ἐν τῇ εἱρκτῇ οὕτω διάγειν, Ἀττάλῳ μετὰ τὸν πρῶτον ἀγῶνα, ὃν ἐν τῷ ἀμφιθεάτρῳ ἤνυσεν, ἀπεκαλύφθη, ὅτι μὴ καλῶς ποιοίη ὁ Ἀλκιβιάδης μὴ χρώμενος τοῖς κτίσμασι τοῦ Θεοῦ, καὶ ἄλλοις τόπον σκανδάλου ὑπολειπόμενος· πεισθεὶς δὲ Ἀλκιβιάδης πάντων ἀνεδὴν μετελάμβανε, καὶ ηὐχαρίστει τῷ Θεῷ· οὐ γὰρ ἀνεπίσκεπτοι χάριτος Θεοῦ ἦσαν, ἀλλὰ τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον ἦν σύμβουλον αὐτοῖς. Apud Eusebium, lib. v Hist. Eccles. cap. 3.
For one of them, Alcibiades, lived a very austere life, and had before taken nothing whatever except bread alone and water, and was trying to live so in prison too; it was revealed to Attalus, after the first contest he went through in the amphitheatre, that Alcibiades was not doing well in not using the creatures of God and in leaving others an occasion of stumbling. Alcibiades was persuaded, and partook of everything freely, and gave thanks to God; for they were not unvisited by the grace of God, but the Holy Spirit was their counsellor. In Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History, book V, ch. 3.
(printed under page 138)
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- running head: 171 DISSERTATIO APOLO[...] (cut off at the image edge)
- marginal letters: A ‹disset; non poenam illic›; B ‹« Quid utique non permittis›; C ‹duci. Ille Catholicos reprehendit›; D ‹hujus rei habemus longe›
- old-edition numerals: 165 after ‹et› (Caesaris scilicet, et)
usque temporis v⟨e⟩sci consueverat. Cumque in carcere positus eamdem vivendi rationem vellet retinere, Attalo post primum, quod in amphitheatro confecerat certamen, revel⟨a⟩tum est, non recte neque ordine facere Alcibi⟨ad⟩em, qui et creaturis Dei minime uteretur; et aliis exemplum scandali fieret. Paruit itaque Alcibiades, et cunctis deinceps cibis, promiscue uti coepit, gratias agens Deo, Neque enim divina gratia eos praesentia sua destituerat; sed consultorem habebant Spiritum sanctum. » Huic itaque eidem Spiritui nostri martyres morem gerentes, communem illum quem diximus, vulgaremque vitae modum, etiam in vinculis, usurparunt, ab ea vivendi ratione aperte diversum, quem suis Montanistae martyribus praescripserunt.
time he had been accustomed to eat. And when, after being put in prison, he wished to keep the same manner of living, it was revealed to Attalus, after the first contest which he had completed in the amphitheatre, that Alcibiades was not acting rightly or in good order, in that he made no use of the creatures of God and was becoming an example of scandal to others. Alcibiades therefore obeyed, and from then on began to take all foods without distinction, giving thanks to God. For divine grace had not deprived them of its presence; rather, they had the Holy Spirit as counsellor." Complying therefore with this same Spirit, our martyrs adopted, even in chains, that common and ordinary mode of life of which we have spoken, plainly different from the manner of living which the Montanists prescribed for their martyrs.
X. Nunc vero, quamvis mihi jam videar, quae poterant in utramque partem de nostris martyribus disputari, in medium protulisse: sustine tamen, lector, ut te paulisper detineam, quoad omnia, prolixius forsitan disputata, sub unum veluti conspectum ponam; et utriusque opinionis Momenta, tam ejus videlicet quae sanctos martyres uti montanistas traducit, quam ejus quae illorum patrocinium suscepit, pauca in verba conferam, utrorumque instituta comparatione. Sed prius nobis in memoriam revocare debemus, hanc unam esse ex illis controversiis, de quibus sententia tuto pronuntiari non potest, nisi ad singulas notas, et omnes circumstantias animum adverterimus, quae vel ex ipsa re in disputatione posita oriuntur, vel eam extrinsecus comitantur; de quibus sapientissima illa constituta regula est quod si quidem omnes circumstantiae tales sunt, quales rarissime inveniuntur cum falsitate conjunctae, viri prudentis est morigerum se praebere. et assensum facile accommodare. Quod si e contra hae circumstantiae ejusmodi sunt quae saepissime adjunctam falsitatem habent, ratio exigit ut vel assensum nostrum inhibeamus, vel ut falsum judicemus quod narratur, cum nullatenus appareat illud verum esse quamvis aliunde quin fieri potuerit absolute non repugnet, aut etiam reapse factum non esse, ea certitudine non constet, quam metaphysicam vocant, et qua mathematicae facultates gaudent. Hominis enim imprudentissimi et nullius judicii esset, ejusmodi evidentiam et certitudinem requirere in rebus contingentibus, et particularibus factis, quae in historiis narrantur, et hominum testimoniis, et fide humana nituntur.
X. Now, although I seem to myself already to have brought forward whatever could be argued on either side concerning our martyrs, bear with me nevertheless, reader, that I may detain you a little while, until I place all the points, argued perhaps at too great length, as it were under a single view; and that I may set side by side in few words the weights of each opinion, namely both of that which brands the holy martyrs as Montanists and of that which has taken up their defence, a comparison of the two being made. But first we must call to mind that this is one of those controversies on which judgement cannot safely be pronounced unless we have attended to the individual marks and all the circumstances, which either arise from the very matter set in dispute or accompany it from outside; concerning which that most wise rule has been laid down, that if indeed all the circumstances are such as are very rarely found joined with falsehood, it is the part of a prudent man to show himself compliant and readily to give his assent. But if on the contrary these circumstances are of such a kind as very often have falsehood joined to them, reason requires that we either withhold our assent or judge false what is narrated, since it in no way appears to be true, although on other grounds it is not absolutely incompatible that it could have happened; or even that it was not in fact done, although this is not established with that certainty which they call metaphysical and which the mathematical disciplines enjoy. For it would be the mark of a most imprudent man and one of no judgement to require evidence and certainty of this kind in contingent matters and particular facts, which are narrated in histories and rest on the testimonies of men and on human faith.
His positis, argumenta Basnagii cum nostris argumentis, rationes cum rationibus conferamus,
These things being laid down, let us compare the arguments of Basnage with our arguments, reasons with reasons,
Editors' notes and page, col. 172
Footnotes
(92) ‹anchor: regula est› · call in col 172
Vid. Logic. sive de Arte Cogit., part. IV, cap. 13.
See the Logic, or the Art of Thinking, part IV, ch. 13.
(printed under page 138)
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- running head: …TATIO APOLOGETICA 172 (cut at the left edge; presumably DISSERTATIO APOLOGETICA)
- marginal letters: A ‹usque temporis v⟨e⟩sci›; B ‹runt.›; C ‹eam extrinsecus comitantur›; D ‹set, ejusmodi evidentiam›
- old-edition numerals: 166 before X. (head of paragraph)
Aequi autem prudentisque lectoris erit ei causam adjudicare, cujus rationes rarissime, aut saltem rarius cum falsitate conjunctae sunt, quam quae ex adversa parte producuntur. Et quoniam cum externis tum internis argumentis utrinque pugnatum est: externorum cum externis, et internorum cum iis quae sunt ejusdem generis, collationem instituemus. Quod ad priora illa pertinet, sive externa, nullus equidem dubito, quin juxta regulam positam, et sapientum calculo comprobatam, nobis, seu potius sanctis martyribus, causa adjudicanda sit. Nam quae de nostrorum martyrum recta fide habemus externa testimonia, ejusmodi sunt, ut quamvis unum aut alterum fallere possit, aut aliquando etiam fefellerit, omnia tamen, non dicam rarissime, sed nunquam omnino inveniuntur cum falsitate conjuncta. Neque enim martyris alicujus aut confessoris afferri potest exemplum, quem Ecclesia in sanctorum album ea, qua Perpetuam sociosque martyres celebritate, retulerit, qui deinde post quindecim ab ejus obitu saecula a recta fide repertus fuerit alienus. Quare prudentiam Basnagii desideramus cum ad extenuandas propositi argumenti vires exempla indicat quorumdam haereticorum, quorum nomina in sua martyrologia quidam horumce operum concinatores privato judicio retulerunt. Ad argumentum enim labefactandum, quod ex publico et universali, et per tot saecula nunquam interrupto sanctorum cultu conficitur, haereticus aliquis in medium fuisset adducendus, cujus in Ecclesia cultus non minus fuerit quam nostrorum martyrum pervulgatus. Magnus Athanasius in epistola apologetica pro sancto Dionysio Alex, ad ejus orthodoxiam adversus Arianos vindicandam, hoc imprimis utitur argumento, quod magnum et evidentissimum existimat: « Magni certe argumenti est, in hoc illos vere non dicere, sed virum calum⟨niari⟩, quod nec ille unquam ab aliis episco⟨p⟩is dep⟨rehen⟩sae impietatis damnatus, episcopatu pulsus sit, ut illi e Clero ejecti sunt; neque haeresis propugnandae causa secesserit ab Ecclesia; sed in illa pie obdomierit, ejusque memoria hactenus cum patribus celebrata, et una in album relata sit. Si enim eadem, quae illi, sensis⟨s⟩et, aut si scriptorum suorum rationem non reddidisset; minime dubium, quin eadem fuisset, qua illi, poena plectendus. » An hoc etiam Athanasii pro Dionysio argumentum frigida hac Basnagius responsione diluisset, quod haeretici episcopi aliquando in martyrologia, aut sacra diptycha irrepserint? Nae futile et prorsus indignum viro prudenti responsum! Quinimo exemplum statuendum fuisset in homine, in quem haec omnia simul orthodoxiae
But it will be the part of a fair and prudent reader to adjudge the case to that side whose reasons are very rarely, or at least more rarely, joined with falsehood than those which are brought forward from the opposing side. And since the contest has been fought on both sides with both external and internal arguments, we shall make a comparison of the external with the external, and of the internal with those that are of the same kind. As regards the former, that is, the external, I for my part have no doubt that, according to the rule laid down and approved by the judgement of the wise, the case must be adjudged to us, or rather to the holy martyrs. For the external testimonies that we have concerning the right faith of our martyrs are of such a kind that, although one or another may deceive, or even has at some time deceived, yet all of them together are found, I will not say very rarely, but never at all joined with falsehood. For no example can be brought of any martyr or confessor whom the Church has entered in the roll of the saints with the same solemnity with which she entered Perpetua and her fellow martyrs, and who was afterwards, fifteen centuries after his death, found to be a stranger to the right faith. Wherefore we find Basnage's prudence wanting when, to weaken the force of the argument put forward, he points to examples of certain heretics whose names certain compilers of these works have entered in their martyrologies by private judgement. For to overthrow the argument which is drawn from the public and universal cult of the saints, uninterrupted through so many centuries, some heretic ought to have been brought forward whose cult in the Church had been no less widespread than that of our martyrs. The great Athanasius, in his apologetic letter on behalf of Saint Dionysius of Alexandria, written to vindicate his orthodoxy against the Arians, makes use above all of this argument, which he considers great and most evident: « It is certainly a great proof that in this they do not speak the truth but slander the man, that he was never condemned by other bishops for detected impiety, nor driven from his bishopric, as they were cast out of the clergy; nor did he withdraw from the Church for the sake of championing a heresy; but he fell asleep piously within her, and his memory is celebrated to this day with the fathers, and he has been entered together with them in the roll. For if he had held the same views as they, or if he had not given an account of his writings, there is no doubt at all that he would have had to be visited with the same penalty as they. » Would Basnage also have refuted this argument of Athanasius for Dionysius with this frigid reply, that heretical bishops have sometimes crept into martyrologies or the sacred diptychs? Truly a futile reply, and wholly unworthy of a prudent man! On the contrary, an example ought to have been set up in a man in whom all these signs of orthodoxy together
Editors' notes and page, col. 173
Footnotes
(93) ‹anchor: evidentissimum existimat› · call in col 173
Μέγα μὲν οὖν τεκμήριον τοῦ μηδὲ τοῦτο λέγειν αὐτοὺς ἀληθὲς, ἀλλὰ τὸν ἄνδρα συκοφαντεῖν, ὅτι μήτε παρ' ἑτέρων ἐπισκόπων ἐπ' ἀσεβείᾳ καταγνωσθεὶς ἀπεβλήθη τῆς ἐπισκοπῆς, ὥσπερ οὗτοι τοῦ κλήρου, μήτε αὐτὸς ὡς αἵρεσιν ἐκδικῶν ἐξῆλθε τῆς Ἐκκλησίας, ἀλλ' ἐν αὐτῇ κεκοίμηται καλῶς, καὶ ἡ μνήμη μέχρι νῦν αὐτοῦ μετὰ τῶν πατέρων ἐστὶ καὶ γέγραπται· εἰ γὰρ ἦν τὰ τούτων φρονήσας, ἢ περὶ ὧν ἔγραψε μὴ ἦν ἀπολογησάμενος, οὐκ ἦν ἀμφίβολον ὅτι πάντως τὰ αὐτὰ καὶ αὐτὸς αὐτοῖς ἐπεπόνθει. Montfauconian. Edit.. n. 3.
It is a great proof, then, that they do not say even this truly but slander the man, that he was neither condemned for impiety by other bishops and cast out of his bishopric, as these were cast out of the clergy, nor did he himself leave the Church to champion a heresy, but he fell asleep in it honourably, and his memory is kept and recorded to this day with the fathers. For had he held their views, or had he not made a defence about what he wrote, there is no doubt that he too would in every way have suffered the same as they. Montfaucon's edition, no. 3.
(printed under page 139)
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- running head: 173 PRO SS. PERPETUA, FELICIT[...] (cut off at the image edge)
- marginal letters: A ‹Aequi autem prudentisque›; B ‹rarissime, sed nunquam omnino› (letter stands between this line and ‹falsitate conjuncta›); C ‹nostrorum martyrum pervulgatus›; D ‹qua illi, poena plectendus›
- old-edition numerals: 167 after ‹propositi›
indicia convenerint, qui tamen post plurium ab ejus obitu saeculorum intervallum fuerit haereticus deprehensus. Sed hujusce rei nullum omnino exstat in ecclesiasticis monumentis exemplum. Quae vero Basnagio suppetunt ex Tertulliani auctoritate, et Actorum compilatore adversus Perpetuam sociosque martyres conjecturae ejusmodi sunt, quae falsitatem adjunctam non raro et manifestissime habent. Cum, ut ostendimus, Tertulliamus, et catholicos martyres saepissime laudaverit, et ad eorum communionem aspiraverit, et Novatiani denique, non minus quam Montanistae ab eclesia catholica extorres catholicorum Acta martyrum luci dederint, seraeque posteritati commendarint, etc.
concurred, who nevertheless, after an interval of several centuries from his death, was found out to be a heretic. But of such a thing there exists no example whatever in the ecclesiastical records. But the conjectures that Basnage has to hand from the authority of Tertullian and from the compiler of the Acts against Perpetua and her fellow martyrs are of such a kind that they not rarely, and most manifestly, have falsity attached to them. Since, as we have shown, Tertullian both very often praised the catholic martyrs and aspired to their communion, and finally the Novatianists, no less than the Montanists, though exiles from the catholic church, brought the catholics' Acts of martyrs to light and commended them to late posterity, etc.
Eadem est internorum argumentorum comparatio. Nostra enim ex sanctitate martyrum, ex eorum ⟨vir⟩tutibus, et miraculis et vaticiniis, et ex prophetiarum exitu conficiuntur, quae simul omnia nunquam omnino inveniuntur, cum haeresi fuisse conjuncta. Quae vero apud Basnagium ex quarumdam visionum, ut ipsi videtur, inconcinnitate proficiscuntur, talia sunt, quae ut multum, secundum se spectata, et in bonam possemus et in malam partem interpretari. Sed ubi inveniuntur cum sanctitate et simplicitate vitae, cum miraculis et vaticiniorum eventu conjuncta, ratio postulat ut ea in partem, quoad fieri poterit, optimam accipiamus. Et hinc argumentum exsistit, ex quo adversarius nulla, ut mihi videtur, ratione possit evadere. Aut enim iis quae de nostrorum martyrum virtutibus, prophetiis, et miraculis in Actis referuntur, fidem accommodat, aut potius abrogat. Si fidem habeat, in tuto profecto est sanctorum martyrum orthodoxia; cum eae virtutes, in quibus nihil fucatum, nihil adulterinum repertum est, nihil denique per simulationem et hypocrisim gestum, ea miracula, eae prophetiae, in haereticos martyres non conveniant; multo autem minus in montanistas, quae in Actis habentur, ab eorum dogmatis, et disciplina, ut ostendimus, per quam aliena. Et tunc, ut dixi, ratio postulat, ut visiones et revelationes, quemadmodum et a nobis, et ante nos a divo Augustino et ab aliis veris doctissimis factum est, in optimam partem interpretemur. Sin autem iis quae de Perpetuae, Felicitatis sociorumque martyrum virtutibus, etc., referuntur fidem Basnagius derogat, eadem ratione, et iis fidem abrogare debebit, quae in Actis ad visiones et revelationes martyrum pertinent. Nulla enim ratio patitur, ut Actis contra martyres credat, pro martyribus fidem non habeat. Praecipue cum longe proclivius sit existimare Actorum compilatorem in iis quae de visionibus narrat, esse mentitum, quam in iis quae de signis et miraculis habet: visionum
The comparison of the internal arguments is the same. For ours are drawn from the holiness of the martyrs, from their virtues, and from their miracles and predictions, and from the outcome of their prophecies, all of which together are never at all found to have been joined with heresy. But the arguments that in Basnage proceed from the incongruity, as it seems to him, of certain visions are such that at most, considered in themselves, we could interpret them both in a good and in a bad sense. But where they are found joined with holiness and simplicity of life, with miracles and the fulfilment of predictions, reason demands that we take them, so far as can be done, in the best sense. And hence there arises an argument from which the adversary, as it seems to me, can by no reasoning escape. For either he gives credence to the things related in the Acts about the virtues, prophecies and miracles of our martyrs, or rather he withholds it. If he gives credence, the orthodoxy of the holy martyrs is surely safe; since those virtues, in which nothing counterfeit, nothing spurious has been found, nothing finally done through pretence and hypocrisy, those miracles, those prophecies, do not befit heretical martyrs; and much less do they befit the Montanists, the things contained in the Acts being, as we have shown, altogether foreign to their dogmas and discipline. And then, as I have said, reason demands that we interpret the visions and revelations in the best sense, as has been done both by us and, before us, by the divine Augustine and by other most learned men. But if Basnage withholds credence from the things related about the virtues, etc., of Perpetua, Felicity and their fellow martyrs, by the same reasoning he will be bound to withhold credence also from those things in the Acts that pertain to the visions and revelations of the martyrs. For no reasoning allows that he should believe the Acts against the martyrs and not credit them on behalf of the martyrs. Especially since it is far easier to suppose that the compiler of the Acts lied in what he narrates about the visions than in what he has about signs and miracles, for of the visions
Editors' notes and page, col. 174
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- running head: TUA, FELICITATE ET SOCIIS. 174 (cut off at left edge of image)
- marginal letters: A ‹indicia convenerint›; B ‹Nostra enim ex sanctitate›; C ‹aut potius abrogat›; D ‹fidem abrogare debebit›
- old-edition numerals: 168 after ‹in›
enim et revelationum solus Deus testis erat et martyres, qui jam fuerunt e vivorum numero immanitate carnificum exturbati; quae vero ad miracula pertinent, in aperto quaedam eorum, et in medio amphitheatro a scriptore coaevo gesta narrantur, ubi profecto in auctore contemporaneo ullus fraudis, et suspicionis locus esse non potest; facitque hic maxime, quod de id genus miraculis praeclare Dodwellus observat: Si ea scilicet pro historicae fidei captu, atque natura probari sibi velint athei, nihil prorsus esse quod hic desiderare possint, quominus hujus modi narrationes videantur esse verissimae: « Imprimis enim non in angulis, inquit, aut paucis quibusdam consciis, quorum posset interesse, sed palam gesta, et in omnium conspectu narrant, tam inimicorum quam amicorum, quin potius inimicorum, qui locum in theatris praecipuum habebant. Ita factum non modo ut qui ea scripserint, ea certo possent cognoscere; sed et qui alia in sententia essent, ea facile possent certoque refellere Deinde, talia fuisse haec gesta, ut plurimorum intererit, et quam maxime, ne lateret veritas, sed potius ut esset compertissima. Persecutorum intererat, ne haec vera crederentur, quibus gravissima forent crudelitatis infamia apud absentes, tam vivos quam etiam posteros, onerandi, quibus divino etiam suffragio damnati viderentur. Christianorum etiam maxime omnium intererat,
and revelations God alone was witness, and the martyrs, who had already been driven out of the number of the living by the savagery of the executioners; but as for what pertains to the miracles, some of them are narrated by a contemporary writer as done in the open and in the middle of the amphitheatre, where surely, in a contemporary author, there can be no place for fraud and suspicion; and here applies above all what Dodwell excellently observes about miracles of that kind: namely, that if atheists wish such things to be proved to them according to the capacity and nature of historical credibility, there is nothing at all here that they could find wanting to prevent narratives of this sort from appearing most true: "For in the first place," he says, "they narrate things done not in corners, or with only a few accomplices whose interest it might be, but openly and in the sight of all, of enemies as well as of friends, indeed rather of enemies, who held the chief place in the theatres. So it came about not only that those who wrote them could know them with certainty, but also that those who were of another opinion could easily and certainly refute them. Next, these deeds were of such a kind that it concerned very many people, and as much as possible, that the truth should not lie hidden but rather be most thoroughly ascertained. It concerned the persecutors that these things should not be believed true, since they would be loaded with the gravest infamy of cruelty among those absent, the living as well as posterity, and would seem condemned even by the divine verdict. It concerned the Christians too most of all,
Editors' notes and page, col. 175
Footnotes
(94) ‹anchor: Dodwellus observat› · call in col 175
Dissert. XII Cyprianica, de Martyr. Fortitud., § 45.
Dissertation XII on Cyprian [Cyprianic Dissertations], on the Fortitude of the Martyrs, § 45.
(printed under page 140, under the left column, col 175)
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- running head: 175 INCERTI DE SS. SCRIPT. CANONE 176 (printed CANONB)
- marginal letters: A ‹enim et revelationum› / ‹erat, siquidem fuissent›; B ‹conspectu narrant› / ‹nemo qua fruitur›; C (none); D (none)
- old-edition numerals: 169 after ‹divino›; 170 after ‹asseruntur,›
- misprints kept as printed: intererit (for intererat?); refellere Deinde (stop missing after refellere)
- other: the page is a two-column page (cols 175 and 176) above the rule: the text from ‹erat, siquidem fuissent› to the end of the dissertation stands in the right-hand column, col 176, and is set there (Q3, 2026-10-25: the copy that had been set here under the col 175 rail was removed, as it duplicated c176_a.md; col 175 ends with ‹intererat,›, whose tail ‹erat› heads col 176)
- other: the column continues with IN FRAGMENTUM SEQUENS (another unit); not set here
siquidem fuissent falsa, ne vera crederentur, quibus tantos hujus vitae cruciatus tam nulla futurorum praemiorum mercede lucraturi. Non est itaque quod suspicemur contemptas has fuisse narrationes; sed vero omnem potius ab utrisque diligentiam in illis eruendis fore adhibendam. » Quod si Acta Perpetuae ab auctore coaevo collecta fuisse Basnagius negat, jam eo res recidit ut omnem non solum miraculis, sed etiam visionibus fidem derogemus, et ad externa argumenta controversia tota revocetur, in quibus vidimus quantum Perpetuae causa triumphet. Demus tamen paria esse quae in utramque partem momenta modo asseruntur, cum boni viri sit et aequi judicis dubia in meliorem potius partem quam in deteriorem interpretari, et nemo qua fruitur bonae famae et existimationis possessione, nisi malus certis indiciis et perspicuis argumentis demonstretur, exui debeat, nullo modo permittendum erat ut ea quae jam per quindecim saecula rectae fidei et sanctitatis existimatione gavisi sunt, ob leves quasdam conjecturas, Perpetua sociique martyres exuerentur. Quod quidem in causa fuit ut in hac controversia defensoris partes in me ultro susciperem, et hanc qualemcunque meam dissertationem in publicum emitterem, quae tota quanta est, utinam in Dei honorem et gloriam martyrum cedat!
if they had been false, that they should not be believed true, they who were to earn such great torments of this life with no reward at all of future prizes. There is therefore no ground for us to suspect that these narratives were held in contempt; but rather that all diligence would have been applied by both parties in bringing them to light." But if Basnage denies that the Acts of Perpetua were collected by a contemporary author, the matter now comes down to this: that we withdraw all credence not only from the miracles but also from the visions, and the whole controversy is called back to the external arguments, in which we have seen how greatly the cause of Perpetua triumphs. Let us grant, however, that the considerations now alleged on either side are equal: since it belongs to a good man and a fair judge to interpret doubtful things in the better rather than in the worse sense, and no one ought to be stripped of the possession of a good name and esteem which he enjoys unless he is shown to be bad by certain indications and plain arguments, in no way was it to be permitted that Perpetua and her fellow martyrs, who have now for fifteen centuries enjoyed the esteem of right faith and holiness, should be stripped of it on account of certain light conjectures. This indeed was the reason why I took upon myself of my own accord the part of defender in this controversy, and sent out to the public this dissertation of mine, such as it is; and may the whole of it, as much as it is, redound to the honour of God and the glory of the martyrs!
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Editors' notes and page, col. 176
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- running head: DE SS. SCRIPT. CANONE 176 (head of the following piece; left edge cropped in image)
- marginal letters: A ‹erat, siquidem fuissent falsa›; B ‹nemo qua fruitur bonae famae›; C (none above the rule); D (none above the rule)
- old-edition numerals: 170 after ‹asseruntur,› (last digit blotted in the image)
- other: column opens with the tail 'erat' of 'intererat', kept whole at the end of col 175 per the driver; not set here. The closing » ends Orsi's quotation opened in col 175. 'crederentur' and 'Perpetua' (line before 'sociique') are low-contrast in the image (render looks like 'erederentur', 'Perpetna'); read as type damage, UNSURE. 'tam nulla' set as printed.