PL 4 · cols. 228–234

Cyprianus, Epistolae II-XXI

Letters III–IV

servum aestimari, ut qui in minimo fidelis fuit constituatur super decem civitates. Faciat autem Deus, qui omnia praestat sperantibus in se, ut omnes nos in his operibus inveniamur. Salutant vos fratres qui sunt in vinculis, et presbyteri et tota Ecclesia, quae et ipsa cum summa sollicitudine excubat pro omnibus qui invocant nomen Domini. Sed et vos petimus mutua vice memores sitis nostri. Sciatis autem Bassianum pervenisse ad nos; et petimus vos, qui habetis zelum Dei, harum litterarum exemplum ad quoscumque poteritis transmittere per idoneas occasiones, vel vestras faciatis, sive nuntium mittatis, ut stent fortes et immobiles in fide. Optamus vos, fratres charissimi, semper bene valere.

servant, is to be esteemed, so that he who was faithful in the least may be set over ten cities. May God, moreover, Who grants all things to those who hope in Him, bring it about that we may all be found in these works. The brothers who are in chains greet you, and the presbyters and the whole Church, which itself also keeps watch with the greatest solicitude on behalf of all who call upon the name of the Lord. But we also ask you in turn to be mindful of us. Know, moreover, that Bassianus has reached us; and we ask you, who have the zeal of God, to send a copy of this letter to whomever you can by suitable opportunities, or to write your own, or to send a messenger, so that they may stand strong and immovable in the faith. We wish you, dearest brothers, always to fare well.

EPISTOLA III.

Letter III.

(Erasm., III, 21; Pamel., IV; Rig., Baluz., Paris., III; Oxon., Lips., IX.)

(Erasmus, III, 21; Pamelius, IV; Rigaltius, Baluze, Paris, III; Oxford, Leipzig, IX.)

AD PRESBYTEROS ET DIACONOS ROMAE CONSISTENTES.

To the presbyters and deacons residing at Rome.

Argumentum. — Epistola haec familiaris est; quare argumento non indiget, potissimum cum ex titulo ipso id satis colligi queat. Desideratur autem epistola Cleri Romani ad quam respondet Cyprianus.

Argument. — This letter is a personal one; therefore it needs no argument, especially since its matter can be sufficiently gathered from the title itself. The letter of the Roman clergy to which Cyprian replies, however, is lost.

I. Cyprianus presbyteris et diaconibus Romae consistentibus fratribus salutem. Cum de excessu

I. Cyprian to the presbyters and deacons residing at Rome, his brothers, greeting. When, concerning the decease

Editors' notes and page, col. 228

Footnotes

(d) ‹—› · call in col 228

Sed et nos Imo.

"But we too" Imo. [siglum as printed; probably Imp.]

STEPH. BALUZII NOTAE. (Baluze) ‹Ecclesia› · lemma note Ecclesia, Romana, quam vocat fortem, quia firma et immobilis constitit inter durissimas persecutiones. Quamquam ne in hac quidem Ecclesia lapsi defuerunt, siquidem eorum causam clerus integram servavit ad electionem episcopi. Sed hi pauciores numero fuere quam Carthagine.

"Ecclesia" (the church), the Roman church, which he calls strong because it stood firm and unmoved amid the harshest persecutions. Yet not even in this Church were the lapsed lacking, since the clergy kept their case open for the election of a bishop. But these were fewer in number than at Carthage.

(Baluze) ‹III.— Clinomeni› · lemma note III. — Clinomeni. Codex meus habet domeni, Gratianopolitanus chlidomeni ; Morellius posuit clydomeni, Latinius et Rigaltius clinomeni. Postea secuta est editio Anglicana, in qua, rejectis caeteris lectionibus, absque ulla veterum librorum auctoritate, tantum ex conjectura sumpta ex epistola papae Cornelii ad Fabium episcopum Antiochenum, quae graece exstat apud Eusebium, scriptum est thlibomeni. Et quamquam ea emendatio videatur esse bona, transferenda tamen non erat in contextum absque majori auctoritate. Nam reliquae lectiones possunt etiam esse bonae. Caeterum ea emendatio, quam Angli videntur accepisse ex annotationibus Henrici Valesii ad Historiam ecclesiasticam Eusebii, neque Valesii est neque Anglorum, sed illustrissimi viri Francisci Bosqueti, qui eam primus protulit anno 1633, in libro primo Historiarum Ecclesiae Gallicanae. Porro quos Graeci vocant thlibomenos. Rufinus vertit indigentes, Baronius fluctuantes, valde diverso sensu. Vide primam Dissertationem Cyprianicam viri clarissimi Henrici Dodwelli. (Ed. Lipsensis sequitur conjecturam Dodwelli in Dissertat. Cypr. I, 7 legentis : Clydonizomeni.)

III. — "Clinomeni" (the bedridden). My manuscript has "domeni," the Grenoble one "chlidomeni"; Morel printed "clydomeni," Latinius and Rigault "clinomeni." Then followed the English edition, in which, the other readings rejected, without any authority of old books, only by a conjecture taken from the letter of Pope Cornelius to Fabius bishop of Antioch, which survives in Greek in Eusebius, "thlibomeni" (the afflicted) is written. And although that emendation seems good, it ought not to have been carried into the text without greater authority. For the other readings can also be good. That emendation, moreover, which the English seem to have taken from Henri de Valois's annotations on Eusebius's Ecclesiastical History, belongs neither to Valois nor to the English, but to the most illustrious François Bosquet, who first put it forward in 1633, in the first book of his Histories of the Gallican Church. Further, those whom the Greeks call "thlibomenoi," Rufinus translated "the needy," Baronius "the wavering," in a very different sense. See the first Cyprianic Dissertation of the most distinguished Henry Dodwell. (The Leipzig edition follows the conjecture of Dodwell, Dissert. Cypr. I, 7, who reads "Clydonizomeni" [the storm-tossed].)

(Baluze) ‹Catecumini› · lemma note Catecumini. Sic scribere placuit, non solum quia ita invenimus scriptum in omnibus antiquis codicibus, sed in primis propter auctoritatem Commodiani, qui nos dubitare non sinit quin hoc vocabulum vetustis temporibus ita scriberetur. Sane in veteri glossario bibliothecae regiae legi : CATECUMNUS, instructus, audiens. In veteri item glossario meo : CATECUMENUS, instructus sive audiens, pro eo quod adhuc doctrinam fidei audiat, necdum tamen Baptismum recepit. Et in libro Corbeiensi et in Fuxensi, quando agitur de hoc hominum genere legitur Caticuminos, quod idem est. Notum quippe est litteras i et e saepe permutari solitas apud antiquos. Adnotat Holstenius in notis ad acta sanctarum Perpetuae et Felicitatis cathecumini scriptum esse in vetustis membranis Casinensibus et apud Mombritium, existimare autem se ita eo saeculo prolatas fuisse hujusmodi voces. Hieronymus in Epistola ad Oceanum in causa matrimonii : Audiant cathecumini, qui sunt fidei candidati. Sic apud Marium Mercatorem in editione nostra, pag. 347, legitur catecismi pro catechismi. Vide Caelium Calcagninum lib. I, Epist. IX ; et notas ad Capitularia, p. 1250.

"Catecumini" (catechumens). I chose to write it so, not only because we found it so written in all the ancient manuscripts, but above all on the authority of Commodian, who does not let us doubt that this word was so written in ancient times. Indeed, in an old glossary of the royal library I have read: "CATECUMNUS, instructed, a hearer." Likewise in an old glossary of mine: "CATECUMENUS, instructed or a hearer, because he still hears the teaching of the faith but has not yet received Baptism." And in the Corbie book and in the Foix one, where this class of men is treated, one reads "Caticuminos," which is the same. For it is well known that the letters i and e were often interchanged among the ancients. Holstenius notes, in his notes on the Acts of Saints Perpetua and Felicity, that "cathecumini" is written in the old Monte Cassino parchments and in Mombritius, and that he thinks such words were so pronounced in that age. Jerome in the Letter to Oceanus on a matrimonial case: "Let the catechumens hear, who are candidates of the faith." So in Marius Mercator, in our edition, p. 347, one reads "catecismi" for "catechismi." See Celio Calcagnini, book 1, letter 9; and the notes on the Capitularies, p. 1250.

(Baluze) ‹Corpora martyrum› · lemma note Corpora martyrum. Ut diversa sunt hominum ingenia, ita diversae sunt opiniones. Hunc locum Rigaltius interpretatus est de cura tantum sepeliendorum martyrum. Ego vero eo usus sum ut ostenderem errare vehementer eos qui contendunt veteres Christianos nullam curam habuisse reliquiarum hominum sanctorum. Id quod a me ostensum est in oratione quam habui publice Lutetiae cum in collegio regio interpretarer titulum Decretalium de Reliquiis et veneratione Sanctorum. Tanta enim tum cura erat sepeliendorum hominum sanctorum, ut nihil omitterent eorum quae poterant demonstrare eorum memoriam et venerationem erga eos ; adeo ut Tertullianus in Apologetico testetur plurioris et charioris suas merces Christianis sepeliendis profligasse quam diis fumigandis. Ex quo colligi posse videtur illos condidisse etiam eorum corpora odoribus Arabicis, quos in sepeliendis corporibus adhibitos fuisse constat. Sane Plinius lib. XII, cap. 18, scribit Neronem plus cynnamomi in funere Poppaeae incendisse quam Arabia producat in anno uno. Vide Baronium in Notationibus ad Martyrologium Romanum die IV Augusti.

"Corpora martyrum" (the bodies of the martyrs). As men's minds differ, so do their opinions. Rigault interpreted this passage of the care only of burying the martyrs. I, however, used it to show that those are badly wrong who contend that the early Christians had no care for the relics of holy men. This I showed in the oration I delivered publicly at Paris when, in the Royal College, I was lecturing on the title of the Decretals "On relics and the veneration of the Saints." For so great then was the care for burying holy men that they omitted nothing that could show their remembrance of them and their veneration towards them; so much so that Tertullian in the Apologeticum testifies that their [the incense-sellers'] wares were sold off more abundantly and dearly for burying Christians than for fumigating the gods. From this it seems one may gather that they also embalmed their bodies with Arabian spices, which it is certain were used in burying bodies. Indeed Pliny, book 12, chapter 18, writes that Nero burned more cinnamon at Poppaea's funeral than Arabia produces in one year. See Baronius in the Notes on the Roman Martyrology for 4 August.

(Baluze) ‹Bassianum› · lemma note Bassianum. Assentior Pamelio existimanti illum fuisse e clero Romano. Illius mentio est etiam (continues)

"Bassianum." I agree with Pamelius, who thinks he was of the Roman clergy. He is mentioned also (continues)

(printed under page 111)

Page

running head: DIVI CYPRIANI 228 (left part of the running head cut off at the image edge)
marginal letters: A ‹num servum aestimari›; B ‹(Erasm., III, 21; Pamel.›; C ‹Et in libro Corbeiensi› (in the Baluze notes); D ‹errare vehementer eos› (in the Baluze notes)
old-edition numerals: (none)

PL 4:229

boni viri collegae mei rumor apud nos incertus esset, fratres charissimi, et opinio dubia nutaret, accepi a vobis litteras ad me missas per Crementium hypodiaconum, quibus plenissime de glorioso ejus exitu instruerer; et exultavi satis quod, pro integritate administrationis ejus, consummatio quoque honesta processerit. In quo vobis quoque plurimum gratulor quod ejus memoriam tam celebri et illustri testimonio prosequamini, ut per vos innotesceret nobis quod et vobis esset circa praepositi memoriam gloriosum, et nobis quoque fidei ac virtutis praeberet exemplum. Nam quantum perniciosa res est ad sequentium lapsum ruina praepositi, in tantum contra utile est et salutare cum se episcopus per firmamentum fidei fratribus praebet imitandum.

of the good man, my colleague, the report among us was uncertain, most dear brothers, and opinion wavered in doubt, I received from you a letter sent to me by the subdeacon Crementius, by which I was most fully informed of his glorious departure; and I rejoiced greatly that, in keeping with the integrity of his administration, an honourable consummation also followed. In this I also congratulate you most heartily, that you honour his memory with so renowned and illustrious a testimony, so that through you it might become known to us both what is glorious to you regarding the memory of your leader, and what might also offer us an example of faith and virtue. For as much as the fall of a leader is a ruinous thing, leading to the lapse of those who follow, so much, on the contrary, is it useful and salutary when a bishop, through the firmness of his faith, presents himself to the brethren as one to be imitated.

II. Legi etiam alias litteras in quibus nec quis scripserit, nec ad quos scriptum sit, significanter expressum est. Et quoniam me in iisdem litteris et scriptura et sensus et chartae ipsae quoque moverunt ne quid ex vero vel subtractum sit vel immutatum, eamdem ad vos epistolam authenticam remisi, ut recognoscatis an ipsa sit quam Crementio hypodiacono perferendam dedistis. Perquam etenim grave est si epistolae clericae veritas mendacio aliquo et fraude corrupta est. Hoc igitur ut scire possimus, et scripturam et subscriptionem an vestra sit recognoscite, et nobis quid sit in vero rescribite. Opto vos, fratres charissimi, semper bene valere.

II. I have also read another letter in which neither who wrote it nor to whom it was written is clearly stated. And since in that same letter the handwriting and the contents and the paper itself also troubled me, lest anything should have been either taken away from the truth or altered, I have sent back to you the very same original letter, so that you may recognize whether it is the one which you gave to the subdeacon Crementius to deliver. For it is an extremely grave matter if the truth of a clerical letter has been corrupted by some lie and fraud. So that we may know this, therefore, examine both the handwriting and the subscription, whether it is yours, and write back to us what the truth is. I wish you, most dear brothers, always to fare well.

Editors' notes and page, col. 229

Footnotes

LECTIONES VARIANTES. (printed under page 112)

(a) ‹—› · call in col 229

Clementium Oxon.

"Clementium" Oxon.

(printed under page 112)

(b) ‹—› · call in col 229

Quanto Lam. Ebor. NC. 1.

"Quanto" ("by how much") Lam., Ebor., NC. 1.

(printed under page 112)

Legi etiam litteras Oxon.

"I have also read a letter" Oxon.

(printed under page 112)

Page

running head: 229 ... EPISTOLA I. (running head cut off at the right edge of the image)
marginal letters: A boni viri collegae mei rumor; B level with imitandum. (printed in the gutter beside the next column's "Et quo"); C (none seen in the text block); D in the Baluze notes at the page foot, beside "collegam, modo praepositum"
old-edition numerals: (none)

PL 4:230

EPISTOLA IV.

Letter 4.

(Pamel., V; Rig., Baluz., Pariss., IV; Oxon. Lips., V.)

(Pamelius, 5; Rigault, Baluze, Paris editions, 4; Oxford, Leipzig, 5.)

AD PRESBYTEROS ET DIACONOS.

To the presbyters and deacons.

ARGUMENTUM. — Hortatur clerum suum D. Cyprianus, jam in secessu constitutus, ut vice sua rite fungantur, neve quid aut constitutis in carcere aut caeteris pauperibus desit: deinde ut plebem in quiete contineant, ne, si glomeratim ad martyres in carcere visitandos concurrant, tandem id illis interdicatur.

Argument. — Saint Cyprian, now placed in retirement, exhorts his clergy to discharge his office duly in his stead, and to see that nothing is lacking either to those placed in prison or to the other poor; then to keep the people in quiet, lest, if they flock together in crowds to visit the martyrs in prison, this should at length be forbidden them.

I. Cyprianus presbyteris et diaconibus fratribus charissimis salutem. Saluto vos incolumis per Dei gratiam, fratres charissimi, laetus quod circa incolumitatem quoque vestram omnia integra esse cognoverim. Et quoniam mihi interesse nunc non permittit loci conditio, peto vos pro fide et religione vestra fungamini illic et vestris partibus et meis, ut nihil vel ad disciplinam vel ad diligentiam desit. Quantum autem ad sumptus suggerendos, sive illis qui, gloriosa voce Dominum confessi, in carcere sunt constituti, sive iis qui pauperes et indigentes laborant et tamen in Domino perseverant, peto, nihil desit, cum summula omnis quae redacta est illic sit apud clericos distributa propter ejusmodi casus, ut haberent plures unde ad necessitates et pressuras singulorum operari possint.

I. Cyprian to the presbyters and deacons, his dearest brothers, greeting. I greet you, being safe by the grace of God, dearest brothers, glad that I have learnt that as regards your safety also all things are unharmed. And since the condition of the place does not now permit me to be present, I ask you, by your faith and religion, to discharge there both your own part and mine, so that nothing may be lacking either to discipline or to diligence. As regards supplying expenses, however, whether to those who, having confessed the Lord with glorious voice, are placed in prison, or to those who labour in poverty and need and yet persevere in the Lord, I ask that nothing be lacking, since the whole small sum which was collected has been distributed there among the clergy for cases of this kind, so that more of them might have the means to work for the necessities and distresses of individuals.

II. Peto quoque ut ad procurandam quietem solertia et sollicitudo vestra non desit. Nam etsi fratres

II. I ask also that your skill and solicitude may not be lacking in procuring quiet. For although the brothers

Editors' notes and page, col. 230

Footnotes

(d) ‹non desit› · call in col 230

Non desinat : etsi Morel. Pem. Rig.

"Non desinat" ("may not cease"): "etsi" Morel, Pem., Rig.

STEPH. BALUZII NOTAE. (Baluze) ‹Bassianum› · lemma note

(continued) in Epistola XXII, quae est Luciani ad Celerinum tum Romae constitutum.

(Baluze) ‹Epist. III.— I. Boni viri› · lemma note EPIST. III. — I. Boni viri. Fabiani episcopi Romani. Hoc epithetum tribuere consuevit Cyprianus episcopis defunctis, ut in Epistola LXXII, Agrippino episcopo Carthaginensi. Epistolae ab Origene scriptae ad Fabianum, Romanae urbis episcopum, meminit Hieronymus in Epistola ad Pammachium et Oceanum, itemque Rufinus in libro priore Apologiarum suarum adversus Hieronymum.

Letter III. — I. "Boni viri" (of a good man), that is, of Fabian, bishop of Rome. Cyprian was accustomed to give this epithet to departed bishops, as in Letter 72 to Agrippinus, bishop of Carthage. Jerome mentions letters written by Origen to Fabian, bishop of the city of Rome, in the Letter to Pammachius and Oceanus, and so does Rufinus in the first book of his Apologies against Jerome.

(Baluze) ‹Praepositi› · lemma note Praepositi. Baronius, loquens de excessu Papae Fabiani, notat illum a Cypriano nominatum modo collegam, modo praepositum, utpote qui, cum coepiscopus esset, potestate tamen in hierarchiae ecclesiasticae ordine caeteris ille praepositus esset episcopis. Poterat Baronius suam illam opinionem confirmare auctoritate epistolae Bonifacii papae II ad Eulalium, in qua Episcopus Romanus dicitur esse unus ad quem possit recurri praepositus. Verum Baronius sciebat epistolam illam esse supposititiam. Officii mei est annotare errores commissos in interpretatione eorum quae scripta reperiuntur a Cypriano. Baronii observatio posset habere speciem veri, si Cyprianus solum Papam nominaret praepositum : at, cum certum sit illum omnes episcopos vulgo vocare praepositos, ruit omnino sententia Baronii. Itaque istic Cyprianus Fabianum papam vocat praepositum, quia episcopus erat et collega Cypriani episcopi. Agendum est in rebus historicis simpliciter, procul ab omni affectu ; alioqui perit fides rerum.

"Praepositi" (of the one set over). Baronius, speaking of the death of Pope Fabian, notes that Cyprian calls him now "colleague," now "the one set over," as one who, though a fellow bishop, was yet by power in the order of the ecclesiastical hierarchy set over the other bishops. Baronius could have confirmed that opinion of his by the authority of the letter of Pope Boniface II to Eulalius, in which the Roman bishop is said to be "the one set over, to whom recourse may be had." But Baronius knew that letter to be spurious. It is my duty to note the errors committed in interpreting what is found written by Cyprian. Baronius's observation might have some appearance of truth if Cyprian called only the Pope "praepositus"; but since it is certain that he commonly calls all bishops "praepositi," Baronius's view collapses entirely. So here Cyprian calls Pope Fabian "praepositus" because he was a bishop and a colleague of Bishop Cyprian. In historical matters one must proceed plainly, far from all partisanship; otherwise trust in the facts perishes.

(Baluze) ‹II.— Nec quis scripserit› · lemma note II. — Nec quis scripserit. Retinuimus lectionem quam veteres editiones praeferunt, quam omnes libri veteres confirmant. Primus Manutius posuit, nec qui scripserint. Quae lectio bona non est. Nam epistola quae omnium nomine scripta erat ab uno scripta erat, ut in calce Epist. XVI : Lucianus scripsit ; ut docet etiam Epist. XXII, quae est Cypriani ad presbyteros et diaconos Romae consistentes. Sic in conciliis unus pro omnibus loquebatur, quemadmodum a nobis observatum est in dissertatione de Concilio Teleptensi.

II. — "Nec quis scripserit" (nor who wrote it). We have kept the reading the old editions show, which all the old books confirm. Manutius first printed "nec qui scripserint" (nor who [pl.] wrote it). That reading is not good. For a letter written in the name of all was written by one person, as at the end of Letter 16: "Lucianus wrote"; as Letter 22 also shows, which is Cyprian's to the presbyters and deacons living at Rome. So in councils one spoke for all, as we have observed in the dissertation on the Council of Telepte.

(Baluze) ‹Epistolam remisi› · lemma note Epistolam remisi. Vide quae de ea re dicuntur infra ad Epistolam XX.

"Epistolam remisi" (I have sent back the letter). See what is said on this matter below at Letter 20.

(Baluze) ‹Scripturam et subscriptionem› · lemma note Scripturam et subscriptionem. Ita veteres libri et veteres editiones. Editio Manutii, scriptura et subscriptio. Hanc auctoritatem secutae sunt posteriores editiones, eamque lectionem male mutatam fuisse ait Gronovius cap. 14. Observationum suarum in Scriptoribus ecclesiasticis.

"Scripturam et subscriptionem" (the writing and the signature). So the old books and old editions. Manutius's edition has "scriptura et subscriptio" (nominative). Later editions followed this authority, and Gronovius, chapter 14 of his Observations on the Ecclesiastical Writers, says that the reading was wrongly changed.

(Baluze) ‹An vestra› · lemma note An vestra. In libro Fuxensi scriptum est, an a manu vestra. Quod puto ego esse ex glossemate, cum certum sit, uti mox dicebam, epistolas ab uno scribi solitas. In concilio Chalcedonensi pag. 1091, ex nostra recensione legitur, cujus manus sit. Ubi vide annotationem Rustici.

"An vestra" (whether it is yours). In the Foix book is written "an a manu vestra" (whether from your hand). This I think comes from a gloss, since it is certain, as I was just saying, that letters were usually written by one person. In the Council of Chalcedon, p. 1091, in our recension, one reads "whose hand it is." See there the annotation of Rusticus.

(Baluze) ‹Epist. IV› · lemma note EPIST. IV. — Prima Epistolae istius editio prodiit ex typograghia Manutii. Rarissima sunt vetusta illius exemplaria. Ego quinque habui : unum ex mea bibliotheca, aliud quod fuit collegii Fuxensis, tertium ex monasterio sancti Dionysii Remensis, quartum ex monasterio Montis sancti Eligii, quintum ex urbe Gratianopolitana.

Letter IV. — The first edition of this letter came from the press of Manutius. Old copies of it are very rare. I had five: one from my library, another that belonged to the College of Foix, a third from the monastery of Saint-Denis at Reims, a fourth from the monastery of Mont-Saint-Éloi, a fifth from the city of Grenoble.

(Baluze) ‹I.— Summula› · lemma note I. — Summula. Antea legebatur summa. Sequi placuit auctoritatem veterum librorum. Attamen Dionysianus habet summa.

I. — "Summula" (the small sum). Formerly one read "summa" (the sum). I chose to follow the authority of the old books. Yet the Saint-Denis manuscript has "summa."

(printed under page 112)