PL 3 · cols. 1149–1154

S. Cyprianus, Epistola ad Quintum, de haereticis baptizandis

Editors' preface

Cyprianus Quinto fratri salutem.

Cyprian to his brother Quintus, greeting.

I. Retulit ad me, frater charissime, Lucianus compresbyter noster. te desiderasse ut significaremus tibi quid sentiamus de his qui apud haereticos et schismaticos baptizari videntur. De qua re quid nuper in concilio plurimi coepiscopi cum compresbyteris qui aderant censuerimus, ut scires, ejusdem epistolae exemplum tibi misi. Nescio etenim qua praesumptione ducuntur quidam de collegis nostris, ut putent eos qui apud haereticos tincti sunt, quando ad nos venerint, baptizari non oportere, eo quod dicant unum baptisma esse, quod unum scilicet in Ecclesia catholica est. Quae Ecclesia, si una est, esse baptisma extra Ecclesiam non potest: nam, cum duo baptismata esse non possint, si haeretici vere baptizant, ipsi habent baptisma; et qui hoc illis patrocinium de auctoritate sua praestat, cedit illis et consentit, uthostes

I. Lucianus, our fellow-presbyter, has reported to me, dearest brother, that you desired us to indicate to you what we think about those who appear to be baptized among heretics and schismatics. So that you might know what we, very many fellow-bishops together with the fellow-presbyters who were present, recently decided in council on this matter, I have sent you a copy of that same letter. For I do not know by what presumption certain of our colleagues are led to think that those who have been dipped among heretics ought not to be baptized when they come to us, on the ground that they say there is one baptism, which one baptism, namely, is in the Catholic Church. But if the Church is one, there cannot be baptism outside the Church: for, since there cannot be two baptisms, if heretics truly baptize, they themselves have baptism; and he who by his own authority affords them this patronage yields to them and agrees with them, so that enemies

Editors' notes and page, col. 1149

Footnotes

VARIAE LECTIONES (printed under page 626)

(1) ‹call not visible in foot› · call in col 1149

Quintino fratri Erasm.

"To brother Quintinus": Erasmus.

(printed under page 626)

(2) ‹call not visible in foot› · call in col 1149

Quid nos sentiamus Lam Bod. 2;

"What we think": Lambeth MS, Bodleian MS 2.

(printed under page 626)

(3) ‹apud haereticos› · call in col 1149

Et schismaticos Lam. Ebor. NC. 1. Bod. 2.

"And schismatics": Lambeth MS, York MS, New College MS 1, Bodleian MS 2.

(printed under page 626)

(4) ‹Quae Ecclesia› · call in col 1149

Quae Ecclesia quia una est Bod. 1, 2. Lin. NC. 1. Ebor. Si est una, et esse Corb. Quod unum scilicet in Ecclesia una est, et esse baptisma praeter Ecclesiam non potest M. R. Praeter Ecclesiam Lam, Ebor. Lin. NC. 1, 2.

"Which Church, because it is one": Bodleian MSS 1 and 2, Lincoln MS, New College MS 1, York MS. "If it is one, and to be": Corbie MS. "Which is one, namely in the Church it is one, and baptism cannot exist apart from the Church": M. R. "Apart from the Church": Lambeth MS, York MS, Lincoln MS, New College MSS 1 and 2.

(printed under page 626)

(5) ‹ut hostes› · call not visible in foot (col 1149)

Hostis et adversarius Christi habere videatur Lam. Ebor. NC. 1. Bod. 1, 2. Lin.

"May be seen to hold [it as] an enemy and adversary of Christ": Lambeth MS, York MS, New College MS 1, Bodleian MSS 1 and 2, Lincoln MS.

(printed under page 626)

(1) ‹call not visible in foot› · call in col 1149

Quinto fratri. Hunc et collegam suum vocat, et in Mauritania constitutum fuisse testatur epistola sequenti, ubi etiam meminit hujus epistolae. RIGALT.

To brother Quintus. He also calls him his colleague, and in the following letter, where he also mentions this letter, he testifies that he was established in Mauretania. RIGAULT.

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(2) ‹videntur› · call in col 1149 (printed after "videntur"; the lemma's words stand in col 1150)

Dum et apud haereticos baptisma esse dicunt. Atque inter canones qui dicuntur Apostolorum, disertissime habetur, τοὺς παρὰ τῶν αἱρετικῶν βαπτισθέντας ἢ χειροτονηθέντας, οὔτε πιστοὺς οὔτε κληρικοὺς εἶναι δυνατόν. Can. 68. RIGALT.

While they say that there is baptism among heretics too. And among the canons called the Apostles' it is laid down most expressly: "those baptized or ordained by heretics can be neither faithful nor clergy." Canon 68. RIGAULT.

(printed under page 626)

Editors' prose

EPISTOLA S. CYPRIANI AD QUINTUM. DE HAERETICIS BAPTIZANDIS. (Erasm. p. 397. Pamel. Rigalt. Baluz. Oxon. Lips. LXXI.)

The Letter of St Cyprian to Quintus.

Page

running head: 1149 PARS I. — MONUMENTA V (cut off at the image edge)
marginal letters: A Cyprianus Quinto fratri salutem; B possint, si haeretici vere baptizant; C (1) Quinto fratri (in the notes); D tari, nempe mortuos spiritaliter (in the notes)
old-edition numerals: (none)
other: full-width lines standing above the column (set once above under Editors' prose): title "EPISTOLA S. CYPRIANI AD QUINTUM.", sub-title "DE HAERETICIS BAPTIZANDIS.", and the concordance "(Erasm. p. 397. Pamel. Rigalt. Baluz. Oxon. Lips. LXXI.)"; Variae lectiones and Variorum notae at the page foot; column ends mid-sentence at "uthostes", continued in col. 1150 ("et adversarii..."); salutation printed in small capitals; Variorum note call (2) is printed in this column after "videntur"
misprints kept as printed: "noster. te" (full stop for comma); "uthostes" (for "ut hostes", printed without the space)
note (3) of the Variorum notae begins under this column but is called in col 1150 (Eccli. (3) xxxiv, 30); it belongs to that column's notes

PL 3:1150

et adversarii Christi habere videantur abluendi et purificandi et sanctificandi hominis potestatem. Nos autem dicimus eos qui inde veniunt, non rebaptizari apud nos, sed baptizari. Neque enim accipiunt illic aliquid ubi nihil est; sed veniunt ad nos ut hic accipiant ubi et gratia et veritas omnis est, quia et gratia et veritas una est. Porro autem quidam de collegis nostris malunt haereticis honorem dare quam nobis consentire; et, dum unius baptismi asseveratione baptizare venientes nolunt, sic, aut duo baptismata ipsi faciunt, dum et apud haereticos baptisma esse dicunt, aut certe, quod est gravius, haereticorum sordidam et profanam tinctionem, vero et unico et legitimo Ecclesiae catholicae baptismo praeponeri et praeferre contendunt: non considerentes scriptum esse: baptizatur a mortuo, quid proficit lavatio ejus? (Eccli. XXXIV, 30.) Manifestum est autem eos

and adversaries of Christ should seem to have the power of washing and purifying and sanctifying a man. But we say that those who come from there are not rebaptized among us, but baptized. For they do not receive anything there, where there is nothing; but they come to us so that they may receive here, where there is both grace and all truth, because both grace and truth are one. Moreover, some of our colleagues prefer to give honour to heretics rather than agree with us; and, while on the assertion of one baptism they refuse to baptize those who come, they thus either themselves make two baptisms, when they say that there is baptism among the heretics as well, or certainly, which is more serious, they strive to set the filthy and profane dipping of the heretics before and above the true and only and lawful baptism of the Catholic Church, not considering that it is written: One is baptized by a dead man; what does his washing profit? (Sir. 34:30.) But it is manifest that they

Editors' notes and page, col. 1150

Footnotes

(6) ‹proficit lavatio› · call in col 1150

Lavatione Bod. 1. Lin.

"By the washing": Bodleian MS 1, Lincoln MS.

VARIORUM NOTAE (printed under page 626)

(3) ‹(Eccli.› · call in col 1150

Qui baptizatur a mortuo, quid proficit lavatio ejus? Saepenumero quidem noster Cyprianus et alii Patres arripiunt de Scripturis quidquid vel solo verborum sono facere ad propositum videtur, et si longe alio sit audiendum sensu: cujusmodi aliqua notavimus in praecedentibus. Quod vero hic de tricesimo Ecclesiastici capite citatum plerique putant, omnino abludit ab Sapientia Siracidis. Rectissime autem Cyprianus ait haereticos et schismaticos, qui extra Ecclesiam sunt, inter mortuos computari, nempe mortuos spiritaliter. At nihil tale sibi voluit Siracides, qui hoc tantum dixit: Eum qui a mortuo, ἀπὸ νεκροῦ hoc est a contractu mortui lavit, et abluit quod immundi contraxerat ex contage cadaveris, si postea revertatur ad cadaveris contactum, jam illam suam lavationem perdidisse, qaia novo mortui contactu sese contaminavit. Quae sententia nihil omnino facit ad mentem Cypriani. Ergo quisquis auctor fuit istius dicti, Qui a mortuo baptizatur, quid proficit lavatio ejus? (hoc enim primitus a Cypriano usurpatum fuisse nunquam crediderim), appellatione mortui aliquem intellexit ex diis gentium, qui homines quondam fuerant, et jam cum inter deos censeri incipiebant, erant mortui; aut, si non aliquem ex talibus diis, saltem aliquem ex ejusmodi deorum sacerdotibus sive cultoribus, qui etiam a Christianis inter mortuos saeculi computabantur. Itaque auctor istius dicti, ut verba Siracidis ad suum de extra Ecclesiam baptizatis sensum transferret, omisit quod apud Siracidem sequitur: Et iterum tangit eum; quo certe omisso, tota mens Siracidis eliditur: ex eoque quod a Siracide dictum fuerat, Qui a mortuo baptizatur et iterum tangit eum, non proficit lavatio ejus, dictum prorsus aliud expressit: Qui baptizatur a mortuo, non proficit lavatio ejus. Quod idiotis Christianorum, ob eam, quae fuit ipsis notissima, mortuorum appellationem, cum mire placuisset, neglecto jam Siracidis sensu, in proverbium abiit. Hoc igitur Cyprianum, non ex Siracide, sed ex vulgi proverbio sumpsisse malim equidem arbitrari, quam dicero virum tantum non legisse aut non intellexisse Siracidem. Enimvero, sic etiam opinatum esse Augustinum, ex eo colligitur quod in prolixa adversus Cresconium disputatione, qua Cypriani sententiam satis acriter refellit, haec ipsa verba a Cypriano prolata non ad Siracidis mentem retrahit, sed ex ore vulgi, uti tum ferebantur, excepta sic interpretatur, ut definitiat baptismum a mortuo, hoc est haeretico sive schismatico, extra Ecclesiam datum, tunc incipere baptizato proficere cum taliter baptizatus transit ad corpus Christi, quod est Ecclesia Dei vivi. Hoc ita citatur etiam a Quieto, episcopo Buruchensi, in concil. Carthag., et ab Augustino, lib. I. contra Petilianum, c. 9: Item cum audierit, qui baptizatur a mortuo, non ei prodest lavatio ejus, respondebit: Vivit Christus etc. Baptizantur autem a mortuis, qui baptizantur in idolorum templis; non enim et (continues)

One who is baptized by a dead man, what does his washing profit? Our Cyprian and other Fathers often seize from the Scriptures whatever seems to serve their purpose even by the mere sound of the words, though it must be heard in a far different sense; we have noted some things of this kind in what precedes. But what most think is cited here from the thirtieth chapter of Ecclesiasticus is wholly at odds with the Wisdom of the Son of Sirach. Cyprian says quite rightly that heretics and schismatics, who are outside the Church, are counted among the dead, that is, the spiritually dead. But the Son of Sirach meant nothing of the kind; he said only this: that one who has washed himself from a dead body, ἀπὸ νεκροῦ, that is, from contact with a dead man, and has cleansed the uncleanness he contracted from touching a corpse, if he afterwards returns to touching the corpse, has already lost that washing of his, because he has defiled himself by fresh contact with the dead. This sentence has nothing at all to do with Cyprian's meaning. Therefore whoever was the author of the saying, One who is baptized by a dead man, what does his washing profit? (for I would never believe that it was first used by Cyprian), meant by "the dead" one of the gods of the gentiles, who had once been men and, when they began to be reckoned among the gods, were already dead; or, if not one of such gods, at least one of the priests or worshippers of such gods, who were also counted by Christians among the dead of the world. So the author of the saying, to transfer the Son of Sirach's words to his own meaning about those baptized outside the Church, left out what follows in the Son of Sirach: and touches it again; and with that left out the whole meaning of the Son of Sirach is crushed: from what the Son of Sirach had said, He who is baptized from a dead body and touches it again, his washing does not profit, he produced an entirely different saying: He who is baptized by a dead man, his washing does not profit. Since this greatly pleased the simple among Christians, because of the term "the dead" so very familiar to them, it passed into a proverb, the Son of Sirach's sense now neglected. I would therefore rather think that Cyprian took it not from the Son of Sirach but from the common proverb, than say that so great a man had not read or had not understood the Son of Sirach. Indeed, that Augustine also held this view is gathered from the fact that in his long disputation against Cresconius, in which he refutes Cyprian's opinion quite sharply, he does not draw these very words spoken by Cyprian back to the Son of Sirach's meaning, but, taking them from the mouth of the people as they were then current, interprets them so as to define that baptism by a dead man, that is, given by a heretic or schismatic outside the Church, begins to profit the baptized when one so baptized passes into the body of Christ, which is the Church of the living God. It is cited thus also by Quietus, bishop of Buruch, in the Council of Carthage, and by Augustine, Against Petilian, book I, ch. 9: Likewise when he hears, "One who is baptized by a dead man, his washing does not profit him," he will answer: Christ lives, etc. Now those are baptized by the dead who are baptized in the temples of idols; for not also (continues)

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Page

running head: [...]ONUMENTA VETERUM. 1150 (cut off at the left edge of the image)
marginal letters: A et adversarii Christi; B contendunt: non considerentes; C aliquem ex ejusmodi deorum (in the Variorum notae at the page foot); D quod in prolixa adversus Cresconium (in the Variorum notae at the page foot)
old-edition numerals: 1105 after et (praeponeri et)
misprints kept as printed: "praeponeri" (for "praeponere"); "considerentes" (for "considerantes"); "baptizatur a mortuo" (the scripture quotation is printed without its opening "Qui"); in Variorum note (3): "qaia" (for "quia"), "dicero" (for "dicere"), "definitiat" (for "definiat")

PL 3:1151

qui non sunt in Ecclesia Christi, inter mortuos computari, nec posse ab eo vivificari alterum qui ipse non vivat; quando una sit Ecclesia, quae, vitae aeternae gratiam consecuta, et vivit in aeternum et vivificat Dei populum.

who are not in the Church of Christ are counted among the dead, and that another cannot be given life by one who does not himself live; since there is one Church, which, having obtained the grace of eternal life, both lives for ever and gives life to the people of God.

II. Et dicunt se in hoc veterem consuetudinem sequi, quando apud veteres haerescos et schismatum prima adhuc fuerint initia, ut hi illic essent qui de Ecclesia recedebant, et hic baptizati prius fuerant; quos tunc tamen ad Ecclesiam revertentes, et poenitentiam agentes, necesse non erat baptizare. Quod nos quoque hodie observamus, ut quos constet hic baptizatos esse, et a nobis ad haereticos transisse, si postmodum peccato suo cognito, et errore digesto, ad veritatem et matricem redeat, satis sit in poenitentiam manum imponere; ut, quia ovis fuerat, hanc ovem abalienatam

II. And they say that in this they are following an old custom, since among the ancients, when the first beginnings of heresy and of schisms still existed, it was so that those who were there were ones who were withdrawing from the Church and had first been baptized here; whom nevertheless, when they then returned to the Church and did penance, it was not necessary to baptize. This we too observe today: that for those who it is established were baptized here and passed over from us to the heretics, if afterwards, having acknowledged his sin and digested his error, he returns to the truth and the mother, it is enough to lay a hand on him for penance; so that, because he had been a sheep, this sheep, estranged

Editors' notes and page, col. 1151

Footnotes

VARIAE LECTIONES (printed under page 627)

(7) ‹call not visible in foot› · call in col 1151

Ut illic essent Lam. Bod. 2.

"That they might be there": Lambeth MS, Bodleian MS 2.

(printed under page 627)

(8) ‹call not visible in foot› · call in col 1151

Ubi baptizati Lam. NC. 1 Bod. 2. Ebor.

"Where [they were] baptized": Lambeth MS, New College MS 1, Bodleian MS 2, York MS.

(printed under page 627)

(9) ‹quia ovis› · call in col 1151

Ovis jam. Lam. Bod. 1, 2.

"Already a sheep": Lambeth MS, Bodleian MSS 1 and 2.

(printed under page 627)

(10) ‹hanc ovem abalienatam› · call in col 1152 (printed after "natam", the tail of "abalienatam")

Ovem abjectam Lam. NC. 1, Bod. 1, 2. Abigeatam Ver. Thu.

"A sheep cast off": Lambeth MS, New College MS 1, Bodleian MSS 1 and 2. "Rustled away": Verona MS, Thuanus MS.

VARIORUM NOTAE (printed under page 627)

(3) ‹continued from col 1150› · call in col 1150

(continued) ipsi a sacerdotibus suis se accipere arbitrantur sanctificationem quam putant: sed a diis, qui quoniam homines fuerunt et ita mortui sunt. RIG. — Non vulgatum omnino proverbium, sed textum Scripturae, hic laudatum constat ex verbis Cypriani dicentis, scriptum esse: Qui baptizantur a mortuo, etc. Huic conjecturae firmandae accedit observatio Josephi Scaligeri Elench c. XI, 8, solere homines notissimas sententias dimidiatas citare. Et pro instantia affert illud Matth. XV, 5: Δῶρον ἐὰν ξ ἐμοῦ ὠφεληθῆς. Simile quid apud Suidam videmus in usu proverbii: ἀπὸ καταδυομένης, Quod revera, si totum efferatur, erit, ἀπὸ νεὼς καταδυομένης ὅ τι ἂν λάβῃς, κέρδος. Receptae huic loquendi formulae fortasse D. Paulus videri posset allusisse, I Cor. XV, 29: Τί ποιήσουσιν οἱ βαπτιζόμενοι ὑπὲρ τῶν νεκρῶν; quid conficient aut lucrabuntur baptizati seu loti pro mortuis? Quo sensu D. Lucas dixit: Ἐποίησε ἄλλα πέντε τάλαντα. Mortui si possint polluere, saltem aliquid possunt. Et vivi qui ab impuro contactu se lustrandos procurant, agnoscunt poenas manere inexpiatos, et proinde animam esse post fata superstitem. Ad diversissimos sensus eadem proverbialia dicta adhiberi res notissima est. FELL.

(printed under page 627)

(4) ‹et errabundam› · call in col 1152 (printed after "errabundam")

Ovem abalienatam et errabundam. Non jam de Christi, sed Novati grege. Licet verior videatur lectio quae habet abigeatam. Glossae veteres, abigator, abactor, abigens, ἀπελάτης. Et juris auctores dixere, crimen abigeatus. ID.

A sheep estranged and straying. No longer of Christ's flock but of Novatus's. Though the reading that has abigeatam ("rustled") seems truer. The old glossaries: abigator, abactor, abigens, "cattle-thief." And the writers on law spoke of "the crime of cattle-rustling" (crimen abigeatus). THE SAME.

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(5) ‹praescribendum› · call in col 1152 (printed after "praescribendum")

Non est autem de consuetudine praescribendum. Et tamen post multas disceptationes consuetudo vicit. Hoc testatur Hieronymus apertissime adversus Lucifer.: Denique illi ipsi episcopi, inquit qui rebaptizandos haereticos cum Cypriano statuerant, ad antiquam consuetudinem revoluti, novam emisere decretum. Quid facimus? ita et nobis majores nostri, et illis sui tradidere majores. Augustinus, lib. III contra Cresc., c. 33: Haec consuetudo Ecclesiae fuit ante concilium Cypriani. Haec superari et auferri non potuit nec concilio Cypriani. Bonam istius consuetudinis rationem ex Augustino supra observavimus. Et generaliter hoc definiri posse videtur, in istis fidei christianae mysteriis, ubi res ipsa constat, et fides in tuto est collocata, non esse cur ab alterutra parte unitatis catholicae tranquillitas turbetur. Communem hunc locum de vi et effectu consuetudinis varie tractant Patres Ecclesiae, prout ad propositum conducit. Ipse Cyprianus adversus consuetudinem dicit, non solum hic, sed etiam epist. LXIII: Neque enim hominis consuetudinem sequi oportet, sed Dei veritatem. Et epist. LXXIV: Nec consuetudo quae apud quosdam obrepserit impedire debet quominus veritas praevaleat et vincat. Nam consuetudo sine veritate vetustas erroris est. Pro consuetudine dixit Tertullianus, lib. de Corona: Quam et idoneam testem esse ait probatae traditionis, ex perseverantia observationis. Idem adversus consuetudinem perorat. lib. de Virg. velandis: Veritati, inquit, nemo praescribere potest. Non spatium temporum, non patrocinia personarum, non privilegium regionum. Ex his enim fere consuetudo initium ab aliqua ignorantia vel simplicitate sortita, in usum per successionem corroboratur, et ita adversus veritatem vindicatur. Sed Dominus noster Christus VERITATEM se, non CONSUETUDINEM cognominavit. Atque his consimilia passim apud Hieronymum et Augustinum. RIG.

But one must not argue from custom. And yet after many disputes custom won. Jerome testifies to this most plainly against the Luciferians: In the end, he says, those very bishops who had decided with Cyprian that heretics were to be rebaptized, returning to the ancient custom, issued a new decree. What are we to do? So our elders handed it down to us, and theirs to them. Augustine, Against Cresconius, book III, ch. 33: This was the custom of the Church before Cyprian's council. It could not be overcome or removed, not even by Cyprian's council. We noted above from Augustine the good reason for this custom. And in general it seems this can be laid down: in these mysteries of the Christian faith, where the thing itself stands firm and the faith is placed in safety, there is no reason why the peace of catholic unity should be disturbed by either side. The Fathers of the Church treat this commonplace on the force and effect of custom in various ways, as suits their purpose. Cyprian himself speaks against custom, not only here but also in Letter 63: For we must follow not the custom of man but the truth of God. And Letter 74: Nor ought a custom that has crept in among some to prevent the truth from prevailing and conquering. For custom without truth is error grown old. Tertullian spoke for custom, in the book On the Crown: which he says is also a fit witness of a tradition proved by the perseverance of its observance. The same man pleads against custom, in the book On the Veiling of Virgins: No one, he says, can set a prescription against truth. Not length of time, not the patronage of persons, not the privilege of regions. For from these, as a rule, custom, having taken its beginning from some ignorance or simplicity, is strengthened into usage by succession, and so is defended against truth. But our Lord Christ named Himself THE TRUTH, not CUSTOM. And things very like these are found throughout Jerome and Augustine. RIGAULT.

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(6) ‹elegit› · call in col 1152 (printed after "elegit")

Petrus quem primum Dominus elegit. Petrus πρωτόκλητος vocatus ante alios omnes, Matthaeus, c. X: Τῶν δὲ δώδεκα ἀποστόλων τὰ ὀνόματά ἐστι ταῦτα· πρῶτος Σίμων ὁ λεγόμενος Πέτρος. Princeps haud dubie collegii, inquit Grotius, a Christo designatus ad retinendam corporis compagem... Hoc praeclare Cyprianus ostendit libro de unitate Ecclesiae. ad illa verba Christi: Tibi dabo claves. » Super unum, inquit, aedificat Ecclesiam, et quamvis apostolis omnibus, post resurrectionem suam, parem potestatem tribuat et dicat, « Sicut misit me Pater, et ego mitto vos. Accipite Spiritum sanctum: si cui remiseritis peccata, remittentur illi, et si cui tenueritis, tenebuntur; » tamen ut unitatem manifestaret unitatis ejusdem originem ab uno incipientem sua auctoritate disposuit. Sic enim legitur in antiquis exemplaribus, ut suo loco monstrabimus. Optatus Milevitanus, lib. VII: Stant toti innocentes, et peccator accipit claves, ut unitatis negotium formaretur; provisum est ut peccator aperiret innocentibus; ne innocentes clauderent contra peccatores, et quae neccessaria est unitas esse non posset. RIG.

Peter, whom the Lord chose first. Peter, called "first-called" before all the others; Matthew, ch. 10: "Now the names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon, who is called Peter." Undoubtedly the head of the college, says Grotius, appointed by Christ to hold the body's structure together... Cyprian shows this splendidly in the book On the Unity of the Church, on those words of Christ, To you I will give the keys: "On one," he says, "He builds the Church, and although after His resurrection He gives equal power to all the apostles and says, 'As the Father has sent me, so I send you. Receive the Holy Spirit: if you forgive anyone's sins, they will be forgiven him, and if you retain anyone's, they will be retained;' yet, to make unity manifest, He arranged by His own authority that the origin of that same unity should begin from one." For so it is read in the ancient copies, as we shall show in its place. Optatus of Milevis, book VII: All the innocent stand, and the sinner receives the keys, so that the business of unity might be formed; it was provided that a sinner should open to the innocent, lest the innocent should shut against sinners, and the unity that is necessary could not exist. RIGAULT.

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Page

running head: 1151 DE HÆRETICORUM BA (cut off at the image edge)
marginal letters: A qui non sunt in Ecclesia Christi; B tricem redeat, satis sit in poenitentiam manum (between this line and "imponere"); C I Cor. XV, 29: Τί ποιήσουσιν (in the Variorum notae); D rebaptizandos haereticos cum Cypriano statuerant (in the Variorum notae)
old-edition numerals: 1106 after hic
other: the last word "abalie-" is completed from col. 1152 ("natam") and set whole here; Variorum notes (4)–(6) and variant (10), printed under this page, are called in col. 1152
misprints kept as printed: "haerescos" (for "haereseos"); in Variorum note (3), continued: "baptizantur" (for "baptizatur"), "ξ" (for "ἐξ"); in note (6): "neccessaria"

PL 3:1152

et errabundam in ovile suum pastor recipiat. Si autem qui ab haereticis venit, baptizatus in Ecclesia prius non fuit, sed alienus in totum et profanus venit, baptizandus est, ut ovis fiat, quia una est aqua in Ecclesia sancta quae oves faciat, et idcirco, quia nihil potest esse commune mendacio et veritati, tenebris et luci, morti et immortalitati, antichristo et Christo, per omnia debemus Ecclesiae catholicae unitatem tenere, nec in aliquo fidei et veritatis hostibus cedere. Non est autem de consuetudine praescribendum, sed ratione vincendum. Nam nec Petrus, quem primum Dominus elegit, et super quem aedificavit Ecclesiam suam, cum secum Paulus de circumcisione postmodum disceptaret, vindicavit sibi aliquid insolenter, aut arroganter assumpsit, ut diceret se primatum tenere, et obtemperari

and wandering, the shepherd may receive into his fold. But if he who comes from the heretics was not previously baptized in the Church, but comes wholly a stranger and profane, he is to be baptized, that he may become a sheep, because there is one water in the holy Church which makes sheep; and therefore, because nothing can be common to falsehood and truth, to darkness and light, to death and immortality, to antichrist and Christ, we ought in all things to hold to the unity of the Catholic Church, and not yield in anything to the enemies of faith and truth. Nor is a ruling to be laid down from custom, but the case is to be won by reason. For not even Peter, whom the Lord chose first, and upon whom He built His Church, when Paul afterwards disputed with him about circumcision, claimed anything for himself insolently or arrogantly assumed anything, so as to say that he held the primacy, and that it was rather fitting that he should be obeyed

Editors' notes and page, col. 1152

Footnotes

(7) ‹cavit Ecclesiam› · call in col 1152

Super quem aedificavit Ecclesiam. Super petram, unde nomen inditum Petro: qua de re diximus supra. Hieronymus ad Domini verba, Matth., XVI, 1: Secundum metaphoram petrae, recte dicitur Petro: Aedificabo Ecclesiam meam super te. RIG.

On whom He built the Church. On the rock, from which the name was given to Peter; we have spoken of this above. Jerome on the Lord's words, Matt. 16:1: According to the metaphor of the rock, it is rightly said to Peter: I will build my Church upon you. RIGAULT.

(printed under page 627)

(8) ‹primatum tenere› · call in col 1152

Ut diceret se primatum tenere. Locus hic procul abest ut infirmet, quin potius confirmat Petri (continues)

So as to say that he held the primacy. This passage is far from weakening, rather it confirms, Peter's (continues)

(printed under page 627)

Page

running head: …TICORUM BAPTISMATE. 1152 (left part of head cut off at image edge; column number badly printed, reads like 4452)
marginal letters: A natam et errabundam; B sibi aliquid insolenter; C tatem vindicatur (in the Variorum notae, not set); D tem sua auctoritate disposuit (in the Variorum notae, not set)
old-edition numerals: 1107 after Nam
other: first word "natam" is the rest of a word broken from col. 1151 (which ends "abalie-"); the word is set whole ("abalienatam") at the end of col. 1151 and is not repeated here; variant call (10) after "natam" and Variorum calls (4)–(6) in this column have their notes in n1151; stray mark printed before "postmodum" not set; "Ecclesiae catholicae" poorly printed (looks like "Eeclesiae oatholicae"), read as scan blur, UNSURE; no full-width line in this column

PL 3:1153

a novellis et posteris sibi potius oportere. Nec despexit Paulum, quod Ecclesiae prius persecutor fuisset, sed consilium veritatis admisit, et rationi legitimae quam Paulus vindicabat, facile conseusit; documentum scilicet nobis et concordiae et patientiae tribuens, ut non pertinaciter nostra amemus, sed quae aliquando a fratribus et collegis nostris utiliter et salubriter suggeruntur, si sint vera et legitima, ista potius nostra ducamus. Cui rei Paulus quoque respiciens et concordiae et paci fideliter consulens, in Epistola sua posuit, dicens: Prophetae autem duo aut tres loquantur, et caeteri examinent. Si autem alii revelatum fuerit sedenti, ille prior taceat (I Cor., XIV, 29). Qua in parte docuit et ostendit multa singulis in melius revelari, et debere unumquemque, non pro eo quod semel imbiberat et tenebat, pertinaciter congredi, sed, si quid melius et utilius exstiterit, licenter amplecti. Non enim vincimus quando offeruntur

by the newcomers and those who came later. Nor did he despise Paul because he had formerly been a persecutor of the Church, but he admitted the counsel of truth, and readily agreed to the legitimate reasoning which Paul was upholding; giving us, namely, an example both of concord and of patience, that we should not obstinately love our own [views], but should rather count as our own those things which are at times usefully and wholesomely suggested by our brothers and colleagues, if they are true and legitimate. Paul too, having regard to this and faithfully taking thought for concord and peace, set it down in his Epistle, saying: But let the prophets speak, two or three, and let the others judge. But if it has been revealed to another sitting by, let the first be silent (1 Cor. 14:29). In which passage he taught and showed that many things are revealed to individuals for the better, and that each one ought not to contend obstinately for what he had once imbibed and was holding, but, if anything better and more useful should appear, to embrace it freely. For we are not conquered when there are offered

Editors' notes and page, col. 1153

Footnotes

VARIAE LECTIONES (printed under page 628)

(11) ‹call not visible in foot› · call in col 1153

Ipsa potius amplectamus Thu. Ista potius Foss.

"Let us rather embrace those very things": Thuanus MS. "These rather": Fossatensis MS.

(printed under page 628)

(12) ‹Si autem alii› · call in col 1153

Si alii Lam. Bod. 1.

"If others": Lambeth MS, Bodleian MS 1.

(printed under page 628)

(13) ‹call not visible in foot› · call in col 1153

Ut sacerdotes Bod. 1, 2. Lin. NC. 1, 2.

"That priests": Bodleian MSS 1 and 2, Lincoln MS, New College MSS 1 and 2.

(printed under page 628) VARIORUM NOTAE (printed under page 628)

(8) ‹continued from col 1152› · call in col 1152

(continued) atque adeo Romanorum pontificum, primatum. Cum enim in hac ipsa sententia dicat Petrum primum electum a Domino, et repetat quod saepe dixit, super illum aedificatam esse Ecclesiam, sibi ipsi contradiceret si primatum ejus negaret. Non itaque aliud quam humilitatem ejus commendans, illius exemplo caeteros suos collegas ad concordiam invitat: ut, quemadmodum ipse, cum primus esset, non tamen primatum insolenter jactitavit, sic nec ipsi suam sententiam ita mordicus tenerent, ut alios prae se contemnerent. Et certe de Stephano ipsi non esse sermonem, vel inde colligere est quod nondum de hac sententia ad illum scripserat; utpote cum ex epistola ad illum proxime sequenti, hanc prius scriptam constet. Atque adeo de iisdem mihi loqui videtur quos insinuat in synodo Carthagin. cum ait: Nemo se episcopum episcoporum constituat, quod de collegis illius intelligunt disertis verbis dict. lib. VI, c. 2, D. Aug. et D. Hier. contra Lucifer. Quinimo dict., l. I, D. Aug. hinc potius confirmat Petri et apostolicae Sedis primatum. PAMEL. — Matth., l. c.: Πρῶτος Σίμων ὁ λεγόμενος Πέτρος. Epist. Pauli ad Galatas, ut vulgo legitur, inter Jacobum et Joannem medium posuit Petrum. Ἰάκωβος καὶ Κηφᾶς καὶ Ἰωάννης, οἱ δοκοῦντες φτύλοι εἶναι. Evangelium Marci, c. XVI, facta universim mentione apostolorum, subdidit Petrum separatim: Εἴπατε τοῖς μαθηταῖς αὐτοῦ καὶ τῷ Πέτρῳ. Sed nec ordo ille medius, neque iste postremus, quicquam detrahunt de primatu. Etenim viri fide dignissimi testantur in antiquissimo Pauli exemplari nomen Cephae inter Jacobum et Joannem non apparere, quasi fuerit satis quod praecedens comma Cephae sive Petri nomen exhibeat; adeoque veterum scriptorum in illam ad Galatas commentaria Petrum primo loco recenseant. Illa vero angeli apud Marcum verba: Dicite discipulis ejus, et Petro discipulos quidem collectivo nomine commendant, sed praesertim et eximie Petrum nominatim designant, si non honoris, at singularis misericordiae divinae gratia, qua certe plus caeteris discipulis indigebat, quia ter Christum negaverat. Alias dici posset angelum, comprehensis appellatione communi discipulis, separatim nominasse Petrum, qua forma dixit Homerus: Τρῶας καὶ Ἕκτορα, et juris auctores, titulum scripsere de Servitutibus et Aqua. Et Lucas, in Act. I, 14: Σὺν γυναιξὶ καὶ Μαρίᾳ τῇ Μητρί. Denique utatur aliquis illa solutione Hieronymi ad Hedibiam, dicatque non recipiendum hac in re testimonium Marci, quod in raris fertur Evangeliis, omnibus Graeciae libris pene hoc capitulum in fine non habentibus. Nam et hoc etiam se observasse refert Gregorius Nyssenus in ἀκριβεστέροις ἀντιγράφοις, orat. II, in Christi resurrectionem. Quam certe solutionem viri prudentes et docti non esse admittendam merito censuerunt. RIG.

(printed under page 628)

(9) ‹call not visible in foot› · call in col 1153

Africa et Numidia. Omittit Mauritaniae mentionem Cyprianus, quae etiam sedi Cathaginiensi subjecta, licet ad Mauritaniae episcopum scribens: unde conjicere licet Agrippini synodum ex Africae provinciae et Numidiae episcopis conflatam.

Africa and Numidia. Cyprian omits mention of Mauretania, which was also subject to the see of Carthage, though he is writing to a bishop of Mauretania; from which one may conjecture that Agrippinus's synod was made up of bishops of the province of Africa and of Numidia.

(printed under page 628)

Page

running head: 1153 PARS I. — MONUMENTA (cut off at the image edge)
marginal letters: A a novellis et posteris; B semel imbiberat et tenebat; C atque adeo Romanorum (in the Variorum notae); D et D. Hier. contra Lucifer. (in the Variorum notae)
old-edition numerals: 1108 after legitima,
other: full-width lines below the text block, cut off at the image edge, not set (they open the next unit): ANNO CHRISTI CCL..., EPISTOLA S. CYPRIANI AD..., DE HAERETICIS BAPTIZAN..., (Erasm. p. 322. Pamel. Rigalt. Baluz...), and ARGUMENTUM. — Anno Christi CCLVI, paulo post concilium Carthag... (editors' matter, full-width, cut off). The page-foot continuation of Variorum note (8) (atque adeo Romanorum pontificum, primatum...) is set above. "licenter" is clearly printed; Cyprian's text reads libenter. "vincimus" is clearly printed; Cyprian's text reads vincimur, and the English follows that sense. The reference is printed as I Cor., XIV, 29, though the quotation runs into verse 30.
misprints kept as printed: "conseusit" (for "consensit"); in Variorum note (8), continued: "φτύλοι" (for "στῦλοι"); in note (9): "Cathaginiensi" (for "Carthaginiensi")

PL 3:1154

nobis meliora, sed instruimur, maxime in his quae ad Ecclesiae unitatem pertinent, et spei et fidei nostrae veritatem; ut nos sacerdotes Dei et Ecclesiae ejus, de ipsius dignatione, praepositi, sciamus remissam peccatorum non nisi in Ecclesia dari posse, nec posse adversarios Christi quicquam sibi circa ejus gratiam vindicare. Quod quidem et Agrippinus, bonae memoriae vir, cum caeteris coepiscopis suis, qui illo tempore in provincia Africa et Numidia Ecclesiam Domini gubernabant, statuit et, librato consilii communis examine, firmavit. Quorum sententiam et religiosam et legitimam et salutarem, fidei et Ecclesiae catholicae congruentem, nos etiam secuti sumus. Et quales super hac re litteras fecerimus ut scires, exemplum earum ad notitiam tam tuam quam coepiscoporum nostrorum qui illic sunt, pro communi dilectione, transmisimus. Opto te, frater charissimo, semper bene valere.

us better things, but we are instructed, especially in those matters that pertain to the unity of the Church and to the truth of our hope and faith; so that we, priests of God and of His Church, set over it by His condescension, may know that remission of sins cannot be given except in the Church, and that the adversaries of Christ cannot claim anything for themselves concerning His grace. This indeed Agrippinus also, a man of good memory, together with his other fellow bishops who at that time governed the Church of the Lord in the province of Africa and Numidia, decreed and, after weighing it by an examination in common counsel, confirmed. Their judgement, religious and lawful and salutary, and in agreement with the faith and with the Catholic Church, we too have followed. And so that you might know what sort of letter we have written on this matter, we have sent a copy of it for the information both of yourself and of our fellow bishops who are there, out of our common love. I wish you, dearest brother, always to fare well.

Editors' notes and page, col. 1154

Footnotes

(13) ‹sacerdotes› · call in col 1154

Ut sacerdotes Bod. 1, 2. Lin. NC. 1, 2.

"As priests": Bodleian MSS 1, 2; Lin. NC. 1, 2.

(14) ‹ad notitiam› · call in col 1154

Notitiam tuam tanquam Bod. 2.

"Your knowledge as": Bodleian MS 2.

VARIORUM NOTAE (printed under page 628)

(9) ‹Africa et Numidia› · call in col 1154

Africa et Numidia. Omittit Mauritaniae mentionem Cyprianus, quae etiam sedi Cathaginiensi subjecta, licet ad Mauritaniae episcopum scribens: unde conjicere licet Agrippini synodum ex Africae provinciae et Numidiae episcopis conflatam.

Africa and Numidia. Cyprian omits mention of Mauretania, which was also subject to the see of Carthage, although he is writing to a bishop of Mauretania: whence one may conjecture that the synod of Agrippinus was made up of bishops of the province of Africa and of Numidia.

(printed under page 628)

(10) ‹AD JUBAIANUM› · call in col 1154

EPIST. LXXIII. — Hanc epistolam esse Cypriani puto non posse ambigi. Et tamen sanctus (continues)

LETTER 73. — I think there can be no doubt that this letter is Cyprian's. And yet Saint (continues)

(printed under page 628)