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PL 4 · cols. 424–428

Cyprianus, Epistolae LXX-LXXXIII, cum epistola Cornelii papae

Letter LXXXI

Polianus, una cum presbyteris et omnibus nobiscum commorantibus apud metallum Siguense, aeternam in Domino salutem. Resalutamus te, frater charissime, per Herennianum hypodiaconum, Lucianum et Maximum fratres nostros fortes et incolumes adjuvantibus orationibus tuis; a quibus accepimus oblationis nomine non minimam quantitatem una cum litteris tuis quas scripsisti, in quibus dignatus es de verbis coelestibus nos tamquam filios confortare. Et Deo Patri omnipotenti per Christum ejus gratias egimus et agimus quod sic confortati et corroborati sumus per tuam allocutionem, petentes de animi tui candore ut nos assiduis orationibus tuis in mente habere digneris, ut confessionem vestram et nostram, quam Dominus in nobis conferre dignatus est, suppleat. Saluta omnes qui tecum commorantur. Optamus te, frater charissime, in Deo semper bene valere. Felix scripsi. Jader subscripsi. Polianus legi. Dominum meum Eutychianum saluto.

Polianus, together with the presbyters and all who are staying with us at the mine of Sigua, [send] eternal greeting in the Lord. We greet you in return, dearest brother, through Herennianus the subdeacon, and Lucianus and Maximus, our brothers, strong and unharmed, with your prayers aiding them; from whom we have received, by way of an offering, no small quantity, together with your letter which you wrote, in which you have deigned to strengthen us as sons with heavenly words. And to God the Father almighty, through His Christ, we have given and do give thanks that we have been thus strengthened and fortified through your address, asking of the candour of your spirit that you deign to keep us in mind in your constant prayers, so that He may bring to completion the confession, yours and ours, which the Lord has deigned to bestow on us. Greet all who are staying with you. We wish you, dearest brother, always to fare well in God. I, Felix, wrote [this]. I, Jader, subscribed. I, Polianus, read [it]. I greet my lord Eutychianus.

EPISTOLA LXXXI.

Letter 81.

(Erasm., IV, 1. Pamel., Rigalt., Baluz., LXXXI. Paris., LXXX. Oxon., Lips., VI.)

(Erasmus, 4, 1. Pamelius, Rigault, Baluze, 81. Paris, 80. Oxford, Leipzig, 6.)

CYPRIANI AD SERGIUM ET ROGATIANUM ET CAETEROS CONFESSORES IN CARCERE CONSTITUTOS.

Of Cyprian to Sergius and Rogatianus and the other confessors placed in prison.

ARGUMENTUM. — Rogatianum et collegas confessores, in carcere constitutos consolatur, et exemplo Rogatiani senioris et Felicissimi martyrum animos illis addit. In exilio scriptam epistola ipsa indicat.

Argument. He consoles Rogatianus and his fellow confessors, placed in prison, and by the example of the martyrs Rogatianus the elder and Felicissimus gives them courage. The letter itself shows that it was written in exile.

I. Cyprianus Sergio et Rogatiano et caeteris confessoribus in Domino perpetuam salutem. Saluto vos, fratres charissimi ac beatissimi, optans ipse quoque conspectu vestro frui, si me ad vos pervenire loci conditio permitteret. Quid enim mihi optatius et laetius posset accidere quam nunc vobis inhaerere, ut

I. Cyprian to Sergius and Rogatianus and the other confessors, perpetual greeting in the Lord. I greet you, dearest and most blessed brothers, wishing that I too might enjoy the sight of you, if the condition of my place allowed me to come to you. For what could befall me more desired and more joyful than now to cleave to you, so that

Editors' notes and page, col. 424

Footnotes

(g) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 424

Victorium, Herenn. Imp.

"Victorium, Herenn." (Victorius, Herennianus), printed editions.

(printed under page 205)

(h) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 424

Eutychianum abest in codd. Lam. Ebor. NC. 2.

"Eutychianum" (Eutychianus) is missing in the manuscripts Lambeth, York, New College 2.

STEPH. BALUZII NOTÆ.

NOTES OF ÉTIENNE BALUZE.

[Baluze] ‹anchor: Quas patimur› · col 423 II.—Quas patimur. Codex Veronensis, octo libri nostri, et duo Anglicani præferunt uti nos edidimus. Antea legebatur quas patienter ferimus. Sed eam lectionem ego puto ortam esse ex prurigine corrigendi.

II. — "Which we suffer." The Verona manuscript, eight of ours and two English ones give it as we have printed it. Formerly "quas patienter ferimus" (which we bear patiently) was read. But I think that reading arose from an itch to correct.

[Baluze] ‹anchor: Epist. LXXX› · col 423 520 Epist. lxxx. — Hujus epistolæ prima editio facta est in officina typographica Manutii. Ea autem editio Victorium Herenniano præponit. Sed nomen Victorii non comparet in ullo veterum codicum cum quibus ego contuli opera sancti Cypriani, neque in editionibus quæ postea secutæ sunt, una excepta Rigaltiana et ea quam procuravit Reinhartus.

[p.] 520. Letter 80. — The first edition of this letter was made in Manutius's printing house. That edition puts Victorius before Herennianus. But the name of Victorius does not appear in any of the old manuscripts with which I collated the works of Saint Cyprian, nor in the editions that followed, except only Rigault's and the one Reinhart brought out.

[Baluze] ‹anchor: Siguense› · col 423 Siguense. Ita libri duo veteres. Alii sex habent Singuense, Manutius Sibuense. Vir clarissimus Domnus Bernardus a Montefalcone in tomo ii novæ suæ collectionis Patrum Græcorum, edidit Cosmæ Indicopleustæ librum, de Christianorum Opinione de mundo, ubi lib. ii, pag. 142, Cosmas loquens de veteri tabula Ptolemæi Evergetæ, commemorat illum in Ægyptum profectum subegisse Agamen et Siguen. Unde fortassis colligi posset confessores fuisse projectos in solitudines Ægypti. At Baronius anno 260 putat intelligendum esse de metallo Sigensi in Mauritania Tingitana. Quod fortasse melius est.

"Of Sigus." So two old manuscripts. Six others have "Singuense," Manutius "Sibuense." The most distinguished Dom Bernard de Montfaucon, in volume 2 of his new collection of the Greek Fathers, published the book of Cosmas Indicopleustes On the Christians' Opinion of the World, where in Book 2, p. 142, Cosmas, speaking of an old tablet of Ptolemy Euergetes, records that he went into Egypt and subdued Agame and Siguen. From this one could perhaps infer that the confessors had been cast out into the deserts of Egypt. But Baronius, under the year 260, thinks it is to be understood of the mine of Sigus in Mauretania Tingitana. Which is perhaps better.

[Baluze] ‹anchor: Quas scripsisti› · col 424 Quas scripsisti. Quinque libri veteres, quinque item Anglicani, et editiones Manutii et Morellii habent quas misisti, eodem sensu.

"Which you wrote." Five old manuscripts, five English ones likewise, and the editions of Manutius and Morel have "quas misisti" (which you sent), with the same sense.

[Baluze] ‹anchor: Tamquam filios› · col 424 Tamquam filios. Tres libri veteres addunt tuos.

"As sons." Three old manuscripts add "your".

[Baluze] ‹anchor: Felix scripsi› · col 424 Felix scripsi. Istud additum est ex editione Anglicana. Non inveni enim in aliis editionibus neque in libris nostris. Itaque si vera est lectio, uti eam puto veram, Epistolam scripsit hic Felix qui priore loco nominatur inter episcopos a quibus Epistola scripta est. Jader, qui secundo loco nominatur, subscripsit; Polianus, qui tertio, legit.

"I, Felix, wrote." This was added from the English edition, for I did not find it in other editions or in our manuscripts. So if the reading is genuine, as I think it is, the letter was written by this Felix, who is named first among the bishops by whom the letter was written. Jader, who is named second, signed it; Polianus, named third, read it.

[Baluze] ‹anchor: Sergio› · col 424 Epist. lxxxi. — I. Sergio. Ita edidit Pamelius et alii post eum; eamque lectionem exhibent tria vetera exemplaria. Alia habent Seagrio vel Seugeio. In Remigiano vetere: Cyprianus Sergio et Rogatiano et Victori et Felicissimo et cæteris confessoribus. Quod autem nonnulli veteres libri et editiones habent ad Rogatianum juniorem, id male positum esse recte (continues)

Letter 81. — I. "To Sergius." So Pamelius printed it, and others after him, and three old copies show that reading. Others have "Seagrio" or "Seugeio." In the old Saint-Remi manuscript: "Cyprian to Sergius and Rogatianus and Victor and Felicissimus and the other confessors." But that some old manuscripts and editions have "to Rogatianus the younger" was wrongly placed, as rightly (continues)

(printed under page 205)

Page

running head: …IVI CYPRIANI 424 (cut off at the left edge of the image)
marginal letters: A ‹commorantibus apud metallum Siguense›; B ‹mus te, frater charissime›; C ‹dit. In exilio scriptam›; D ‹intelligendum esse de metallo› (in Baluze's notes)
old-edition numerals: (none)
other: column begins "Polianus," continuing the address of the preceding letter from the column before; "Siguense" as printed (Baluze's note reads Sigensi), unsure whether a misprint; full-width headings "LECTIONES VARIANTES" and "…BALUZII NOTAE" span both columns at the page foot, not set (apparatus, later pass); editors' matter set: ‹(Erasm., IV, 1. Pamel.›, ‹CYPRIANI AD SERGIUM› title, ‹ARGUMENTUM. — Rogatianum et collegas›; title set in capitals for small capitals; column ends mid-sentence at "ut"

complecteremini me manibus illis quae purae et innocentes et Dominicam fidem servantes sacrilega obsequia respuerunt? Quid jucundius et sublimius quam osculari nunc ora vestra, quae gloriosa voce Dominum confessa sunt, conspici etiam praesentem ab oculis vestris, qui, despecto saeculo, conspiciendo Deo digni extiterunt? Sed, quoniam huic laetitiae interesse facultas non datur, has pro me ad aures et ad oculos vestros vicarias litteras mitto, quibus gratulor pariter et exhortor ut in confessione coelestis gloriae fortes et stabiles perseveretis, et ingressi viam Dominicae dignationis, ad accipiendam coronam spiritali virtute pergatis, habentes Dominum protectorem et ducem qui dixit: Ecce vobiscum sum omnibus diebus usque ad consummationem mundi (Matth., XXVIII, 20). O beatum carcerem, quem illustravit vestra praesentia! o beatum carcerem, qui homines mittit ad coelum! o tenebras lucidiores sole ipso et luce hac mundi clariores, ubi modo constituta sunt Dei templa et sanctificanda divinis confessionibus membra vestra.

embrace me with those hands which, pure and innocent and keeping the Lord's faith, spat out the sacrilegious rites? What could be more delightful and more sublime than to kiss now your mouths, which with glorious voice have confessed the Lord, and to be seen present also by your eyes, which, having despised the world, have proved worthy of beholding God? But since the opportunity of being present at this joy is not granted, I send this letter in my stead to your ears and to your eyes, by which I both congratulate and exhort you to persevere strong and steadfast in the confession of heavenly glory, and, having entered upon the way of the Lord's favour, to press on with spiritual strength to receive the crown, having as protector and leader the Lord, Who said: Behold, I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world (Matt. 28:20). O blessed prison, which your presence has made illustrious! O blessed prison, which sends men to heaven! O darkness brighter than the sun itself and clearer than this light of the world, where now are placed your members, temples of God and to be sanctified by divine confessions.

II. Nec quicquam versetur in cordibus et mentibus vestris quam divina praecepta et mandata coelestia, quibus vos ad tolerantiam passionis Spiritus sanctus semper animavit. Nemo mortem cogitet, sed immortalitatem, nec temporariam poenam, sed gloriam sempiternam, cum scriptum sit: Pretiosa est in conspectu Domini mors justorum ejus (Psal. CXV, 15). Et iterum: Sacrificium Deo spiritus contribulatus, cor contritum et humiliatum Deus non despicit (Psalm. L, 19). Et iterum, ubi loquitur Scriptura divina de tormentis quae martyres Dei consecrant et in ipsa passionis

II. Let nothing occupy your hearts and minds except the divine precepts and the heavenly commandments, by which the Holy Spirit has always animated you to the endurance of suffering. Let no one think of death, but of immortality; nor of temporary punishment, but of everlasting glory, since it is written: Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His just ones (Ps. 115:15). And again: A sacrifice to God is a troubled spirit; a contrite and humbled heart God does not despise (Ps. 50:19). And again, where divine Scripture speaks of the torments which consecrate the martyrs of God and in the very proving of their passion

Editors' notes and page, col. 425

Footnotes

LECTIONES VARIANTES.

VARIANT READINGS.

(printed under page 206)

(a) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 425

Interesse non datur Lam.

"Interesse non datur" (it is not granted to be present), Lambeth.

(printed under page 206)

(b) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 425

Vitæ coronam spiritali virtute Ebor. Pem. Lam. Bod. 1, 2, 3.

"Vitae coronam spiritali virtute" (the crown of life by spiritual strength), York, Pembroke, Lambeth, Bodleian 1, 2, 3.

(printed under page 206)

(c) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 425

Sæculi Lam. Ebor. Bod. 2.

"Saeculi" (of the world), Lambeth, York, Bodleian 2.

(printed under page 206)

(d) ‹anchor: mors justorum› · call in col 425

Sanctorum Lam. Bod. 2. Ebor. NC.

"Sanctorum" (of the saints), Lambeth, Bodleian 2, York, New College.

(printed under page 206)

(e) ‹anchor: Sacrificium Deo› · call in col 425

Sacrificium Dei Bod. 1.

"Sacrificium Dei" (the sacrifice of God), Bodleian 1.

(printed under page 206)

Page

running head: 425 EPISTOLA LXXXI (cut off at the image edge)
marginal letters: A complecteremini me manibus illis; B XXVIII, 20). O beatum carcerem; C contritum et humiliatum Deus; D legi simpliciter Rogatiano (in Baluze's notes, not set)
old-edition numerals: 164 after in
other: column ends with pas- split at the column break (passione); full-width headings LECTIONES VARIANTES and STEPH. BALUZII NOTAE at the page foot, cut off at the right edge, not set (foot apparatus, later pass); signature PATROL. IV. S. CYPRIAN. not set; ejus printed with a stray mark resembling a diaeresis; Pretiosa printed with a t resembling l; editors' matter set: (none)
other: the word passionis was split at the column break and stands whole here (joined on receipt); check that the English reads whole across the break into col 426

probatione sanctificant: Et si coram hominibus tormenta passi sunt, spes eorum immortalitate plena est. Et in paucis vexati, in multis bene disponentur, quoniam Deus tentavit illos, et invenit illos dignos se. Tamquam aurum in fornace probavit illos et quasi holocausti hostiam accepit illos, et in tempore erit respectus illorum. Fulgebunt justi, et tamquam scintillae in arundineto discurrent. Judicabunt nationes et dominabuntur populis, et regnabit eorum dominus in perpetuum (Sap. III, 4-8). Quando ergo judicaturos vos et regnaturos cum Christo Domino cogitatis, exultetis necesse est et futurorum gaudio praesentia supplicia calcetis, scientes ab initio mundi sic institutum ut laboret istic in saeculari conflictatione justitia, quando in origine statim prima Abel justus occiditur, et exinde justi quique et Prophetae et Apostoli missi. Quibus omnibus Dominus quoque in se ipso constituit exemplum, docens ad suum regnum non, nisi eos qui se per viam suam secuti sint, pervenire dicens: Qui amat animam suam in isto saeculo, perdet illam. Et qui odit animam suam in isto saeculo, in vitam aeternam conservabit illam (Joa. XII, 25). Et iterum: Nolite timere eos qui occidunt corpus, animam vero non possunt occidere: magis autem metuite eum qui potest et animam et corpus occidere in gehennam (Matth. X, 28). Paulus etiam nos adhortatur ut qui ad Domini promissa venire cupimus, imitari Dominum in omnibus debeamus: Sumus, inquit, filii Dei. Si autem filii, et haeredes, haeredes quidem Dei, cohaeredes autem Christi, siquidem compatiamur, ut et commagnificemur (Rom. VIII, 16). Addidit etiam comparationem praesentis temporis et futurae claritatis dicens: Non sunt condignae passiones hujus temporis ad superventuram

sanctify them: And though before men they have suffered torments, their hope is full of immortality. And having been afflicted in a few things, in many they shall be well ordered, because God has tried them and found them worthy of Himself. As gold in the furnace He has proved them, and as the victim of a holocaust He has received them, and in time there shall be regard for them. The just shall shine, and like sparks in a reed-bed they shall run to and fro. They shall judge nations and rule over peoples, and their Lord shall reign for ever (Wis. 3:4–8). When, therefore, you reflect that you will judge and reign with Christ the Lord, you must needs exult and tread underfoot present tortures in the joy of things to come, knowing that it was so established from the beginning of the world that justice should labour here in the conflict of this world, since at the very origin, straightway, the just Abel is the first to be slain, and thereafter all just men, and the prophets and apostles who were sent. For all of whom the Lord too set up an example in Himself, teaching that none come to His kingdom except those who have followed Him along His way, saying: He who loves his soul in this world shall lose it. And he who hates his soul in this world shall keep it unto life eternal (John 12:25). And again: Do not fear those who kill the body, but cannot kill the soul; but rather fear Him Who can kill both soul and body into Gehenna (Matt. 10:28). Paul too exhorts us that we who desire to come to the Lord's promises ought to imitate the Lord in all things: We are, he says, sons of God. But if sons, heirs also, heirs indeed of God, and joint heirs of Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be magnified with Him (Rom. 8:16). He added also a comparison of the present time and of the future glory, saying: The sufferings of this time are not worthy in comparison with the coming

Editors' notes and page, col. 426

Footnotes

(f) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 426

In origine mundi Bod. 3.

"In origine mundi" (at the origin of the world), Bodleian 3.

(printed under page 206)

(g) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 426

Eos qui semper Bod. Lam. Ebor. NC. 1.

"Eos qui semper" (those who always), Bodleian, Lambeth, York, New College 1.

(printed under page 206)

(h) ‹anchor: ut et commagnificemur› · call in col 426

Ut sic glorificemur Veron. Ut et commagnificemur, Bod. 1, 2. Lam. Lin. Ebor.

"Ut sic glorificemur" (that so we may be glorified), Verona; "Ut et commagnificemur" (that we may also be magnified together), Bodleian 1 and 2, Lambeth, Lincoln, York.

STEPH. BALUZII NOTÆ.

NOTES OF ÉTIENNE BALUZE.

[Baluze, continued] ‹anchor: Sergio (lemma on previous page)› · col 425

(continued) censuerunt Angli, qui hanc suam sententiam multis rationibus ostenderunt esse veram. Sergii porro nomen non habetur in codice Vaticano 195, neque in Gratianopolitano, neque demum in Lamoniano. Non exstitisse etiam in veteri codice optimo liquet ex annotatione Nicolai Fabri posita in exemplari editionis Pamelianæ, ubi vir doctissimus monuit in eo codice legi simpliciter Rogatiano et cæteris confessoribus, uti etiam habetur in codice sancti Arnulphi.

[Baluze] ‹anchor: Complecteremini me› · col 425 Complecteremini me. Hæc est vera lectio, quam confirmant omnes fere libri veteres et omnes editiones antiquæ. Pamelius tamen, ea auctoritate insuperhabita, mutavit et edidit, ut complecterer manus illas, tantum quia lectionem illam invenerat adjectam ad marginem codicis Affligemensis. Eam quam nos revocamus præferunt octodecim libri nostri et decem Anglicani. Pamelio favent duo tantum.

"That you might embrace me." This is the true reading, confirmed by almost all the old manuscripts and all the early editions. Pamelius, however, disregarding that authority, changed it and printed "that I might embrace those hands," only because he had found that reading added in the margin of the Affligem manuscript. The reading we restore is given by eighteen of our manuscripts and ten English ones. Only two favour Pamelius.

[Baluze] ‹anchor: Dominum confessa› · col 425 Dominum confessa. Codex Burgundicus, nomen Domini confessa.

"Having confessed the Lord." The Burgundian manuscript: "having confessed the name of the Lord."

[Baluze] ‹anchor: O beatum carcerem› · col 425 O beatum carcerem. Tertullianus in libro ad Martyras loquens de eorum carcere ait: Si enim recogitemus ipsum magis mundum carcerem esse, exisse vos e carcere quam in carcerem introisse intelligemus. Et mox addit de carcere: Habet tenebras, sed lumen estis ipsi. Habet vincula, sed vos Deo soluti estis. Arator, lib. ii Actuum apostolicorum: O felix de clade locus, cui clara refulgent / Lumina pro tenebris.

"O blessed prison." Tertullian, in his book To the Martyrs, speaking of their prison, says: "For if we reflect that the world itself is rather the prison, we shall understand that you have gone out of prison rather than into it." And soon he adds of the prison: "It has darkness, but you yourselves are light. It has chains, but you are free for God." Arator, Acts of the Apostles, Book 2: "O place made happy out of disaster, where bright lights shine out instead of darkness."

[Baluze] ‹anchor: Dei mittit› · col 426 Dei mittit. Duo libri veteres, homines dimittit ad cœlum. Vetus Remigianus, homines Dei dimittit ad cœlum.

"[Men] of God it sends." Two old manuscripts: "it sends men away to heaven." The old Saint-Remi manuscript: "it sends the men of God away to heaven."

[Baluze] ‹anchor: Tolerantiam› · col 426 II. — Tolerantiam. Illustrat hunc locum Holstenius in notis ad Passionem sanctarum Perpetuæ et Felicitatis, ubi auctor ponit sufferentiam pro eo quod Cyprianus dixit 521 tolerantiam. Vox est Africana; quæ reperitur etiam in Actis martyrum Donatistarum in libro ii miscellaneorum nostrorum, pag. 60, et sequentibus. Vide glossarium Latinum Cangii.

II. — "Endurance." Holste illustrates this passage in his notes on the Passion of Saints Perpetua and Felicity, where the author puts "sufferentia" for what Cyprian called [p. 521] "tolerantia." It is an African word, which is found also in the Acts of the Donatist martyrs in the second book of our Miscellanea, p. 60 and following. See Du Cange's Latin glossary.

[Baluze] ‹anchor: Fulgebunt ... discurrent› · col 426 Fulgebunt..... discurrent. Hæc desunt in undecim codicibus manuscriptis et in editione Manutii. Deerant etiam in capite 12 Epistolæ ad Fortunatum de Exhortatione martyrii. Nos reposuimus.

"They will shine ... they will run to and fro." These words are missing in eleven manuscripts and in Manutius's edition. They were missing also in chapter 12 of the Letter to Fortunatus On the Exhortation to Martyrdom. We have restored them.

[Baluze] ‹anchor: In gehennam› · col 426 In gehennam. Reliqua istius epistolæ desunt in codice sancti Arnulphi, et in eorum quæ desunt loco substituta est consequenter magna pars Epistolæ ad Antonianum, incipiendo ab his verbis pag. 71: Exomologesis apud inferos non est, etc., usque ad finem (continues)

"Into Gehenna." The rest of this letter is missing in the manuscript of Saint-Arnoul, and in place of what is missing a large part of the Letter to Antonianus has been put in its turn, beginning from these words on p. 71: "There is no confession among the dead," etc., up to the end (continues)

(printed under page 206)

Page

running head: …PISTOLA LXXXI. 426 (left part of running head cut off at image edge; presumably EPISTOLA LXXXI.)
marginal letters: A sionis probatione sanctificant; B exinde justi quique; C (Rom. VIII, 16); D lum. Vetus Remigianus (in the Baluze notes at page foot)
old-edition numerals: (none)

claritatem quae revelabitur in nobis (Ibid. 18). Cujus claritatis gloriam cogitantes, pressuras omnes et persecutiones tolerare nos convenit, quia, etsi sunt multae pressurae justorum, ex omnibus tamen liberantur qui in Deum fidunt.

brightness which will be revealed in us (Rom. 8:18). Thinking on the glory of this brightness, it befits us to endure all afflictions and persecutions, because, although the afflictions of the just are many, yet those who trust in God are delivered out of them all.

III. Beatas etiam feminas quae vobiscum sunt in eadem confessionis gloria constitutae, quae, Dominicam fidem tenentes et sexu suo fortiores, non solum ipsae ad gloriae coronam proximae sunt, sed et caeteris quoque feminis exemplum de sua constantia praebuerunt. Ac, ne quid deesset ad gloriam numeri vestri, ut omnis vobiscum et sexus et aetas esset in honore, pueros etiam vobis gloriosa confessione sociavit divina dignatio, repraesentans nobis tale aliquid quale Ananias, Azarias et Misahel illustres pueri aliquando fecerunt; quibus inclusis in caminum cesserunt ignes et refrigerium flammae dederunt, praesente cum illis Domino et probante quod in confessores et martyres ejus nihil posset gehennae ardor operari, sed quod qui in Deum crederent, incolumes semper et tuti in omnibus perseverarent. Et consideretis diligentius peto, pro vestra religione, quae apud pueros fides fuerit, quae promereri Dominum plenius potuit. Ad omnia enim parati, sicut omnes esse debemus, aiunt regi: Nabuchodonosor rex, non opus est

III. Blessed too are the women who are with you, established in the same glory of confession, who, holding the Lord's faith and stronger than their sex, are not only themselves near to the crown of glory, but have also furnished to the other women as well an example from their own constancy. And, lest anything should be lacking to the glory of your number, so that with you every sex and every age might be in honour, the divine condescension has also joined boys to you in a glorious confession, representing to us something such as Ananias, Azarias and Misahel, illustrious boys, once did; when they were shut in the furnace, the fires gave way to them and the flames gave them refreshment, the Lord being present with them and proving that against His confessors and martyrs the burning of Gehenna could do nothing, but that those who believed in God would remain always unharmed and safe in all things. And I ask that you consider more carefully, in keeping with your devotion, what faith there was in the boys, which was able to merit the Lord more fully. For, ready for all things, as we all ought to be, they say to the king: King Nebuchadnezzar, there is no need

Editors' notes and page, col. 427

Footnotes

LECTIONES VARIANTES.

VARIANT READINGS.

(printed under page 207)

(a) ‹anchor: numeri vestri› · call in col 427

Numero vestro Neap. Muneris vestri Ver.

"Numero vestro" (to your number), Naples; "Muneris vestri" (of your gift), Verona.

(printed under page 207)

(b) ‹anchor: in caminum› · call in col 427

In camino Lam.

"In camino" (in the furnace), Lambeth.

(printed under page 207)

(c) ‹anchor: crederent› · call in col 427

In Deum se crederent Bod. 1, 2. Lam. NC. 1, 2. Ebor. Lin.

"In Deum se crederent" (that they believed in God), Bodleian 1 and 2, Lambeth, New College 1 and 2, York, Lincoln.

(printed under page 207)

Page

running head: DIVI CYPRIANI (cut off at the image's right edge)
marginal letters: A claritatem quae revelabitur in nobis; B cerunt; quibus inclusis in caminum; C Epistolae ad Antonianum, et in calce (in the notes); D quam persecutor ad poenam. Vide etiam (in the notes)
old-edition numerals: (none)
Q1: the calls a, b, c are printed in col 427 after "numeri vestri", "in caminum" and "crederent". Baluze's notes under col 427 (Epistolae ad Antonianum continued; Claritatem; III. Sexu suo fortiores; Refrigerium) are set in n428.

nobis de hoc verbo respondere tibi. Est enim Deus, cui nos servimus, potens eripere nos de camino ignis ardentis, et de manibus tuis, rex, liberabit nos. Et si non, notum tibi sit quoniam diis tuis non servimus et imaginem auream qnam statuisti non adoramus (Dan. III, 16-18). Cum se crederent et pro fide sua scirent posse etiam de praesenti supplicio liberari, jactare hoc tamen et vindicare sibi noluerunt dicentes, Et si non, ne minor esset confessionis virtus sine testimonio passionis. Addiderunt posse omnia Deum facere, sed tamen non in hoc fidere ut liberari in praesentia vellent, sed illam libertatis et securitatis aeternae gloriam cogitarent.

us to answer you concerning this word. For there is God, Whom we serve, able to snatch us from the furnace of burning fire, and He will free us from your hands, O king. And if not, be it known to you that we do not serve your gods and do not worship the golden image which you have set up (Dan. 3:16–18). Though they believed, and knew, that in return for their faith they could even be freed from the present punishment, they nevertheless refused to boast of this and claim it for themselves, saying, And if not, lest the virtue of confession should be less without the testimony of suffering. They added that God can do all things, but that they did not trust in this so as to wish to be freed in the present, but that they had their minds on that glory of eternal liberty and security.

IV. Quam fidem vos quoque retinentes et die ac nocte meditantes, toto corde ad Deum prompti, contemptu praesentium futura tantummodo cogitatis, ut ad fructum regni aeterni et ad complexum et osculum Domini et conspectum venire possitis, ut sequamini in omnibus Rogatianum presbyterum, gloriosum senem, viam vobis ad gloriam temporis nostri religiosa virtute et divina dignatione facientem, qui cum Felicissimo fratre nostro quieto semper et sobrio excipiens ferocientis populi impetum, primum hospitium vobis in carcere praeparavit, et metator quodam modo vester, nunc quoque vos antecedit. Quod ut

IV. You too, holding this faith and meditating on it day and night, ready for God with your whole heart, in contempt of present things think only of things to come, so that you may come to the fruit of the eternal kingdom and to the embrace and kiss and sight of the Lord, so that you may follow in all things Rogatianus the presbyter, a glorious old man, who by religious virtue and divine favour is making for you a way to the glory of our time, who, together with Felicissimus our brother, ever quiet and sober, receiving the onslaught of the raging people, first prepared a lodging for you in prison, and, as a kind of quartermaster of yours, now too goes before you. That this

Editors' notes and page, col. 428

Footnotes

(d) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 428

Viam nobis Oxon.

"Viam nobis" (the way for us), Oxford edition.

STEPH. BALUZII NOTÆ.

NOTES OF ÉTIENNE BALUZE.

[Baluze, continued] ‹anchor: In gehennam (lemma on previous page)› · col 427

(continued) Epistolæ ad Antonianum, et in calce scriptum est: Ad Antonianum de Cornelio et Novatiano explicit. Sic etiam in Thuano. Porro Epistolæ ad Antonianum prima pars desideratur in utroque codice, et incipit uterque ab his verbis exomologesis apud inferos non est, etc.

[Baluze] ‹anchor: Claritatem› · col 427 Claritatem. Codex Fuxensis, gloriæ coronam.

"Brightness." The Foix manuscript: "gloriae coronam" (the crown of glory).

[Baluze] ‹anchor: Sexu suo fortiores› · col 427 III.—Sexu suo fortiores. Infra, in libro de Habitu virginum, pag. 175: Fortior femina viris torquentibus invenitur. Lactantius lib. v, cap. 13: Ecce sexus infirmus et fragilis ætas dilacerari et toto corpore urique perpetitur. Hieronymus in Epistola ad Eustochium de Custodia Virginitatis: Beata martyr Agnes et ætatem vicit et tyrannum et titulum castitatis martyrio consecravit. Idem in Epistola de Muliere septies icta: Mulier sexu infirmior, virtute fortior. Eusebius, lib. vi, cap. 41, refert historiam sanctæ Apolloniæ. Rufinus eam quoque referens, lib. vi, cap. 31, cum dixisset illam sponte prosiliisse in ignem quem persecutores minabantur, addit: Ita ut perterrerentur etiam ipsi crudelitatis auctores quod promptior inventa est ad mortem femina quam persecutor ad pœnam. Vide etiam historiam Blandinæ martyris apud eumdem Eusebium. Florus, lib. ii, cap. 15, meminit cujusdam feminæ Carthaginensis quæ in excidio urbis Carthaginensis, a culmine se domus in medium misit incendium, eo tempore quo se quadraginta millia virorum dediderunt duce Asdrubale. Ait ergo Florus: Quanto fortius femina. Ælius Spartianus de Zenobia uxore Odenati ait: Quæ multorum sententia fortior marito fuisse perhibetur. Statius, lib. ix, Thebaidos: Ipsa nihil metuens, sexusque oblita minoris.

III. — "Stronger than their sex." Below, in the book On the Dress of Virgins, p. 175: "A woman is found stronger than the men who torture her." Lactantius, Book 5, ch. 13: "See, the weak sex and frail age endure being torn apart and burned over the whole body." Jerome, in the Letter to Eustochium on Keeping Virginity: "The blessed martyr Agnes overcame both her age and the tyrant, and consecrated the title of chastity by martyrdom." The same, in the Letter on the Woman Struck Seven Times: "A woman weaker in sex, stronger in virtue." Eusebius, Book 6, ch. 41, tells the story of Saint Apollonia. Rufinus, telling it too, Book 6, ch. 31, after saying that she leapt of her own accord into the fire with which the persecutors were threatening her, adds: "So that even the authors of the cruelty themselves were terrified that a woman was found readier for death than the persecutor for punishment." See also the story of the martyr Blandina in the same Eusebius. Florus, Book 2, ch. 15, recalls a certain Carthaginian woman who, at the destruction of the city of Carthage, threw herself from the roof of her house into the midst of the fire, at the time when forty thousand men surrendered under their commander Hasdrubal. So Florus says: "How much more bravely a woman!" Aelius Spartianus says of Zenobia, wife of Odenathus: "Who in the opinion of many is held to have been braver than her husband." Statius, Thebaid, Book 9: "She herself fearing nothing, and forgetful of the lesser sex."

[Baluze] ‹anchor: Refrigerium› · col 427 Refrigerium. Ita veteres editiones et quatuor libri veteres. Manutius edidit refrigerii locum. Quo etiam modo legitur in undecim codicibus et in editione Morellii.

"Refreshment." So the old editions and four old manuscripts. Manutius printed "refrigerii locum" (a place of refreshment). So it is read also in eleven manuscripts and in Morel's edition.

[Baluze] ‹anchor: De hoc verbo› · col 428 De hoc verbo. Codex Pithœanus, de hoc sermone. Et tamen Cyprianus Epist. lv, ad Thibaritanos, in capite xi Epistolæ ad Fortunatum de Exhortatione martyrii, et lib. iii Testimoniorum, cap. 10, semper ponit de hoc verbo. Itaque mutandum istic non fuit. Vide annotationes Erasmi ad caput primum Evangelii secundum Joannem.

"Of this word." The Pithou manuscript: "de hoc sermone" (of this saying). And yet Cyprian, in Letter 55 to the people of Thibaris, in chapter 11 of the Letter to Fortunatus On the Exhortation to Martyrdom, and in Book 3 of the Testimonies, ch. 10, always puts "de hoc verbo." So it ought not to have been changed here. See Erasmus's annotations on the first chapter of the Gospel according to John.

[Baluze] ‹anchor: Cogitatis› · col 428 IV. — Cogitatis. Hunc locum nos emendavimus ex fide duorum veterum exemplarium.

IV. — "You consider." We have corrected this passage on the authority of two old copies.

[Baluze] ‹anchor: Metator vester› · col 428 Metator vester. Vocabulum hoc, quod diversas habet significationes, ortum est ex agricolarum arte. Sic enim vocantur qui arbores in seminario vel arbusto disponunt et ordine quodam digerunt, origine ducta a meta, id est agrorum termino seu linea a qua incipit mensura ad disponendas arbores. Istic accipitur de eo qui præcedens milites castra locat, hospitia præparat. Vegetius, lib. ii, cap. 7, Metatores, qui præcedentes locum eligunt castris. Nonius Marcellus: Metari, parare. Unde et metatores. Præfatio Celsi in Altercationem Jasonis et Papisci: Frequentatur ubique aut manifestat prophetatio cunctorum qui sancto Spiritu præmonente adventus Domini metatores esse soliti sunt. Victor Vitensis, lib. v, cap. 12: Vel superare posset aqua mendax tantæ voluntatis propositum, quod jam homo Dei metantibus lacrymis miserat legatum in cœlum. Iidem vocantur mensores in titulo Codicis Theodosiani de Metatis. Lucianus, in Epistola ad Celerinum, pag. 50, vocat Decium metatorem antichristi. Quem locum male Rigaltius transtulit ad artem agricolarum, tamquam si Lucianus ita scribens respexisset ad lineam sive funiculum metatoris arbores suas disponentis. (Veget., Instit. rei mil., ii, 7: Metatores dicuntur, qui præcedentes locum castris idoneum eligunt. Goldast.)

"Your harbinger." This word, which has various meanings, arose from the farmers' craft. For those are so called who set out trees in a nursery or orchard and arrange them in a certain order, the name being drawn from "meta," that is, the boundary of the fields, or the line from which measuring begins for setting out trees. Here it is taken of one who goes ahead of the soldiers, lays out the camp and prepares lodgings. Vegetius, Book 2, ch. 7: "Metatores, who go ahead and choose the place for the camp." Nonius Marcellus: "Metari, to prepare; whence also metatores." Celsus's preface to the Dispute of Jason and Papiscus: "The prophecy of all who, by the forewarning of the Holy Spirit, have been wont to be harbingers of the Lord's coming is everywhere frequented or makes it manifest." Victor of Vita, Book 5, ch. 12: "Or could the lying water overcome the purpose of so great a will, which the man of God had already sent as an envoy to heaven with tears marking out the way?" The same people are called "mensores" (surveyors) in the title of the Theodosian Code On Billets. Lucianus, in the Letter to Celerinus, p. 50, calls Decius the harbinger of Antichrist. Rigault wrongly referred this passage to the farmers' craft, as though Lucianus in so writing had in view the line or cord of a planter setting out his trees. (Vegetius, Military Institutions, 2.7: "They are called metatores who go ahead and choose a suitable place for the camp." Goldast.)

[Baluze] ‹anchor: Antecedit› · col 428 Antecedit. Certum est metatores vocatos fuisse antecessores, quia antecedunt milites ut eis hospitia (continues)

"Goes before." It is certain that harbingers were called "antecessores" (forerunners), because they go before the soldiers so as [to prepare] lodgings for them (continues)

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Page

running head: [cut at left edge] DIVI CYPRIANI 428
marginal letters: A nobis de hoc verbo respondere; B temptu praesentium futura; C De hoc verbo. Codex Pithoeanus (in the foot notes); D tercationem Jasonis et Papisci (in the foot notes)
old-edition numerals: (none)