PL 5 · cols. 145–151

S. Felicis papae I et martyris epistolae dubiae quatuor

Letters I–II

PL 5:145

S. FELICIS PAPAE I ET MARTYRIS

OF ST FELIX I, POPE AND MARTYR

EPISTOLAE DUBIAE QUATUOR.

FOUR DOUBTFUL LETTERS.

EPISTOLA I.

LETTER I.

AD PATERNUM EP⟨I⟩SCOPUM.

TO BISHOP PATERNUS.

De judiciis et accusationibus et defensionibus sacrorum ordinum.

On the judgements and accusations and defences of the sacred orders.

I. — Quod detractores et fautores inimicorum ab accusatione episcopali submoveantur.

I. — That detractors and abettors of enemies be removed from accusing bishops.

II. — Ne minores a majoribus accusationibus impetantur.

II. — That the lesser not be assailed with accusations by the greater.

III. — In re dubia non judicetur certa sententia de his qui adversus clericum causam aliquam habebunt in provincia.

III. — That in a doubtful matter no certain sentence be judged concerning those who shall have any case against a cleric in the province.

IV. — Clerici actiones suas exerceant.

IV. — Let clerics pursue their actions.

V. — Primates in accusatum episcopum quomodo se gerere debeant.

V. — How primates ought to conduct themselves towards an accused bishop.

VI. — Judices Ecclesiae ne absente eo, cujus causa ventilatur, sententiam proferant, et ne proditoris calumnia aut vox audiatur.

VI. — That the judges of the Church not pronounce sentence in the absence of him whose case is being heard, and that the calumny or the voice of a betrayer not be listened to.

Charissimo atque dilectissimo Paterno coepiscopo, Felix episcopus in Domino salutem.

To his most dear and most beloved fellow bishop Paternus, Felix, bishop, greeting in the Lord.

Gaudere me plurimum (S. Leo, ep. 31), et exultare in Domino, dil⟨e⟩ctionis tuae scripta fecerunt, quibus e⟨v⟩identer ostenditur, quantum catholicam diligis fidem, et quantum haereticum detestaris errorem. Haeresis quippe est nimis impia, et evangelicae veritatis inimica, quae non portionem aliquam laedere, sed ipsa christianae religionis conatur fundamenta convellere. Quoscumque enim rapit ad se, non solum in hoc vitium, sed in multa alia vitia ruere facit: et ipso suadente antiquo hoste, non solum persecutores Ecclesiae, sed etiam sacerdotum ejus, fiunt. Una igitur mente corrigere curemus et insequamur tales, et ab hoste suo Ecclesiam, ejusque fideles et sacerdotes Domini, nitamur liberare. Praestabit vires omnipotens redemptor noster charitati atque justitiae (S. Greg., ep. 56, lib. IV): praestabit nobis, longe a se positis, unitatem Spiritus sui ipse, cujus artificio, quasi in arcae modum, quatuor mundi constructa lateribus, atque imputribilium lignorum compage, et bitumine charitatis adstricta est Ecclesia, ut nullius adversitate Spiritus, nullius venientis extrinsecus tumore fluctus perturbetur. Sed quemadmodum illius gubernante gratia, petendum est, ut nulla nos superveniens exterius unda conturbet, ita ex totis orandum est visceribus, frater charissime, ut suae providentiae dextera cumulum sentinae nobis interioris exhauriat. Adversarius quippe diabolus, qui contra humiles saeviens, sicut leo rugiens circuit, quaerens quem devoret (I S. Petr., V), non jam, ut cernimus, caulas circuivit, sed ita valide in quibusdam Ecclesiae necessariis membris dentem figit, ut nulli dubium,

The writings of your Love have made me rejoice greatly (St Leo, Letter 31) and exult in the Lord, for by them it is plainly shown how much you love the catholic faith and how much you detest heretical error. For heresy is exceedingly impious and an enemy of the truth of the Gospel, since it strives not to harm some portion but to tear up the very foundations of the Christian religion. For whomever it seizes to itself it makes fall not only into this vice but into many other vices as well; and at the prompting of the ancient enemy himself they become persecutors not only of the Church but also of her priests. Let us therefore with one mind take care to correct such men and pursue them, and let us strive to free the Church from her enemy, and her faithful and the priests of the Lord. Our almighty Redeemer will lend strength to charity and justice (St Gregory, Letter 56, Book IV); He will grant to us, placed far from Him, the unity of His Spirit, He by Whose craftsmanship the Church, after the manner of the ark, has been built with the four sides of the world, and bound fast by the joining of incorruptible timbers and by the pitch of charity, so that she is troubled by the hostility of no spirit, by the swelling of no wave coming from without. But just as we must ask that, by His governing grace, no wave rising from outside may throw us into confusion, so we must pray from our whole heart, dearest brother, that by the right hand of His providence He may drain out of us the mass of bilge-water within. For our adversary the devil, who raging against the humble goes about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour (1 Pet. 5:8), no longer, as we see, has gone about the sheepfolds, but fixes his tooth so strongly in certain necessary members of the Church that no one doubts

Editors' notes and page, col. 145

Footnotes

[Heading across both columns: LECTIONES VARIANTES. — Variant readings.] (printed under page 75)

(a) ‹anchor: Quoscumque› · call in col 145

Quocumque enim serpit Labb.

"Wherever it creeps" (Quocumque enim serpit): Labbe.

(printed under page 75)

(b) ‹anchor: caulas circuivit› · call in col 145

Circuiit Labb.

Circuiit: Labbe. [faint print; reading of the variant not fully certain]

(printed under page 75)

Page

running head: 145 EPISTOLAE DUBIAE QU (cut off at the image edge)
marginal letters: A (none visible); B qui adversus clericum causam aliquam; C Haeresis quippe est nimis impia; D dum est visceribus, frater charissime
old-edition numerals: (none)
running head: 145 EPISTOLÆ DUBIÆ QUATUOR. 146
marginal letters: A (not visible); B (gutter) beside ‹qui adversus clericum causam aliquam habebunt in›; C (gutter) beside ‹Hæresis quippe est nimis impia›; D (gutter) beside ‹dum est visceribus, frater charissime›
old-edition numerals: (none)

PL 5:146

quia nisi unanimiter, faciente Domino, cunctorum provida pastorum turba concurrat, omne (quod absit) citius ovile dilaniet.

that unless the provident company of all the shepherds runs together with one mind, the Lord bringing it about, he will very soon (which God forbid) tear the whole sheepfold to pieces.

I. Quapropter detractores, qui divina auctoritate eradicandi sunt, et fautores inimicorum, ab episcopali submovemus accusatione.

I. Wherefore we remove from the accusation of bishops detractors, who by divine authority are to be rooted out, and abettors of enemies.

II. Similiter ne summorum quispiam (Hadr., col. 19), minorum accusationibus impetatur, aut dispereat.

II. Likewise, let none of the highest (Hadrian, ch. 19) be assailed by the accusations of the lesser, or perish by them.

III. Neque in re (S. Greg., ep. 30, lib. VIII) certa judicetur sententia, nec ullum judicium, nisi ordinabiliter habitum, teneatur.

III. Nor in a [doubtful] matter (St Gregory, Letter 30, Book VIII) let a certain sentence be judged, nor let any judgement be held valid unless it has been conducted in due order.

IV. Si quis super quibuslibet criminibus clericum pulsandum crediderit, in provincia, in qua (Hadr., col. 8) consistit ille qui pulsatur, suas exerceat actiones, nec aestimet eum accusator alibi, aut longius pertrahendum ad judicium. Illi vero, qui pulsatus fuerit, si judices suspectos habuerit, liceat appellare primates.

IV. If anyone has thought that a cleric should be prosecuted on any charges whatever, let him pursue his actions in the province in which he who is prosecuted resides (Hadrian, ch. 8), and let the accuser not think that he is to be dragged elsewhere or farther away to judgement. But let him who has been prosecuted be permitted, if he has held the judges suspect, to appeal to the primates.

V. Primates quoque accusatum discutientes episco⟨p⟩um, non ante sententiam proferant damnationis, quam apostolica freti auctoritate, aut reum se ipse confiteatur (An. in const., lib. IX, tit. 40, cod. The., 11, q. 3, Irritum esse episcoporum), aut per innocentes et canonice examinatos regulariter testes convincatur. Aliter irritam esse censemus et injustam episcoporum damnationem, et idcirco a synodo retractandam, ita ut oppressis ab omnibus, in cunctis subveniatur causis.

V. The primates also, when examining an accused bishop, are not to pronounce a sentence of condemnation, relying on apostolic authority, until either he himself confesses himself guilty (Anianus in the Constitutions, Book IX, Title 40, Theodosian Code; 11, q. 3, Irritum esse episcoporum), or he is convicted by innocent witnesses, canonically examined in the regular way. Otherwise we decree that the condemnation of bishops is void and unjust, and therefore to be reconsidered by a synod, so that the oppressed may be succoured by all in all their cases.

VI. Caveant (Conc. Carth., IV, c. 28) judices Ecclesiae, ne absente eo cujus causa ventilatur, sententiam proferant, quia irrita erit, qui etiam rationem pro actione fratrum in praesentia dabunt. Proditoris vero nec calumnia, nec vox audiatur. Nemo enim debitorem amplius potest cognoscere, quam ille qui injuriam ejusque sustinuit (Cod. The., const. 3, tit. 10, lib. X) nequitiam. Omnes ergo qui in Christo volunt pie vivere necesse est ut ab impiis dissimilibus patiantur opprobria, et despiciantur tamquam stulti et insani (Prosp., sent. 32, ex Aug. in ps. CXXII), qui praesentia bona perdunt, ut invisibilia et futura acquirant. Despectio tamen et irrisio talium in ipsos retorquebitur qui ipsos infestant: quia et abundantia eorum in egestatem, et superbia transibit in confusionem. Et quidquid justis adversitatum vel malorum irrogatur, non est poena criminis, sed virtutis examen. Et sicut aurum, quanto plus excoquitur, tanto melius efficitur: sic justus, quanto plus tribulatur (si ipsam tribulationem patienter portaverit) multo purior et charior Deo redditur. Unde ipsa per se Veritas dicit (S. Matth., V): Beati qui persecutionem patiuntur propter justitiam, quoniam ipsorum est regnum coelorum.

VI. Let the judges of the Church beware (Council of Carthage IV, c. 28) of pronouncing sentence in the absence of him whose case is being heard, since it will be void; they who will also give account in the [divine] presence for their action concerning their brethren. But let neither the calumny nor the voice of a betrayer be listened to. For no one can know a debtor better than he who has borne the injury and his wickedness (Theodosian Code, Constitution 3, Title 10, Book X). All, therefore, who will live godly in Christ must suffer reproaches from the ungodly, who are unlike them, and be despised as fools and madmen (Prosper, Sentence 32, from Augustine on Psalm CXXII), since they lose present goods to gain things invisible and to come. Yet the contempt and mockery of such men will be turned back upon those very men who harass them; for both their abundance will pass into want and their pride into confusion. And whatever of adversity or evil is inflicted on the just is not the punishment of a crime but the testing of virtue. And as gold, the more it is refined, the better it becomes, so the just man, the more he is afflicted (if he has borne that affliction patiently), is rendered much purer and dearer to God. Hence the Truth Himself says in His own person (Matt. 5:10): Blessed are they who suffer persecution for justice's sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Editors' notes and page, col. 146

Footnotes

Exerat Labb.

Exerat: Labbe.

(printed under page 75)

(d) ‹anchor: nec vox› · call in col 146

Calumniatoris vox umquam Labb.

"the voice of the slanderer ever": Labbe.

(printed under page 75)

Page

running head: [EPISTO]LÆ DUBIÆ QUATUOR. 146 (left part cut off at the image edge)
marginal letters: A (none visible in this column); B judicetur sententia; C tur. Aliter irritam; D irrogatur, non est poena
old-edition numerals: (none)
running head: 145 EPISTOLÆ DUBIÆ QUATUOR. 146
marginal letters: A (not visible); B beside ‹judicetur sententia, nec ullum judicium›; C beside ‹tur. Aliter irritam esse censemus›; D beside ‹irrogatur, non est pœna criminis›
old-edition numerals: (none)

PL 5:147

De talibus Dominus per Isaiam loquitur, dicens (Isa., LXVI) : Audite verbum Domini, qui tremitis ad verbum ejus. Dixerunt fratres vestri, odientes vos et abjicientes propter nomen meum : Glorificetur Dominus, et videbimus in laetitia vestra : ipsi autem confundentur. Vox populi de civitate, vox de templo, vox Domini reddentis retributionem inimicis suis. Antequam parturiret, peperit : antequam veniret partus ejus, peperit masculum. Quis audivit umquam tale ? et quis vidit huic simile ? Numquid parturiet terra in die una? aut parturietur gens simul, quia parturivit et peperit Sion filios suos ? Numquid ego, qui alios parere facio, ipse non pariam, dicit Dominus ? Si ego, qui generationem caeteris tribuo, sterilis ero, ait Dominus Deus tuus ? Laetamini cum Jerusalem, et exultate in ea omnes qui diligitis eam. Gaudete cum ea universi gaudio, qui lugetis super eam, ut sugatis et repleamini ab ubere consolationis ejus, ut mulgeatis et deliciis affluatis ab omnimoda gloria ejus, quia haec dicit Dominus : Ecce ego declinabo super eam quasi fluvium pacis, et quia torrentem inundantem gloriam gentium quam sugetis. Ad ubera portabimini, et super genua blandientur vobis. Quomodo si cui mater blandiatur, ita ego consolabor vos, et in Jerusalem consolabimini. Videbitis, et gaudebit cor vestrum, et ossa vestra sicut herba germinabunt. Et cognoscetur manus Domini servis ejus, et indignabitur inimicis suis. Quia ecce Dominus in igne veniet, et quasi turbo quadriga ejus, reddere indignatione furorem suum, et increpationem suam in flamma ignis. Quia in igne Dominus dijudicat, et in gladio suo ad omnem carnem, et multiplicabuntur interfecti a Domino. Qui sanctificabantur, et mundos se putabant in hortis post januam intrinsecus, qui comedebant carnem suillam, et abominationem, et murem : simul consumentur, dicit Dominus. Ego autem opera eorum, et cogitationes eorum, venio ut congregem cum omnibus gentibus et linguis : et venient et videbunt gloriam meam, et ponam in eis signum. Et mittam ex eis qui salvati fuerint, ad gentes, in mari, in Africa, in Lydia tendentes sagittam in Italiam, et Graeciam, ad insulas longe, ad eos qui non audierunt de me, et non viderunt gloriam meam. Et annuntiabunt gloriam meam gentibus, et adducent omnes fratres vestros de cunctis gentibus donum Domino, in equis, et in quadrigis, et in lecticis, et in mulis, et in carrucis ad montem sanctum meum Jerusalem, dicit Dominus : quomodo si inferant filii Israel munus in vase mundo in domo Domini. Et assumam ex eis in sacerdotes et in levitas, dicit Dominus : Quia sicut coeli novi, et terra nova, quae ego facio stare coram me, dicit Dominus, sic stabit semen vestrum et nomen vestrum. Et erit mensis ex mense, et subbatum ex sabbato et veniet omni scaro, ut adoret coram facie mea, dicit Dominus. Et egredientur et videbunt cadavera virorum, qui praevaricati sunt in me. Vermis eorum non morietur, et

Concerning such men the Lord speaks through Isaiah, saying (Isa. 66): Hear the word of the Lord, you who tremble at His word. Your brethren, who hate you and cast you out for My name's sake, have said: Let the Lord be glorified, and we shall see [it] in your joy; but they themselves shall be confounded. A voice of the people from the city, a voice from the temple, the voice of the Lord rendering recompense to His enemies. Before she was in labour, she gave birth; before her delivery came, she gave birth to a male child. Who has ever heard such a thing? And who has seen anything like this? Shall the earth be in labour in one day? Or shall a nation be brought forth all at once, because Sion has been in labour and has given birth to her sons? Shall I, who make others give birth, not give birth Myself, says the Lord? Shall I, who grant generation to others, be barren, says the Lord your God? Rejoice with Jerusalem, and exult in her, all you who love her. Rejoice with her with joy, all you who mourn over her, that you may suck and be filled from the breast of her consolation, that you may milk and abound in delights from her glory of every kind; for thus says the Lord: Behold, I will turn upon her like a river of peace, and as an overflowing torrent the glory of the nations, which you shall suck. You shall be carried to the breasts, and upon the knees they shall caress you. As one whom a mother caresses, so will I comfort you, and in Jerusalem you shall be comforted. You shall see, and your heart shall rejoice, and your bones shall sprout like grass. And the hand of the Lord shall be known to His servants, and He shall be indignant with His enemies. For behold, the Lord will come in fire, and His chariot like a whirlwind, to render His fury with indignation, and His rebuke in a flame of fire. For in fire the Lord judges, and with His sword towards all flesh, and those slain by the Lord shall be multiplied. Those who were sanctified, and thought themselves clean in the gardens behind the gate within, who ate swine's flesh, and the abomination, and the mouse, shall be consumed together, says the Lord. But I [know] their works and their thoughts; I come to gather [them] together with all nations and tongues; and they shall come and see My glory, and I will set a sign among them. And I will send some of those who have been saved to the nations, to the sea, to Africa, to Lydia, those who draw the arrow, to Italy and Greece, to the islands far off, to those who have not heard of Me and have not seen My glory. And they shall proclaim My glory to the nations, and they shall bring all your brethren out of all the nations as a gift to the Lord, on horses, and in chariots, and in litters, and on mules, and in carriages, to My holy mountain Jerusalem, says the Lord, as if the children of Israel were to bring an offering in a clean vessel into the house of the Lord. And I will take some of them for priests and for Levites, says the Lord. For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I make to stand before Me, says the Lord, so shall your seed and your name stand. And it shall be month after month, and sabbath after sabbath, and all flesh shall come to worship before My face, says the Lord. And they shall go out and see the corpses of the men who have transgressed against Me. Their worm shall not die, and

Editors' notes and page, col. 147

Footnotes

(a) ‹anchor: aut parturietur› · call in col 147

Parietur Labb.

Parietur: Labbe.

(printed under page 76)

(b) ‹anchor: turbo quadriga› · call in col 147

Quadrigae Labb.

Quadrigae ("chariots"): Labbe.

(printed under page 76)

Dijudicat it Labb.

Dijudicat it: Labbe.

(printed under page 76)

(d) ‹anchor: in Lydia› · call in col 147

Libya Labb.

Libya: Labbe.

(printed under page 76)

(e) ‹anchor: not in col 147 (no call e in this column; the call stands in col 148)› · call in col 148

Nono kalend. Labb.

"On the ninth day before the Kalends": Labbe.

(printed under page 76)

Page

running head: 147 S. FELICIS PA (cut off at the image edge)
marginal letters: A De talibus Dominus per Isaiam; B gitis eam. Gaudete cum ea universi; C carnem, et multiplicabuntur interfecti; D cit Dominus : quomodo si inferant
old-edition numerals: (none)
other: ligature doubt raised by the check: caeli novi | coeli novi — settled by Q2 against the page: the page prints cœli; set coeli
misprints kept as printed: subbatum (for sabbatum); scaro (for caro)

PL 5:148

ignis eorum non extinguetur, et erunt usque ad satietatem visionis omni carni. Quid aliud detrahentes faciunt (S. Greg., ep. XLV, lib. VIII), nisi in pulverem flant, atque in oculos suos terram excitant? Et unde plus detractationis perflant, inde magis nihil veritatis vident? Tales tamen, frater charissime, portandi sunt et corrigendi, quia caeci sunt, et duces coecorum (S. Matth., XV). His, charissime, respondi breviter consultis tuis, quae te et omnes episcopos regulariter tenere mandamus. Tuam tamen, frater, monemus prudentiam, ut pro statu Ecclesiae et sacerdotum ejus, pro viribus elaborare studeas, et ordinem sanctae romanae et apostolicae Ecclesiae per omnia teneas, et violari sanctorum decreta non permittas, sed omnes quoscumque potueris, instruas, ut fructuosos manipulos Domino repraesentes Vale. Data nonis junii, Claudio et Aureliano viris clarissimis consulibus.

their fire shall not be extinguished, and they shall be unto a satiety of sight to all flesh. What else do detractors do (St Gregory, Letter 45, Book 8) but blow into the dust and stir up earth into their own eyes? And the more of detraction they blow forth, the more do they see nothing of the truth? Such men, however, most dear brother, are to be borne with and corrected, because they are blind, and leaders of the blind (Matt. 15). To these consultations of yours, most dear one, I have answered briefly, and we command that you and all bishops hold to them according to rule. We do, however, admonish your prudence, brother, that you be zealous to labour with all your strength for the state of the Church and of her priests, and that you hold to the order of the holy Roman and apostolic Church in all things, and do not permit the decrees of the saints to be violated, but instruct all whomsoever you can, so that you may present fruitful sheaves to the Lord. Farewell. Given on the Nones of June, Claudius and Aurelian, most illustrious men, being consuls.

EPISTOLA II.

Letter II.

DE AUCTORITATE JUDICIS SEDIS APOSTOLICAE, ET DE EPISCOPIS ACCUSATIS.

On the authority of the judge of the Apostolic See, and on accused bishops.

Felix episcopus universis episcopis per Galliae provincias constitutis, in Dominó salutem.

Felix, bishop, to all the bishops established throughout the provinces of Gaul, greeting in the Lord.

Bonorum operum et spiritualium studiorum Deum auctorem esse (S. Leo. ep. 32) non dubium est, qui eorum incitat mentes et adjuvat actiones. Unde laetari me fecerunt scripta vestra, ex bono studio et ex integritate fidei devotionis vestrae: sed ex afflictione et contritione vestra magna ex parte tristavere. Tristis enim, tristes (Petri Chrysologi, ep. ad Eutychem) legi litteras vestras, et scripta moesta moerore debito percurri: quia sicut nos Ecclesiarum pax, sacerdotumque ejus concordia et tranquillitas plebis studire facit gaudium, ita nos affligit et dejicit fraterna afflictio. Vos tamen nolite multum tristari (S. Greg. ep. 45, lib. VIII), quia sicut ipsa per se Veritas ait: Si de hoc mundo fuissetis, mundus quod suum erat, diligeret: sed quia de hoc mundo non estis, sed ego elegi vos de mundo, propterea odit vos mundus (S. Joan., XV), id est, mundi amatores. Quidquid tamen hi loquantur, aut adversum vos agant, vos tamen semper integram servate fidem, et puram habetote conscientiam, ut integer spiritus et anima servetur in die Domini (I Thes., V). Nos vero ad supplementum vestrum fratres et coepiscopos nostros vocavimus amplius quam septuaginta, cum quibus haec quae subter habentur inserta, regulariter tractanda decrevimus. Vestris enim epistolis in omnium audientia perlectis, quae multas (ut nostis) querimonias et oppressiones in se continebant vestras, decretisque, quae sunt de accusationibus episcoporum, sancta synodus

That God is the author of good works and of spiritual endeavours (St Leo, Letter 32) is not doubtful, for He stirs up the minds of those who do them and aids their actions. Hence your writings made me rejoice, coming from the good zeal and from the integrity of the faith of your devotion; but because of your affliction and contrition they have in great part saddened me. For sad, I read your sad letters (Peter Chrysologus, Letter to Eutyches), and with due grief I ran through your mournful writings: for just as the peace of the Churches, and the concord of her priests and the tranquillity of the people, makes joy for us, so fraternal affliction afflicts and casts us down. Yet do not be much saddened (St Gregory, Letter 45, Book 8), because, as the Truth Himself says in His own person: If you had been of this world, the world would love what was its own; but because you are not of this world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hates you (John 15), that is, the lovers of the world. Whatever, however, these men may say, or do against you, do you nevertheless always keep the faith whole, and have a pure conscience, so that your spirit and soul may be preserved whole in the day of the Lord (1 Thess. 5). We, for our part, for your support have called together more than seventy brothers and fellow bishops of ours, with whom we have decided that the matters inserted below are to be dealt with according to rule. For when your letters had been read through in the hearing of all, which contained (as you know) many complaints and oppressions of yours, and the decrees concerning the accusations of bishops, the holy synod

Editors' notes and page, col. 148

Footnotes

(1) ‹anchor: not visible in the page-foot image› · call in col 148

Falsas cos. nota quamcumque te vertas in partem.

Note that the consuls are false, whichever way you turn.

[Heading across both columns: LECTIONES VARIANTES. — Variant readings.] (printed under page 76)

(f) ‹anchor: not visible in the page-foot image› · call in col 148

Mariniano Labb.

Mariniano: Labbe.

(printed under page 76)

(g) ‹anchor: not visible in the page-foot image› · call in col 148

Et de memoriis martyrum Labb.

"And concerning the shrines of the martyrs": Labbe.

(printed under page 76)

(h) ‹anchor: plebis studire› · call in col 148

Adire Labb.

Adire: Labbe.

(printed under page 76)

(i) ‹anchor: facit gaudium› · call in col 148

Gaudere facit gaudio coelesti Labb.

"makes [us] rejoice with heavenly joy": Labbe.

(printed under page 76)

Page

running head: S. FELICIS PAPAE 148
marginal letters: A ‹ignis eorum non extinguetur›; B ‹Domino repraesentes Vale›; C ‹Tristis enim, tristes›; D ‹plementum vestrum fratres›
old-edition numerals: (none)

PL 5:149

dixit : Haec sunt, quae deinceps propter malorum hominum insidias, qui in Ecclesiam et in ecclesiasticos saeviunt viros indifferenter, et conservare firmissime volumus in saeculo : Si quis episcopus ab illis accusatoribus, qui recipiendi sunt, fuerit accusatus, postquam ipse ab eis caritative conventus fuerit, ut ipsam causam emendare debeat, et eam corrigere noluerit, non olim, sed tunc ad summos primates causa ejus canonice deferatur, qui in congruo loco, intra ipsam provinciam, tempore congruo, id est, autumnali vel aestivo, concilium regulariter convocare debebunt, ita ut ab omnibus ejusdem provinciae episcopis inibi audiatur. Quo et ipse regulariter convocatus; si eum aut infirmitas (cod. The. lib. IX, tit. I, const. 10, 3, q. 2, si episcopus suis fuerit) aut alia gravis necessitas non detinuerit, adesse debebit : quia ultra provinciae terminos accusandi ante licentia non est, qua audientia rogetur. Nam si suis fuerit, aut Ecclesiae sibi commissae rebus expoliatus, aut (quod absit, quod alienum ab omnibus esse debet fidelibus) a sede propria ejectus, aut in detentione aliqua a suis ovibus fuerit sequestratus : tunc canonice antequam in pristino statu restituatur cum omni privilegio sui honoris, et sua omnia, quae insidiis inimicorum suorum ei ablata fuerant, legibus redintegrentur : nec convocari, nec judicari poterit, nisi ipse pro sua necessitate (minime tamen judicandus) advenire sponte elegerit. Nullatenus ergo a quoquam respondere rogetur, antequam integerrime omnia quae per suggestiones inimicorum suorum amiserat, potestati ejus ab honorabili concilio legali ordine redintegrentur; praesul vero cum omni honore statui pristino reddatur, et ipse dispositis ordinatisque libere atque secure diu suis, tunc regulariter infra quatuor vel quinque, aut septem menses, juxta quod possibilitas ei fuerit, et non ante, convocatus ad tempus, concilio in legitimo et canonico, veniat ad causam : et si ita juste videtur, accusantium propositionibus respondeat. Nam hoc summopere providendum est, ne antequam haec fiant, coactus respondeat, quia contentio semper vitanda est. Adimi namque episcopo episcopatum (Conc. Afr., c. 87), antequam causae ejus exitus appareat, nulli christiano videri jure potest, quia talis praesumptio sacrilegium est, et auctor talium, sacrilegus. Quod si aegrotans fuerit episcopus (3 q. 3, si aegrotans), aut aliqua eum gravis necessitas detinuerit, pro se legatum ad synodum mittat. Nec a

said: These are the things which henceforth, on account of the snares of wicked men who rage indiscriminately against the Church and against men of the Church, we also wish to be most firmly preserved in the world: If any bishop has been accused by those accusers who are to be received, after he himself has been charitably approached by them that he should amend the matter, and he has refused to correct it, then not at some later time but at that time his case is to be referred canonically to the highest primates, who shall be obliged to convoke a council regularly in a fitting place within that province, at a fitting time, that is, in autumn or summer, so that he may be heard there by all the bishops of the same province. To which he himself, being regularly summoned, shall also be obliged to be present, if neither infirmity (Cod. Theod. bk. 9, tit. 1, const. 10; 3, q. 2, si episcopus suis fuerit) nor some other grave necessity detains him: because there is no licence to accuse beyond the boundaries of the province before a hearing is requested. For if he has been despoiled of his own goods or of the goods of the Church entrusted to him, or (which God forbid, and which ought to be foreign to all the faithful) has been ejected from his own see, or has been separated from his sheep by some detention, then canonically, before he is restored to his former state with every privilege of his honour, and all his goods which had been taken from him by the snares of his enemies are restored according to the laws, he can be neither summoned nor judged, unless he himself, for his own need (yet by no means to be judged), has chosen to come of his own accord. By no means, therefore, is he to be asked by anyone to answer before everything which he had lost through the instigations of his enemies has been most completely restored to his power by the honourable council in lawful order; and the prelate is to be returned with all honour to his former state, and when he has freely and securely arranged and set in order his affairs for a long time, then, regularly within four or five or seven months, according as it is possible for him, and not before, having been summoned in due time, he is to come to the case before a lawful and canonical council; and if it seems just so, he is to answer the propositions of the accusers. For this is to be provided for with the utmost care, that he not be compelled to answer before these things are done, because contention is always to be avoided. For it cannot rightly seem good to any Christian that his bishopric be taken from a bishop (Conc. Afr., c. 87) before the outcome of his case appears, because such presumption is sacrilege, and the author of such things is sacrilegious. But if the bishop is sick (3, q. 3, si aegrotans), or some grave necessity detains him, let him send a legate to the synod on his behalf. Nor from

Editors' notes and page, col. 149

Footnotes

(1) ‹anchor: not visible in the page-foot image› · call in col 149

Syn. romana dicitur Hadr., coll. c. 5, sed quae, quove tempore nondum patet. Ex hac enim epistola, quae spuria est, nihil colligi potest.

In Hadrian's collection, c. 5, it is called a Roman synod; but which synod, or at what time, is not yet clear. For nothing can be gathered from this letter, which is spurious.

(printed under page 77)

(2) ‹anchor: not visible in the page-foot image› · call in col 149

Apud Had. legitur : tempore a canonibus prae- [a stray line of text type is printed here: "vero idem apostolus dicit : Si enim cum inimici esse-"] fixo Nicaenis. Inde arguitur fraus interpolatoris.

In Hadrian ['s collection] one reads: "at the time fixed by the Nicene canons." From this the interpolator's fraud is proved. [The intruding line, "but the same apostle says: For if, when we were enemies…", belongs to the author's text, not to the note.]

(printed under page 77)

(3) ‹anchor: antequam integerrime› · call in col 149

Ita et manuscr.

So also the manuscript.

(printed under page 77)

(4) ‹anchor: legali ordine redintegrentur› · call in col 149

Concil. rom. III, sub symmacho.

Third Roman Council, under Symmachus.

[Heading across both columns: LECTIONES VARIANTES. — Variant readings.] (printed under page 77)

(a) ‹anchor: respondere rogetur› · call in col 149

Cogatur Labb.

Cogatur ("be compelled"): Labbe.

(printed under page 77)

(b) ‹anchor: aut septem› · call in col 149

Sex, aut Labb.

"six, or": Labbe.

(printed under page 77)

Page

running head: 149 EPISTOLÆ DUBIÆ QU (cut off at the image edge)
marginal letters: A ‹nodus (1) dixit : Haec sunt› (printed between the columns at the first line); B ‹suis fuerit) aut alia gravis›; C ‹rime (3) omnia quae per suggestiones›; D ‹pareat, nulli christiano videri›
old-edition numerals: (none)

PL 5:150

communione suspendatur, cui crimen intenditur (Concil. Carth. III, can. 7); nisi ad causam suam dicendam electorum judicum die statuta litteris evocatus, minime occurrerit: hoc est, nisi eum aliqua praeoccupaverit necessitas infra spatium praedictorum mensium, et eo amplius, prout causa dictaverit. Quod si ex utraque parte ad causam dicendam venerint; quia unus absque altero audiri non debet, quaerendum est in judicio, cujus sint conversationis et fidei atque suspicionis accusatores aut qua intentione hoc faciant: quia ad hoc admitti non debent, nisi bonae conversationis et rectae fidei viri, hi videlicet qui omni suspicione careant, et bona vita clareant, neque infames existant. Quod si accusatorum personae in judicio (3, q. 10. Si accusatorum personae) episcoporum culpabiles apparuerint (idem, Conc. Carth.), ad arguendum non admittantur, nisi proprias causas asserere (non tamen criminales) vel ecclesiasticas voluerint. Infamis enim persona (3, q. ⟨ ⟩, Infamis persona), nec procurator potest esse, nec cognitor. Absente vero adversario (3, q. 9, Absente adversario), non audiatur accusator: nec sententia, absente parte alia, a judice dicta, ullam obtinebit firmitatem (Vide Anianum in sent. Pauli, lib. V, tit. 2 et 5): neque absens per alium accusari (3, q. 9, Absens per alium), aut accusare potest, nec affinis illis admittatur. Neminem ergo exhiberi de provincia ad provinciam (Vide novellam tertiam libri tertii et Anianum et cod. Theod. const. 4, lib. II, tit. I), vel ad comitatum oportet, nisi ad relationem judicis, ad quem fuerlt appellatum, id est, ut auctor semper rei forum sequatur. Si quis autem judicem sibi adversum senserit, vocem appellationis exhibeat quam nulli oportet negari (Huc usque caput 5, coll. Hadr., quibusdam subinde insertis). Peregrina vero judicia (3, q. 6, Peregrina judicia) generali sanctione prohibemus: quia indiguum est, ut ab externis judicetur qui comprovinciales (Hadr. coll. 17, ex const. 10, tit. 1, lib. IX, cod. The.) et a se electos debet habere judices. Haec, fratres, ad vestram et omnium coepiscoporum opem et defensionem in synodo unanimiter sunt decreta, ut si forte aliqui (Concil. Hisp. II, c. 13) stultorum vos accusare, qui diabolicae deceptionis errore decepti sunt, voluerint, dum ista legerint vel audierint, resipiscant et ad unitatis concordiam revertantur: et quod prius erat in ultionem, transibit in gloriam. Nam procul dubio multi sunt, qui (secundum apostoli vocem) prurientes auribus, a veritate auditum avertunt, ad fabulas autem convertuntur (I Tim., IV) et ad nocumenta honorum transeunt. Ait (idem conc. cit.) autem idem apostolus de infidelium ignorantia: Si cognovissent, numquam Dominum gloriae crucifixissent (I Cor. II). Similiter si hi Dominum perfecte agnovissent et amassent, numquam servos ejus perturbassent, nec verbis aut factis persecuti essent. Quod vero idem apostolus dicit : Si enim cum inimici essemus,

communion is he to be suspended against whom a charge is brought (Council of Carthage III, can. 7); unless, having been summoned by letter to plead his case on the day appointed by the chosen judges, he has failed to appear: that is, unless some necessity has hindered him within the space of the aforesaid months, and longer, as the case shall have required. But if they have come from both sides to plead the case, since the one ought not to be heard without the other, it must be inquired in the trial of what conduct and faith and suspicion the accusers are, or with what intention they do this: for they ought not to be admitted to this unless they are men of good conduct and right faith, namely those who are free of all suspicion and are distinguished by a good life, and are not infamous. But if the persons of the accusers appear culpable in the judgement (3, q. 10, Si accusatorum personae) of the bishops (the same, Council of Carthage), let them not be admitted to make accusation, unless they wish to assert their own causes (yet not criminal ones) or ecclesiastical ones. For an infamous person (3, q. ⟨ ⟩, Infamis persona) can be neither a procurator nor an advocate. But in the absence of the adversary (3, q. 9, Absente adversario), let the accuser not be heard: nor will a sentence pronounced by a judge in the absence of the other party have any validity (See Anianus on the Sentences of Paul, bk. 5, tit. 2 and 5): nor can an absent man be accused through another (3, q. 9, Absens per alium), or accuse, nor let those related to them by marriage be admitted. No one, therefore, ought to be brought from province to province (See the third novel of the third book, and Anianus, and the Theodosian Code, const. 4, bk. 2, tit. 1), or to the court, except on the report of the judge to whom appeal has been made, that is, so that the plaintiff may always follow the forum of the defendant. But if anyone perceives the judge to be against him, let him put forward the plea of appeal, which ought to be denied to no one (Up to here chapter 5, Collection of Hadrian, with certain things inserted here and there). But foreign judgements (3, q. 6, Peregrina judicia) we prohibit by a general sanction: for it is unworthy that a man be judged by outsiders who ought to have fellow-provincials (Hadr. coll. 17, from const. 10, tit. 1, bk. 9, Theodosian Code) and men chosen by himself as judges. These things, brethren, were unanimously decreed in synod for the help and defence of you and of all our fellow-bishops, so that if perhaps some (Council of Hispalis II, c. 13) of the foolish, who have been deceived by the error of diabolical deception, should wish to accuse you, when they have read or heard these things, they may come to their senses and return to the concord of unity: and what was before for punishment will pass into glory. For without doubt there are many who (according to the voice of the apostle), having itching ears, turn their hearing away from the truth, but are turned aside to fables (1 Tim. 4), and pass on to the injury of honours. But the same apostle says (the same council cited) concerning the ignorance of unbelievers: If they had known, they would never have crucified the Lord of glory (1 Cor. 2). Likewise, if these had perfectly known and loved the Lord, they would never have troubled His servants, nor persecuted them by words or deeds. But as for what the same apostle says, For if, when we were enemies,

Editors' notes and page, col. 150

Footnotes

Bonorum Labb.

Bonorum ("of good men"): Labbe.

(printed under page 77)

(d) ‹anchor: persecuti essent. Quod› · call in col 150

Quum Labb.

Quum ("when"): Labbe.

(printed under page 77)

Page

running head: …Æ DUBIÆ QUATUOR. 150 (left part cut off at the image edge)
marginal letters: A communione suspendatur; B episcoporum culpabiles apparuerint; C oportet, nisi ad relationem; D sunt, voluerint, dum ista
old-edition numerals: (none)
displaced line: the column's last text line, vero idem apostolus dicit, Si enim cum inimici esse-, is printed inside foot note (2) of page 77 (see n149), set at the end of this column's text (settle round 1)
misprints kept as printed: fuerlt (for fuerit); indiguum (for indignum)

PL 5:151

reconciliati sumus Deo per mortem Filii ejus (Rom. V), cur insequimur fratres? Cur perturbamus statum Ecclesiae Dei, et eos qui ei servire debent, affligimus? Martyres enim passi sunt (idem Conc. cit.), non tamen animae eorum occisae sunt in corporis passione, ore Veritatis attestante: Nolite timere eos qui occidunt corpus, animam autem non possunt occidere (I Matth. X). Ubi agnosci oportet, quod si animae martyrum, corpore perempto, suppliciis extingui non possunt, nec animae praedicatorum et doctorum persequi debuissent, aut perturbari, et a Dei famulatu averti, quia cum corporibus non deficiunt. Tales autem perturbatores Ecclesiae non solum praedicta agunt mala, sed et memorias (Conc. Gangrense, cap. 20, interp. Dion.) martyrum execrantur. Quapropter in praefata constituimus synodo, vobisque et omnibus Ecclesiis tenendum et agendum mandamus, ut super memorias martyrum missae celebrentur, ne memoriae eorum a talibus extingui, aut veneratio possit prohiberi. Vos vero, fratres, nolite multum turbari, nolite vexari, sed confortamini in Domino, et in potentia claritatis ejus (Ephes., VI). Habetote interim ista ad suffragium vestrum, apostolica auctoritate decreta: et scitote nos semper paratos habere etiam (si necesse fuerit) usque ad mortem, ad quaecumque vobis necessaria fuerint (Domino opem ferente) perficienda. Illi tamen, auctore Deo, peribunt, et vos stabitis, si tamen labor vester non fuerit inanis, sed plenus fide et charitate. Vae, inquit propheta, qui potum dat amico suo, mittens fel suum (Habac., II). Et iterum sapientissimus Salomon ait (Haec eodem in ep. Felicis II, ad Aegyptios): Qui loquitur iniqua non potest latere, nec praeteriet illum corripiens judicium. In cogitationibus ergo impii interrogatio erit. Sermonum autem illius auditio ad Dominum perveniet, et ad correptionem iniquitatum illius. Quoniam auris zeli audit omnia, et tumultus murmurationum non abscondetur. (Sap., I). Haec enim si amplecti voluissent proprio et sano sensu, ad reprobum sensum minime laberentur: sed per Dei timorem sermonum suorum praecaventes custodiam, piam sanctorum patrum diffinitionem sine quadam nocumenti praesumptione, utique conservassent Quoniam dicit sacrum eloquium: Consilium bonum conservabit te, et mens bona custodiet te (Prov., II). Non enim de fontibus salutiferis spiritualiter ad acquisitionem aeternae vitae procedunt tales accusationes et detractiones, atque ideo competenter nos beatus Paulus apostolus praemuniens ait: Non debere plus sapere quam oportet sapere, sed sapere ad sobrietatem (Rom., XII), in definitione pietatis perdurantes. Qui enim haec praetereunt, non tantum laesi sunt, decidentes a corroboratione sua, sed insipientiae suae dereliquerunt domibus memoriam, ut in his, in quibus peccaverunt, minime latere potuissent. Gloria

we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son (Rom. 5), why do we pursue our brothers? Why do we disturb the state of the Church of God, and afflict those who ought to serve it? For the martyrs suffered (the same council as cited), yet their souls were not slain in the suffering of the body, as the mouth of Truth bears witness: Do not fear those who kill the body, but cannot kill the soul (Matt. 10). Here it must be recognized that, if the souls of the martyrs, once the body has been destroyed, cannot be extinguished by punishments, neither ought the souls of preachers and teachers to have been persecuted, or disturbed, and turned away from the service of God, since they do not perish together with their bodies. But such disturbers of the Church not only do the evils mentioned above, but also execrate the memorials (Council of Gangra, ch. 20, version of Dionysius) of the martyrs. Therefore in the aforesaid synod we have decreed, and we command you and all the Churches to hold and to do, that masses be celebrated over the memorials of the martyrs, so that their memory may not be blotted out by such people, nor their veneration be prohibited. But you, brothers, do not be much troubled, do not be harassed, but be strengthened in the Lord, and in the might of His glory (Eph. 6). Keep these things meanwhile for your support, decreed by apostolic authority: and know that we hold ourselves always ready, even (if it should be necessary) unto death, to accomplish whatever things may be necessary for you (the Lord bringing help). Those men, however, by God's doing, will perish, and you will stand, provided that your labour has not been empty but full of faith and charity. Woe, says the prophet, to him who gives drink to his friend, putting in his gall (Hab. 2). And again the most wise Solomon says (the same in the letter of Felix II, to the Egyptians): He who speaks unjust things cannot be hidden, nor will the chastising judgement pass him by. Therefore in the thoughts of the ungodly there will be interrogation. And the hearing of his words will come to the Lord, and unto the rebuking of his iniquities. For the ear of zeal hears all things, and the tumult of murmurings will not be hidden. (Wis. 1). For if they had been willing to embrace these things in their proper and sound sense, they would by no means slip into a reprobate sense: but, through the fear of God guarding in advance the custody of their words, they would certainly have preserved the pious definition of the holy fathers without any presumption of harm. For the sacred word says: Good counsel will preserve you, and a good mind will guard you (Prov. 2). For such accusations and detractions do not proceed spiritually from the saving fountains towards the acquisition of eternal life, and therefore the blessed apostle Paul, forewarning us, fittingly says: Not to be wiser than one ought to be wise, but to be wise unto sobriety (Rom. 12), persevering in the definition of godliness. For those who pass over these things are not only harmed, falling away from their own firm support, but have left to their houses the memory of their folly, so that in the things in which they sinned they could by no means remain hidden. Glory

Editors' notes and page, col. 151

Footnotes

[Heading across both columns: LECTIONES VARIANTES. — Variant readings.] (printed under page 78)

(a) ‹anchor: not visible in the page-foot image› · call in col 151

In lingua hominis Labb.

"In the tongue of man": Labbe.

(printed under page 78)