PL 3 · cols. 721–724

S. Cornelius papa et martyr, Epistolae, et quae ad eum scriptae sunt

Editors' preface

PL 3:721

S. CORNELII PAPAE ET MARTYRIS

OF ST CORNELIUS, POPE AND MARTYR,

EPISTOLAE

LETTERS,

ET QUAE AD EUM SCRIPTAE SUNT.

AND THOSE WRITTEN TO HIM.

ANNO CHER. CCLI.

IN THE YEAR OF CHRIST CCLI.

EPISTOLA PRIMA.

FIRST LETTER.

S. CYPRIANI CARTHAGINIENSIS EPISCOPI AD S. CORNELIUM PAPAM

OF ST CYPRIAN, BISHOP OF CARTHAGE, TO ST CORNELIUS, POPE

(Erasm, II, 11 ; Pamel., Rigalt, Baluz., XLI ; Paris., XI ; Oxon., Lips., XLIV ; Coustant, I, 125 ; Galland. III, 333.)

(Erasmus, II, 11; Pamelius, Rigault, Baluze, XLI; Paris, XI; Oxford, Leipzig, XLIV; Coustant, I, 125; Gallandi, III, 333.)

ARGUMENTUM. — Legatorum Novatiani detegitur pravitas, et ideo a communione cohibentur. Petentibus publice audiri. hoc negatur Quaerentes undique schismatis atque haeresis socios sibi adsciscere, reprimuntur.

ARGUMENT. — The wickedness of Novatian's envoys is uncovered, and therefore they are kept from communion. When they ask to be heard in public, this is refused. Seeking on every side to gather to themselves partners in schism and heresy, they are checked.

Editors' notes and page, col. 721

Footnotes

(¹) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 721 (by position; variant note set full width) Ita optimæ notæ codex Colb. At in vulgatis hic desideratur particula et, moxque adjicitur, Nam et ego exspectavimus. Lectioni nostræ favet ms. Corb. in quo conjunctio et hic pariter exstat, favent et aliquot Anglic. in quibus infra habetur Jam et ego.

So the Colbert codex, of the best quality. But in the printed editions the particle "et" is missing here, and there is added straight after, "Nam et ego exspectavimus" ("For I too have waited"). Our reading is supported by the Corbie manuscript, in which the conjunction "et" likewise stands here, and also by some English manuscripts, in which "Jam et ego" ("Now I too") is found below.

(printed under page 412)

(1) ‹anchor: EPISTOLA PRIMA› · call in col 721

Circa exitum mensis julii anni 251, opera Primitivi presbyteri missa. COUSTANT.

Sent about the end of July in the year 251, through the agency of the presbyter Primitivus. COUSTANT.

(printed under page 412)

(2) ‹anchor: Frater charissime› · call in col 721 (by position)

Frater charissime. In illa Christianorum simplicitate quæ primis Ecclesiæ sæculis vigebat, Christiani omnes, etiam episcopi, inter sese mutuo vocabant fratres, nullo discrimine inter episcopum Romanum et cæteros, uti notavit Erasmus ad Epistolam LII, et nos quoque diximus in notis ad Epistolam Gregorii Papæ IV, apud Agobardum. Sequentibus sæculis istud mutatum est, et jamdiu invaluit ut Romanus episcopus cæteros appellet fratres; illum episcopi vocent patrem. Et tamen Joannes Launoius doctor theologus Parisiensis referens in Historia collegii Navarræ, pag. 539, epistolam Gerardi Macheti, episcopi Castrensis, ad Ægidium Laqueatorem, vulgo Le Lasseur, referendarium papæ, quamvis falso putavit scriptam fuisse ad papam, notat etiam per eas tempestates, id est, ævo Caroli VII, regis Francorum, episcopis liberum fuisse Romanum pontificem appellare fratrem, quia Gerardus in initio illius epistolæ ait: Ingratus merito viderer, frater charissime, et tamdiu id fore liberum quamdiu Romanus pontifex alios episcopos appellabit fratres, fratrem enim esse alicujus fratris fratrem. Viri optimi error ortus est ex eo quod nomina eorum ad quos Gerardus scribit non sunt posita in titulo epistolarum, ut vulgo fieri solet, sed post epistolam, quemadmodum Mabillonius in suo Itinere Italico, pag. 45, annotat visos a se esse plurimos epistolarum codices in quibus inscriptio non ponitur in fronte epistolarum, sed in calce. Itaque quia post epistolam CX, Macheti, quæ scripta est ad papam, Launoius scriptum videbat: Sanctissimo domino nostro papæ, existimavit epistolam postquam sequebatur hæc inscriptio, scriptam esse ad papam, cum scripta sit, ut antea dixi, ad Ægidium Laqueatorem, referendarium papæ, ad quem etiam referenda est epistola CXII, in qua referendarium papæ episcopus pro more illorum temporum vocat fratrem. Ista ego, data occasione, putavi admoneri debere. Codex autem epistolarum Gerardi quo Launoius utebatur, si quis eum consulere velit, exstat nunc in bibliotheca Colbertina, in eam delatus beneficio canonicorum illustrissimæ ecclesiæ Sancti Martini Turonensis. De Ægidio interim illud quoque dicam per transennam, fuisse illum Narbonensis ecclesiæ canonicum et consiliarium regis Franciæ in sua suprema parlamenti Tolosæ curia, uti scriptum est in necrologio ecclesiæ Narbonensis, ubi sepultus est anno 1484, mense Martio. BALUZ.

"Dearest brother." In that simplicity of Christians which flourished in the first centuries of the Church, all Christians, bishops included, called one another brothers, with no distinction between the Roman bishop and the rest, as Erasmus noted on Letter LII, and as we too have said in the notes on the letter of Pope Gregory IV in Agobard. In the following centuries this changed, and it has long been the established usage that the Roman bishop calls the others brothers, while the bishops call him father. And yet Jean de Launoy, doctor of theology of Paris, citing in his History of the College of Navarre, p. 539, a letter of Gérard Machet, bishop of Castres, to Gilles le Lasseur (in Latin Laqueator), referendary of the pope, though he wrongly thought it was written to the pope, observes that even in those times, that is, in the age of Charles VII, king of the French, bishops were free to call the Roman pontiff brother, because Gérard says at the start of that letter, "I should rightly seem ungrateful, dearest brother," and that this would remain allowed so long as the Roman pontiff calls the other bishops brothers, for one is the brother of anyone's brother. The good man's error arose from the fact that the names of those to whom Gérard writes are not placed in the heading of the letters, as is usually done, but after the letter; Mabillon in his Iter Italicum, p. 45, likewise records that he saw a great many codices of letters in which the address stands not at the head of the letters but at the foot. So because Launoy saw written after letter CX of Machet, which was written to the pope, "To our most holy lord the pope," he supposed that the letter which this address followed was written to the pope, whereas, as I said, it was written to Gilles le Lasseur, referendary of the pope, to whom letter CXII must also be assigned, in which the bishop calls the pope's referendary brother, after the custom of those times. I thought, given the occasion, that this ought to be pointed out. The codex of Gérard's letters that Launoy used, should anyone wish to consult it, is now in the Colbert library, brought there through the kindness of the canons of the most illustrious church of Saint Martin of Tours. Of Gilles, meanwhile, I will say this too in passing: he was a canon of the church of Narbonne and a counsellor of the king of France in his supreme court of the parlement of Toulouse, as is written in the necrology of the church of Narbonne, where he was buried in the year 1484, in the month of March. BALUZ.

(printed under page 412)

Page

running head: 721 EPISTOLÆ. (cut off at the right edge)
marginal letters: A ‹ANNO CHER. CCLI.›; B ‹(1) Circa exitum mensis julii› (footnote area); C ‹manum pontificem appellare fratrem› (footnote area); D ‹occasione, putavi admoneri› (footnote area)
old-edition numerals: 699-700 before ‹EPISTOLA PRIMA›
running head: 721 EPISTOLAE. 722
marginal letters: A ‹ANNO CHER. CCLI.›; B ‹beside the page-foot notes›; C ‹beside the page-foot notes›; D ‹beside the page-foot notes›
old-edition numerals: 699-700 before EPISTOLA PRIMA
misprints kept as printed: "CHER." (for CHR.) in ‹ANNO CHER. CCLI.›; "audiri. hoc negatur Quaerentes" (point printed after audiri, none after negatur; for audiri, hoc negatur. Quaerentes) in the Argumentum (Q7)
other: the concordance of editions under the letter's title, omitted in the first setting, was added in QA (Q4a)
other: footnote call (1) is printed in col 721 after EPISTOLA PRIMA; anchor set from the page (Q8)

PL 3:722

CYPRIANUS CORNELIO FRATRI SALUTEM.

CYPRIAN TO CORNELIUS HIS BROTHER, GREETING.

I. Venerunt ad nos, frater charissime, missi a Novatiano, Maximus presbyter, et Augendus diaconus, et Machaeus quidam, et Longinus. Sed enim cum ex litteris, quas secum ferebant, et ex eorum sermone atque asseveratione Novatianum episcopum factum comperissemus, illicitae et contra Ecclesiam catholicam factae ordinationis pravitate commoti, a communicatione eos nostra statim cohibendos esse censuimus: et, refutatis interim ac

I. There came to us, dearest brother, sent by Novatian, Maximus a presbyter, and Augendus a deacon, and a certain Machaeus, and Longinus. But when from the letters which they carried with them, and from their talk and assertion, we had learned that Novatian had been made bishop, troubled by the wickedness of an ordination unlawful and made against the Catholic Church, we judged that they must at once be kept from our communion; and, having meanwhile refuted and

Editors' notes and page, col. 722

Footnotes

(3) ‹anchor: Missi a Novatiano› · call in col 722 (by position)

Missi a Novatiano. Hujus legationis mentio habetur in epistola LV, pag. 83. BALUZ.

"Sent by Novatian." This embassy is mentioned in Letter LV, p. 83. BALUZ.

(printed under page 412)

(4) ‹anchor: Maximus presbyter› · call in col 722 (by position)

Maximus presbyter. Partis Novati, ut docet epistola papæ Cornelii ab Fabium Antiochenum apud Eusebium. Postea rediit ad Ecclesiam. Sic docent eadem epistola Cornelii et gesta pontificalia ex fastis Cuspiniani edita ab Ægidio Bucherio et ex codice Nicolai Fabri Peirescii laudato a Rigaltio in observationibus suis ad Epistolam LXVII sancti Cypriani. Ita enim illic scriptum est in Cornelio: Sub episcopatu ejus Novatus extra Ecclesiam ordinavit Novatianum in urbe Roma et Nicostratum in Africa. Hoc facto, confessores qui se separaverant a Cornelio, cum Maximo presbytero, qui cum Moyse fuit, ad Ecclesiam sunt reversi. Sic etiam in Gestis pontificalibus quæ tribuuntur Anastasio bibliothecario. Ad eos videntur datæ epistolæ duæ Dionysii episcopi Alexandrini scriptæ ad quosdam confessores partis Novatiani, qui ad Ecclesiam redierant, apud Eusebium lib. VI, cap. 46. Sed quæ in Gestis pontificalibus dicuntur de ordinatione Novatiani et Nicostrati habent aliquam difficultatem. Quomodo enim Novatus, qui non erat episcopus, potuit ordinare Novatianum et Nicostratum? Ordinavit eos nimirum eo modo quo Felicissimum factum fuisse ab eo diaconum scribit Cyprianus in Epistola XLIX, pag. 63, id est factione sua eum constituit diaconum. Vide annales Cyprianicos ad annum 250, § 21. BALUZ.

"Maximus the presbyter." Of Novatus's party, as the letter of Pope Cornelius to Fabius of Antioch in Eusebius shows. He afterwards returned to the Church. So the same letter of Cornelius teaches, and the pontifical acts from Cuspinian's fasti published by Gilles Boucher, and from the codex of Nicolas Fabri de Peiresc cited by Rigault in his observations on Letter LXVII of Saint Cyprian. For there it is written under Cornelius: "Under his episcopate Novatus, outside the Church, ordained Novatian in the city of Rome and Nicostratus in Africa. When this was done, the confessors who had separated themselves from Cornelius returned to the Church with Maximus the presbyter, who had been with Moyses." So also in the Pontifical Acts attributed to Anastasius the Librarian. To them appear to have been addressed the two letters of Dionysius, bishop of Alexandria, written to certain confessors of Novatian's party who had returned to the Church, in Eusebius, book VI, ch. 46. But what the Pontifical Acts say about the ordination of Novatian and Nicostratus presents some difficulty. For how could Novatus, who was not a bishop, ordain Novatian and Nicostratus? He ordained them, no doubt, in the way that Cyprian, in Letter XLIX, p. 63, writes that Felicissimus was made deacon by him, that is, he set him up as deacon by his faction. See the Cyprianic annals for the year 250, § 21. BALUZ.

(printed under page 412)

(5) ‹anchor: Machæus› · call in col 722 (by position)

Machæus. Multum variant vetera exemplaria in nomine istius hominis. Et quanquam non sit magnum operæ pretium, admonebo illum alicubi nominari Matthæum, alibi Macabeum, et Machæum. Retinui autem lectionem quæ nititur majori numero veterum exemplarium. BALUZ.

"Machaeus." The old copies vary greatly in this man's name. And though it is not of great importance, I will point out that in some places he is called Matthaeus, elsewhere Macabeus, and Machaeus. I have kept the reading that rests on the greater number of the old copies. BALUZ.

(printed under page 412)

Page

running head: EPISTOLAE. 722
marginal letters: A ‹CYPRIANUS CORNELIO FRATRI SALUTEM.›; B ‹bertina, in eam delatus› (in the Commentarius); C ‹Novatianum in urbe Roma› (in the Commentarius); D ‹magnum operae pretium› (in the Commentarius)
old-edition numerals: (none)
running head: 721 EPISTOLAE. 722
marginal letters: A ‹CYPRIANUS CORNELIO FRATRI SALUTEM.›; B (none in text, beside notes); C (none in text); D (none in text)
old-edition numerals: (none)

PL 3:723

retusis, quae obstinate ac pertinaciter asserere tentabant, jam ego et collegae plurimi, qui ad me convenerant, exspectabamus adventum collegarum nostrorum Caldonii et Fortunati, quos ad te nuper et coepiscopos nostros, qui ordinationi tuae adfuerant, legatos miseramus, ut eis adventantibus et rei gestae veritatem reportantibus, majore auctoritate et lucida per eos probatione, partis adversae improbitas frangeretur. Supervenerunt vero Pompeius ac Stephanus collegae nostri, qui et ipsi quoque ad instruendos istinc nos manifesta secundum gravitatem ac fidem suam indicia ac testimonia protulerunt; ut nec necesse fuerit audiri ultra eos, qui a Novatianos venerant missi. Qui cum in statione invidiosis quoque conviciis et clamoribus turbulentis proruerent, et flagitarent ut crimina, quae se afferre ac probare dicebant, publice a nobis et plebe cognoscerentur; gravitati nostrae negavimus convenire, ut collegae nostri jam delecti et ordinati, et laudabili multorum sententia comprobati, ventilari ultra honorem maledica aemulantium voce pateremur. Et quia, quibus refutati et

blunted what they were obstinately and stubbornly attempting to assert, I and very many colleagues who had come together to me were already awaiting the arrival of our colleagues Caldonius and Fortunatus, whom we had lately sent as envoys to you and to our fellow bishops who had been present at your ordination, so that, when they arrived and brought back the truth of what had been done, the wickedness of the opposing party might be broken with greater authority and by clear proof through them. But there arrived meanwhile Pompeius and Stephanus, our colleagues, who themselves too, in order to instruct us, brought forward from there clear evidence and testimonies in keeping with their gravity and good faith, so that it was not even necessary to give any further hearing to those who had come sent by Novatian. When these burst out in the assembly with spiteful abuse as well and turbulent clamour, and demanded that the charges which they said they were bringing and could prove should be examined publicly by us and the people, we declared that it did not befit our gravity to allow our colleague, already chosen and ordained and approved by the praiseworthy judgement of many, to be tossed about any further, beyond what his honour allows, by the slanderous voice of rivals. And because the things by which they were refuted and

Editors' notes and page, col. 723

Footnotes

[Variæ lectiones / Variant readings] (printed under page 413) (²) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 723 or 724 (not visible) Nam ego. Thu. Corb. Foss. Jam et ego Bod. 1. Lin. Nam et ego Oxon.

"Nam ego" in Thu., Corb., Foss. "Jam et ego" in Bod. 1, Lin. "Nam et ego" in Oxon.

(printed under page 413) (³) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 723 or 724 (not visible) Calidonii Foss. Mich. Vict.

"Calidonii" in Foss., Mich., Vict.

(printed under page 413) (⁴) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 723 or 724 (not visible) Elucidata Pamel cum ms. edit Corb. Elucida Oxon. Præferimus cum duobus mss. Colb. lucida.

"Elucidata" Pamelius, with the Corbie manuscript, printed. "Elucida" Oxford. We prefer, with two Colbert manuscripts, "lucida".

(printed under page 413) (⁵) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 723 or 724 (not visible) Cum stationem Corb. ms. In stationem Lam. Ebor. Bod. 2 NC. 1. 2.

"Cum stationem" the Corbie manuscript. "In stationem" Lam., Ebor., Bod. 2, NC. 1, 2.

(printed under page 413) (⁶) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 723 or 724 (not visible) Ad ventilandum cod. S. Arnulf. Met. edit. Manut. Rig Oxon. Deinde apud Pam. Morell. Reinhart. ut in ms. Corb. et recentiori Colb. Ultra famam ore maledicto et æmul. Vetustiorem Colb. sequimur. Baluz. ex cod. 13. Ad ventilandam famam ore maledico.

"Ad ventilandum" the codex of St Arnulf of Metz, and the editions of Manutius, Rigault, Oxford. Then in Pamelius, Morel, Reinhart, as in the Corbie manuscript and the more recent Colbert one: "Ultra famam ore maledicto et æmul." We follow the older Colbert. Baluze, from 13 codices (?): "Ad ventilandam famam ore maledico".

(printed under page 413) (⁷) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 723 or 724 (not visible) Partem Antiquior ms. Colb. et mox Corpus scindere omisso unum.

"Partem" the older Colbert manuscript, and shortly after "Corpus scindere", with "unum" left out.

(printed under page 413) (⁸) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 723 or 724 (not visible) Ecclesiæ corpus scindere Pam. NC. 2.

"Ecclesiæ corpus scindere" Pamelius, NC. 2.

(printed under page 413) (⁹) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 723 or 724 (not visible) Scissis verbum quod ex vetere ms. Colb. exprimimus, in edit. Oxon. deest. Ejus loco apud Pamel, ut in ms. Colb. habetur scissi.

The word "scissis", which we print from the old Colbert manuscript, is missing in the Oxford edition. In its place Pamelius, as in a Colbert manuscript, has "scissi".

(printed under page 413) (¹⁰) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 723 or 724 (not visible) Mandare desistemus NC. 2. Nunc dare Bod. 3.

"Mandare desistemus" NC. 2. "Nunc dare" Bod. 3.

(printed under page 413) (¹¹) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 723 or 724 (not visible) Discessione Bod. 3.

"Discessione" Bod. 3.

(printed under page 413) (¹²) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 723 or 724 (not visible) In Dei judicio Ver.

"In Dei judicio" Ver.

(printed under page 413) (¹³) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 723 or 724 (not visible) Proinde pacifico Bod. 1, 2. Lin. Ebor. NC. 1, 2. Voss. 2.

"Proinde pacifico" Bod. 1, 2, Lin., Ebor., NC. 1, 2, Voss. 2.

(printed under page 413) (¹⁴) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 723 or 724 (not visible) Ita nostri ms. At in edit. Evangelii Christi.

So our manuscripts. But in the printed editions, "Evangelii Christi".

[Variorum notæ / Notes of various editors] (printed under page 413)

(6) ‹anchor: Caldonii et Fortunati› · call in col 723 (by position)

Caldonii et Fortunati. Episcoporum Ecclesiæ Africanæ, qui Romam missi fuerant ut inquirerent quid actum fuisset in Ecclesia Romana, post mortem Fabiani, ut patet etiam ex duabus epistolis sequentibus. BALUZ

"Of Caldonius and Fortunatus." Bishops of the African Church, who had been sent to Rome to find out what had been done in the Roman Church after the death of Fabian, as is also clear from the two following letters. BALUZ.

(printed under page 413)

(7) ‹anchor: Lucida› · call in col 723 (by position)

Lucida. Hanc lectionem inveni in undecim libris antiquis. Alii septem antiqui præferunt elucida. Ego priorem lectionem puto esse meliorem, tum quia eam exhibent plerique libri veteres optimi, tum quia vox elucida non est admodum latina. Eam tamen habent editiones Spirensis, Veneta vetus, et Morelliana. Cæteræ usque ad Rigaltianam habent elucidata. Rigaltius et Angl. post eum scripserunt elucida. Reinnarius maluit elucidata. BALUZ.

"Lucida." I found this reading in eleven old books. Seven other old ones give "elucida". I think the former reading the better, both because most of the best old books show it and because the word "elucida" is not very Latin. Yet the Speyer edition, the old Venetian, and Morel's have it. The rest, down to Rigault's, have "elucidata". Rigault, and the English editors after him, wrote "elucida". Reinnarius preferred "elucidata". BALUZ.

(printed under page 413)

(8) ‹anchor: Istic› · call in col 723 (by position)

Istic. Restituimus ex fide sex veterum exemplarium, nam alii aut nihil habent, aut habent istic. Melior autem videtur esse lectio quam nos inducimus, ut sensus sit Pompeium et Stephanum istinc, id est ex urbe Romana, manifesta testimonia retulisse de legitima electione Cornelii et falsa ordinatione Novatiani. Quanquam vox istic habet in eo loco parem significationem, ut infra epist. XLIX. BALUZ.

"Istic." We have restored this on the authority of six old copies, for others either have nothing or have "istic". The reading we bring in seems better, so that the sense is that Pompeius and Stephen brought back from there ("istinc"), that is, from the city of Rome, clear testimony about the lawful election of Cornelius and the false ordination of Novatian. Though the word "istic" carries the same meaning in that place, as below in Letter XLIX. BALUZ.

(printed under page 413)

(9) ‹anchor: In statione› · call in col 723 (by position)

In statione Plerique libri veteres et veteres editiones non agnoscunt præpositionem. Primus eam adjecit Manutius. Hunc locum Lombertus vertit: en pleine assemblée. Alii viderint an recte. In codice Remensis sancti Dionysii legitur infestatione, errore, ut arbitror, librarii. Vide quæ notantur ad epistolam XLVI. BALUZ. — Nomine autem stationis cœtum et conventum intelligi Pamelius observavit. COUSTANT — Quod hic stationem epistola sequenti, ubi idipsum repetit latius, cætum sive conventum dicit. Stationem autem, uti ex Tertull. colligere est, libr. de Coron. milit., non quemlibet conventum ecclesiasticum, sed eum qui dominico die fiebat, vocabant veteres, unde dies stationum vocabatur metaphora sumpta a militibus, qui dum præsidium certo loco collocant stationem facere dicuntur. Ita et Christiani nunc in hac basilica, nunc in alia, nonnunquam et apud martyria, id est, ut recte annotavit Rhenanus, martyrum sepulchra diebus dominicis conveniebant, Deum stantes precabantur, Sacrificio intererant, et Corpus Domini, teste Tertull. lib. de Orat., accipiebant. Si quid denique difficultatis occurrisset, in eo conventu tractabatur, unde fiebat, ut, eodem teste libr. de Jejunio, nonnunquam stationes in vesperum usque producerentur. PAMEL.

"In statione." Most old books and old editions do not know the preposition. Manutius was the first to add it. Lombert translates this place "en pleine assemblée" (in full assembly); let others judge whether rightly. In the codex of Saint-Denis of Reims one reads "infestatione", by a scribe's error, I think. See what is noted on Letter XLVI. BALUZ. — Pamelius observed that by the name "statio" a gathering and assembly is meant. COUSTANT. — What he here calls "statio", in the following letter, where he repeats the same thing at greater length, he calls "cætus" or "conventus". Now the ancients called "statio", as can be gathered from Tertullian's book De corona militis, not any church assembly whatever, but the one held on the Lord's day; hence the day of stations was so called, a metaphor taken from soldiers, who are said to "make a station" when they post a guard in a fixed place. So Christians too met, now in this basilica, now in another, sometimes also at the martyria, that is, as Rhenanus rightly noted, at the tombs of the martyrs, on Sundays; they prayed to God standing, attended the Sacrifice, and received the Body of the Lord, as Tertullian witnesses in his book De oratione. Finally, if any difficulty had arisen, it was dealt with in that assembly, whence it came about, by the same witness in his book De jejunio, that stations were sometimes prolonged into the evening. PAMEL.

(printed under page 413)

Page

running head: 723 S. CORNELII P[...] (cut off at the image edge)
marginal letters: A retusis, quae obstinate; B ribus turbulentis proruerent; C (6) Caldonii et Fortunati (notes area, not set); D nia retulisse de legitima (notes area, not set)
old-edition numerals: 701 after ‹et› (jam ego et)
other: worn type prints several e as c (cis, ct, vcro), set as eis, et, vero; column begins mid-sentence with "retusis"; Variae lectiones and Variorum notae at page foot not set; right column (724) not set.

PL 3:724

compressi sunt, et illicitis conatibus haeresim fecisse nudati sunt, in epistolam congerere longum fuit; ex Primitivo, compresbytero nostro plenissime singula, quando ad vos venerit, audietis.

held in check, and by their unlawful attempts laid bare as having made a heresy, would have been a long matter to gather into a letter; from Primitivus, our fellow presbyter, you will hear each thing most fully when he comes to you.

II. Ac ne eorum furens audacia unquam desisteret, hic quoque in schismatis partes Christi membra distrahere, et catholicae Ecclesiae corpus unum scindere ac laniare nituntur; ut ostiatim per multorum domos, vel oppidatim per quasdam civitates discurrentes, obstinationis suae et erroris scissis sibi quaerant comites. Quibus semel responsum dedimus, nec mandare desistemus, ut perniciosa dissensione et concertatione deposita impietatem esse sciant, matrem deserere: et agnoscant atque intelligant, episcopo semel facto, et collegarum ac plebis testimonio et judicio comprobato alium constitui nullo modo posse: proinde si pacifice sibi ac fideliter consuluisse, si se assertores Evangelii et Christi esse confitentur, prius ad Ecclesiam revertantur. Opto te, frater charissime, semper bene valere.

II. And so that their raging audacity might never cease, here too they strive to drag the members of Christ apart into the factions of schism, and to cut and tear the one body of the Catholic Church; so that, running about from door to door through the houses of many, or from town to town through certain cities, they seek for themselves, cut off as they are, companions of their obstinacy and error. To these we have given our answer once, and we shall not cease to command them that, having laid aside their pernicious dissension and contention, they should know that it is impiety to desert their mother; and that they should acknowledge and understand that, once a bishop has been made and approved by the testimony and judgement of his colleagues and of the people, another can in no way be appointed; accordingly, if they confess that they have taken counsel for themselves peaceably and faithfully, if they confess themselves to be champions of the Gospel and of Christ, let them first return to the Church. I wish you, dearest brother, always to fare well.

Editors' notes and page, col. 724

Footnotes

(10) ‹anchor: Primitivo› · call in col 724 (by position)

Primitivo. Presbytero Romano, ut opinor. Ex epistola quippe XLV, pag. 59, apparet illum missum fuisse in Africam a Cornelio. In Actis passionis sancti Stephani Papæ Primitivus nominatur inter duodecim clericos Ecclesiæ Romanæ detentos jussu Valeriani imperatoris. Alterius Primitivi mentio est in martyrologio Adonis v kal. julii. Fuit is filius sanctæ Symphorosæ. Exstat apud Gruterum vetus inscriptio Wormatiensis missa a Pithœo, in qua nominatur Victorina Primitiva. In collectione inscriptionum Ecclesiæ Sancti Pauli de Urbe, pag. 174, mentio est Primitivi, præfecti fabrorum, et alius ejusdem nominis, pag. 12, et Primitivæ, pag 43, 55. BALUZ.

"By Primitivus." A Roman presbyter, I think. For from Letter XLV, p. 59, it appears that he was sent to Africa by Cornelius. In the Acts of the passion of Saint Stephen, Pope, a Primitivus is named among the twelve clerics of the Roman Church held by order of the emperor Valerian. Another Primitivus is mentioned in Ado's martyrology on the fifth day before the Kalends of July (27 June); he was a son of Saint Symphorosa. In Gruter there is an old inscription from Worms, sent by Pithou, in which a Victorina Primitiva is named. In the collection of inscriptions of the Church of Saint Paul at Rome, p. 174, there is mention of a Primitivus, prefect of the engineers, and of another of the same name, p. 12, and of a Primitiva, pp. 43, 55. BALUZ.

(printed under page 413)