Migne Reading Room
PL 54 · cols. 1242–1247
Appendix prima et secunda ad secundam partem operum S. Leonis Magni: Epistolae ad S. Leonem pertinentes; Fragmenta S. Leoni Magno attributa
Letters V–VII
EPISTOLA V. S. TURRIBII ASTURICENSIS.
LETTER V. OF ST TURRIBIUS OF ASTORGA.
De non recipiendis in auctoritatem fidei apocryphis Scripturis, et de secta Priscillianistarum.
On not receiving the apocryphal Scriptures as an authority of faith, and on the sect of the Priscillianists.
Sanctis ac beatissimis et omni veneratione colendis Idatio et Ceponio episcopis Turribius.
To the holy and most blessed bishops Idatius and Ceponius, to be honoured with all veneration, Turribius.
Molesta semper est et injucunda peregrinatio.
Travel abroad is always troublesome and unpleasant.
Editors' notes and page, col. 1242
Editors' prose
(none) <!-- note: the editors' direction, in italic, fills the right half of the lower band of col. 1242 (at marginal letter C), under the full-width "Admonitio in sequentem epistolam" and above the rule and the next full-width admonitio. Its sentence begins in col. 1241 (the last word there is "Hic") and runs through this column to "remittimus". It is set whole, once, in n1241, between the two admonitions and in reading order; Q3b removed the duplicate of its col.-1242 part that stood here. The two full-width italic admonitiones on this page are likewise set in n1241, not here; the small-type matter in the upper band of the column is footnote apparatus (the end of note (d), set in n1241). -->
Page
- running head: 1241 EPISTOLAE AD S. LEONEM MAGNUM PERTINENTES. — EPIST. V. 1242
- marginal letters: C afferenda erat tota epistola Turribii. (C stands beside the editors' italic direction, not the letter's text)
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: By the reading-order rule this rail carries the lower two-column band of the page (Letter V); the upper half of the right column (end of Letter IV) stands under 1241. Letter V is printed as its caption, title, salutation and opening sentence only: the editors then break off in italic (running from the foot of the left column through the whole right column of the band) with a direction that the whole letter was printed after Leo's Letter XV, col. 711, and is not repeated: editors' prose, set whole in n1241. The caption's numbered heading and its small-capital second line are set on one line by the numeral-heading rule. Also on this page, set in n1241 (editors' prose): the full-width ADMONITIO IN SEQUENTEM EPISTOLAM above the band and the full-width ADMONITIO IN EPISTOLAM SEQUENTEM (nn. 1 and 2, the latter running on to the next page) below it.
EPISTOLA VI.
LETTER VI.
JULIANI EPISCOPI COENSIS AD LEONEM IMPERATOREM.
OF JULIAN, BISHOP OF COS, TO THE EMPEROR LEO.
Piissimo atque fidelissimo, victori atque triumphatori Leoni, principi semper Augusto, Julianus humilis episcopus Coensis.
To the most pious and most faithful, the victor and triumphant one, Leo, prince ever Augustus, Julian, humble bishop of Cos.
Ego, domine Christo amabilis imperator, illam sapientissimam monitionem, mente percipiens, qua dictum est, Cognosce temetipsum volui taciturnitate quiescere, et majorum Patrum judicium sustinere. Non enim evocationis aequalitas parem rerum servat effectum, sed quando coactus cum evocatione concordat, tunc similitudo nominum habet rerum quoque impermutabilem veritatem. Verumtamen quoniam consulere nos tranquillitas vestra praecepit de unoquoque capitulo, quod continetur in precibus Deo amabilium consacerdotum Aegyptiacae dioecesis, manifestam meae parvitatis facio voluntatem, moestus existens, et lacrymacum imbribus irrigatus, quid loquar ignorans, captivitatem ac destructionem utique pietatis, illam tamen et pontificis lugens inopinabilem necem. Ea siquidem, quae in Alexandrina civitate commissa sunt, ex ipsa narratione declarant animi passionem, et ad vincdictam tanti facinoris vestram solummodo provocant aequitatem. Nam constituti ut orbem debeatis gubernare terrarum, indisciplinationis aegritudinem ad interitum perducentem mederi summo studio festinantes, non gladium evaginantes ad necem, sed interminationis verbo indisciplinatos regulariter perducentes ad obedientiae voluntatem. Sententiam itaque quam contra se Timotheus nefandus exegit, sancti canones apertius explanarunt, quos sua tyrannide saepius abnegavit, disciplinam ecclesiasticam confundendo, et
I, lord emperor beloved of Christ, taking to mind that most wise admonition in which it is said, Know yourself, wished to rest in silence and to await the judgement of the greater Fathers. For equality of appellation does not preserve an equal effect in things; but when one who is constrained accords with the appellation, then the likeness of names has also the unchangeable truth of the things. Nevertheless, since your tranquillity has commanded us to give counsel on each several head contained in the petition of the fellow priests, beloved of God, of the Egyptian diocese, I make plain the will of my littleness, being sorrowful and drenched with showers of tears, not knowing what I should say, mourning indeed the captivity and destruction of piety, yet mourning also that unthinkable murder of the pontiff. For the things that were committed in the city of Alexandria declare by their very telling a passion of the mind, and call forth your equity alone to the avenging of so great a crime. For you have been appointed that you should govern the world, hastening with the utmost zeal to heal the sickness of indiscipline that leads to destruction, not unsheathing the sword for slaughter, but by the word of threat leading the undisciplined, according to rule, to the will of obedience. The sentence, therefore, which the unspeakable Timothy has exacted against himself, the holy canons have set forth quite openly, which he has repeatedly denied by his tyranny, by throwing ecclesiastical discipline into confusion, and
Editors' notes and page, col. 1243
Footnotes
(a) ‹anchor: quiescere, et› · call in col 1243
Veteres libri Baluzii, malorum.
Baluze's old books, malorum.
(printed under page 627)
(b) ‹anchor: Verumtamen quoniam› · call in col 1243
Sic ex eisdem libris. Vulg., consultare.
So from the same books. The common editions, consultare.
(printed under page 627)
(c) ‹anchor: illam tamen et› · call in col 1243
S. Proterii Alexandrini.
Of St Proterius of Alexandria.
(printed under page 627)
(d) ‹anchor: nefandus exegit,› · call in col 1243
Vulg., sanctiones.... quas. Codicum lectionem praetulimus.
The common editions, sanctiones.... quas. We have preferred the reading of the codices.
(printed under page 627)
Editors' prose
Julianum, nec non ex epist. 147 et 152, sub Leone Augusto scriptis anno 457, in quibus palam praesumitur illum Constantinopoli adhuc exstitisse, et litteras etiam ad S. Leonem dedisse de turbis Constantinopoli excitatis post novi imperatoris assumptionem, quibus S. pontifex respondit epistola 144. Julianum quidem demandatam sibi ab eodem pontifice vicem et curam sine ipsius consensu deseruisse incredibile est cum praesertim aliae difficiles circumstantiae ejus diligentiam postularent. Neque vero Aetius Juliano substitutus credi potest, ac si ille Constantinopoli jam abiisset, commissumque sibi deposuisset officium; nam et ad Julianum, et ad Aetium iisdem kalendis Septembris ann. 457 scriptae supersunt Leonis epistolae 152 et 153, in quibus utriusque cura in fidei bonum excitatur. Neque moveat inscriptio epistolae 147 ad Julianum; quae cum in ms. Grimanico inscribatur et Aetio presbytero a pari, ea ad Aetium quoque missa creditur eodem exemplo, propterea quod pontifici incertum esset num Julianus Constantinopoli degeret. Nam et eam epigraphen et Aetio presbytero pari in codice Ratisponensi omissam, delendam suspicamur, et Aetio aliam epistolam eodem fortassis die traditam conjecimus annot. 2 (Col. 1116, n. h) in epist. 147. Quod si S. pontifex in hac epistola queritur Julianum non scripsisse ea occasione qua Anatolius ad eumdem pontificem litteras transmiserat, id potius eum Constantinopoli adhuc subsistentem praesumit: ea vero forte de causa omisit scribere, quia de eadem fere re scripserat paulo ante, et Anatolium pleniores dedisse litteras sciebat. Aetio quidem delegatio et substitutio in Juliani locum nullibi indicatur. Quod in annis sequentibus nullae aliae ad Julianum epistolae inventae sunt cum aliae plures certo scriptae desiderentur, hoc argumentum infirmum est, ut Julianus Constantinopolim deseruisse, officiumque suum, quod adhuc fidei causa requirebat, dimisisse credatur. Cum porro idem Julianus subscriptus legatur synodo Constantinopolitanae sub Gennadio Anatolii successore circa an. 459 (Tom V. Conc. p. 51) cum ad hoc usque tempus in eadem urbe perstitisse satis probabile videtur.
[...] Julian, and likewise from letters 147 and 152, written under Leo Augustus in the year 457, in which it is plainly presumed that he was still at Constantinople, and that he had also sent a letter to St Leo about the disturbances stirred up at Constantinople after the new emperor's accession, to which the holy pontiff replied in letter 144. That Julian should have abandoned, without the pontiff's consent, the office of deputy and the charge entrusted to him by that same pontiff is indeed incredible, especially since other difficult circumstances were calling for his diligence. Nor can Aetius be believed to have been put in Julian's place, as though the latter had already left Constantinople and laid down the office committed to him; for there survive letters of Leo, 152 and 153, written both to Julian and to Aetius on the same first of September in the year 457, in which the care of each is roused for the good of the faith. Nor should the superscription of letter 147, to Julian, be a difficulty; since in the Grimani manuscript it is inscribed "and to Aetius the presbyter, in like terms", it is believed to have been sent to Aetius also in the same copy, on the ground that the pontiff was uncertain whether Julian was living at Constantinople. For we suspect that this heading, "and to Aetius the presbyter, in like [terms]", omitted in the Regensburg codex, ought to be deleted, and we have conjectured in annotation 2 (col. 1116, n. h) on letter 147 that another letter was delivered to Aetius, perhaps on the same day. And if the holy pontiff complains in this letter that Julian had not written on the occasion on which Anatolius had sent a letter to the same pontiff, this rather presumes that he was still remaining at Constantinople: he perhaps omitted to write for this reason, that he had written on almost the same matter a little before, and knew that Anatolius had sent a fuller letter. A delegation to Aetius, and his substitution in Julian's place, is indeed nowhere indicated. That in the following years no other letters to Julian have been found, when several others that were certainly written are missing, is a weak argument for believing that Julian left Constantinople and gave up his office, which the cause of the faith still required. Since, moreover, the same Julian is read as a subscriber to the synod of Constantinople under Gennadius, the successor of Anatolius, about the year 459 (Tom. V Conc., p. 51), it seems probable enough that he had remained in the same city down to that time.
3. Inter eos ad quos Leo Augustus encyclicam dedit de qua diximus in admonit. ad epist 156. Julianus fuit, cui licet Constantinopoli existenti potuit ea encyclica dirigi, sicut et Anatolio episcopo Constantinopolitano inscripta invenitur. Cum autem caeteri omnes, ad quos eadem imperialis epistola directa fuit, essent saltem metropolitae, solus Julianus simplex. Coensis episcopus hoc gradu expers erat. Id autem peculiarem ejusdem existimationem ob praeclara ipsius in Eutychianos gesta demonstrat. Haec in codice encyclio nobis conservata fuit ab Epiphanio Scholastico qui praeter autographam Leonis epistolam, quam Occidentalis vir facile invenit et inseruit, caeteras litteras e Graeco reddidit; ac propterea haec Juliani non originale ipsum, sed versio est ex Graeco: totus enim codex encyclius Graece prodiit. Hunc codicem cum aliquot mss. collatum post Surium dedit Baluzius, ejusque variantes nobis utiles fuere.
3. Among those to whom Leo Augustus sent the encyclical of which we spoke in the admonition on letter 156 was Julian, to whom, although he was at Constantinople, that encyclical could be addressed, just as it is found inscribed also to Anatolius, bishop of Constantinople. But whereas all the others to whom the same imperial letter was addressed were at least metropolitans, Julian alone, a simple bishop of Cos, was without that rank. This shows the particular esteem in which he was held on account of his distinguished actions against the Eutychians. This [letter] has been preserved for us in the Codex encyclius by Epiphanius Scholasticus, who, apart from the original letter of Leo, which as a Westerner he easily found and inserted, rendered the other letters from the Greek; and therefore this letter of Julian is not the original itself but a version from the Greek: for the whole Codex encyclius came out in Greek. Baluze, after Surius, published this codex collated with several manuscripts, and his variants have been of use to us.
ADMONITIO IN EPISTOLAM SEQUENTEM.
ADMONITION ON THE FOLLOWING LETTER.
Epistola Eutychis ad S. Leonem, inter Leoninas 21, cum caeteris documentis eidem annexis, post Flaviani mortem, seu post an. 449, a nobili quodam viro ad peritum nescio quem missa fuit, ut quid circa illa sentiret, exponeret. Quae iste confutanda credidit, una cum ipsa censura addita fuerunt velut Appendix documentis ad Nestorianam haeresim pertinentibus quae e Casinensi codice Lupus et Baluzius typis dederunt, ac tom. IV Concil. recusa inveniuntur pag. 499. Epistolam Eutychis et caetera fragmenta, quae ab anonymo ad crisim vocantur, jam exhibuimus epist. 21. Nunc ipsam confutationem proferimus, quae cum nullam mentionem faciat synodi Chalcedonensis, ante hoc Concilium scripta videtur, nimirum circa an. 450. Ipsum titulum ex eodem codice Casinensi exhibemus.
The letter of Eutyches to St Leo, number 21 among the Leonine letters, together with the other documents attached to it, was sent after the death of Flavian, that is, after the year 449, by a certain nobleman to some learned man or other, that he might set out what he thought about them. The things which the latter judged in need of refutation were added, together with his critique itself, as a kind of appendix to the documents pertaining to the Nestorian heresy which Lupus and Baluze printed from the Monte Cassino codex, and they are found reprinted in tom. IV of the Councils, p. 499. The letter of Eutyches and the other fragments which are subjected to criticism by the anonymous writer we have already given at letter 21. We now bring forward the refutation itself, which, since it makes no mention of the synod of Chalcedon, appears to have been written before that Council, namely about the year 450. The title itself we give from the same Monte Cassino codex.
<!-- note: Two full-width bands spanning cols 1243–1244. Head of page: the admonition on Letter VI (Julian of Cos to the emperor Leo) runs over from the previous page, beginning mid-sentence at "Julianum, nec non ex epist. 147"; it ends with its §3 at "utiles fuere", directly above the title EPISTOLA VI and the letter's text in two columns (with its foot variants (a)–(e), not set here). Foot of page, below a rule: ADMONITIO IN EPISTOLAM SEQUENTEM, complete in this band, ending "exhibemus"; the letter it introduces follows on the next page. Readings: "Aetius/Aetio" printed without diaeresis or ligature; "et Aetio presbytero a pari" (first time) and "et Aetio presbytero pari" (second time, without "a") as printed; "simplex. Coensis" with a stray full point as printed; "ad epist 156." with full point before "Julianus" as printed; "(Tom V. Conc. p. 51) cum ad hoc usque tempus" printed "cum", apparently for "eum" (translated accordingly). Broken or doubtful type read by sense: "Inter" (looks like "Inler"), "Julianus" (looks like "Juliaous"), "nullibi" (looks like "nultibi"), "annot. 2 (Col. 1116, n. h)" (crowded and indistinct), "haeresim" (a letter failed), "mentionem" (final letter damaged). -->
Page
- running head: 1243 APPENDIX I AD PARTEM II OPP. S. LEONIS MAGNI. 1244
- marginal letters: A ‹EPISTOLA VI.› (left) / ‹injurias inferendo, inimicus› (right); B ‹que pietatis, illam tamen et pontificis lugens inopi-› (left) / ‹a Christo per ipsum de ipso› (right); C (none); D (none)
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: EDITORS' PROSE (set above under Editors' prose): the upper part of the page is a full-width italic band, the end of the Ballerini admonition to this letter (its section 2 continued and section 3), running across both columns 1243-1244; at the foot of the page, also full width, begins ADMONITIO IN EPISTOLAM SEQUENTEM. The letter itself occupies only the two-column band between them. 'inopinabilem': the l is a broken sort printed like a bracket, set as the intended letter. Misprints kept as printed in the letter (listed by Q4, 2026-10-12): 'lacrymacum' (for lacrymarum), 'vincdictam' (for vindictam). UNSURE: 'coactus' is printed so; the sense would be easier with 'actus' (the deed agreeing with the name), but the page is clear and it is kept. No comma is printed after 'temetipsum'. Foot notes called in this column: (a) at majorum: Veteres libri Baluzii, malorum. (b) at consulere: Sic ex eisdem libris. Vulg., consultare. (c) at pontificis: S. Proterii Alexandrini. (d) at sancti canones: Vulg., sanctiones.... quas. Codicum lectionem praetulimus [printed under the right column].
injurias inferendo, inimicus nescio quo modo totius Christianitatis effectus. Captus enim in talibus vestram justitiam debet experiri solummodo: quoniam ad magnitudinem commissorum ejus, sicut precibus continetur, potestas ecclesiasticarum non sufficit sanctionum. Pando siquidem vestrae potentiae et quid de sancto Chalcedonensi concilio sentire dignoscor. Hoc etenim nullatenus a veritate discordat: quoniam fidem traditam a sanctis beatisque trecentis decem et octo Patribus consona voluntate divina inspiratione firmavit, non dogma aliud introduxit, non alterum symbolum, non vanam expositionem, non dualitatem unigeniti Filii Dei, neque novitatem aliquam celebravit; sed per omnia consonat etiam sacro concilio centum quinguaginta sanctorum Patrum pariter, et Ephesino, cui praesederunt ter beati et sanctissimi Patres Coelestinus Romanae pontifex civitatis, et Cyrillus Alexandrinus episcopus. Supplicamus igitur vestrae potentiae, ut inviolabilter conservetis ea quae a Christo per ipsum de ipso bene sunt constituta. Ubi enim tantorum erat congregata multitudo pontificum, et sanctorum praesentia Evangeliorum, et frequens simul oratio; illic creaturae totius opificem invisibili virtute credimus fuisse praesentem. Terror enim tunc nullus fuit imperialis auctoritatis: quoniam sanctae piaeque memoriae Marcianus, amoris divini diademate coronatus, spiritalem quoque suscipiens curam, festinavit apostolorum dogmata confirmari a praesulibus Ecclesiae, desiderio fidei accensus orthodoxae. Quem cum vestra pietas imitatur, et victoriam contra barbaros adipiscitur, et veritatis quoque destruit inimicos.
by inflicting injuries, having become, I know not how, an enemy of the whole of Christendom. For one caught in such things ought to feel your justice alone, since for the greatness of the things he has committed, as is contained in the petition, the power of the ecclesiastical sanctions does not suffice. I lay open to your power also what I am known to hold concerning the holy council of Chalcedon. For this in no way disagrees with the truth, since by harmonious will and divine inspiration it confirmed the faith handed down by the holy and blessed three hundred and eighteen Fathers; it brought in no other dogma, no second creed, no empty exposition, no duality of the only-begotten Son of God, nor did it solemnize any novelty; but in all things it agrees also with the sacred council of the one hundred and fifty holy Fathers alike, and with that of Ephesus, over which presided the thrice blessed and most holy Fathers Celestine, pontiff of the city of Rome, and Cyril, bishop of Alexandria. We therefore beseech your power to preserve inviolably the things that have been well established by Christ, through Himself, concerning Himself. For where so great a multitude of pontiffs was gathered, and the presence of the holy Gospels, and with them constant prayer, there we believe the Maker of the whole creation to have been present by invisible power. For there was then no terror of imperial authority, since Marcian of holy and pious memory, crowned with the diadem of divine love and taking up a spiritual care as well, made haste to have the teachings of the apostles confirmed by the prelates of the Church, kindled with desire for the orthodox faith. And when your piety imitates him, it both gains victory against the barbarians and also destroys the enemies of the truth.
Julianus humilis episcopus definiens retuli.
I, Julian, humble bishop, giving my determination, have made this report.
Editors' notes and page, col. 1244
Footnotes
(e) ‹anchor: ejus, sicut› · call in col 1244
Cod. omittunt in.
The codices omit in.
(printed under page 627)
Page
- running head: 1243 APPENDIX I AD PARTEM II OPP. S. LEONIS MAGNI. 1244
- marginal letters: A ‹injurias inferendo, inimicus nescio quo modo totius›; B ‹a Christo per ipsum de ipso bene sunt constituta.›; C (none); D (none)
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: EDITORS' PROSE, not set: the full-width italic band at the top of the page (end of the Ballerini admonition to Letter VI, sections 2-3) and the full-width ADMONITIO IN EPISTOLAM SEQUENTEM at the foot, whose lower half would fall under this column's number. Only the two-column band between them is the letter. Foot note called in this column: (e) at precibus: Cod. omittunt in. Foot note (d), printed under this column, has its call in col. 1243.
EPISTOLA VII.
LETTER VII.
Tacito nomine facta ad quemdam senem cupientem scire quid contrarium catholicae fidei senserit Eutyches.
Written, with the name passed over in silence, to a certain old man who desired to know what Eutyches held contrary to the catholic faith.
Misit mihi nobilitas tua exemplum libelli de novae fidei Expositione Eutychetis, quem exposuit scribendo ad beatissimum papam sedis apostolicae Leonem. Scribere et dignatus es ut si quid inde sentirem, humilitatis meae litteris indicarem. Quod quidem ipse pro studio sanctae affectuose injungere dignatus es; sed mihi trepidam habenti mentem et timore repletum cor, in hac quaestione periculosum videtur aggredi, praecipiente doctore et illuminatore gentium apostolo Paulo et generaliter monente ac dicente: Stultas autem et ineruditas quaestiones et contentiones et pugnas legis devita. Sunt inutiles et vanae. Tamen ipsius beatissimi apostoli Pauli precibus, adjuvante Domino et Deo Jesu Christo, quod potuerit rusticus sermo et tenuis meus sensus aggrediar; non ut magnitudo et majestas fidei exigit, sed ut tenues vires meae humilitatis patiuntur. Cum ergo percurrerem praedictum exemplar epistolae vel libellum fidei Eutychetis, inter caetera textus verborum ejus inveni, ubi a sancto concilio Episcoporum expeti a se duas naturas in Christo conqueritur confiteri. Quod si consulens suae continentiae et vetustae in se castitatis laboribus confiteri voluisset, numquam sententiae suae fidei periculum fuisset passus. Sed quia in unam Christi personam secundum apostolorum vel prophetarum seu Evangeliorum traditionem duas naturas in Christo confiteri noluit, in ipso portu exitus sui non solum ipse laborum continentiae suae naufragium passus est, verum etiam jam olim bene fundatam Ecclesiarum per orbem terrarum perturbavit fidem, et ad cumulum perfidiae suae, Christi veneratorem et bonae fidei fidelem praedicatorem beatum occidit episcopum Flavianum. Et ille quidem quietis temporibus, nulla existente publica persecutione, coronam accipiens martyrii, nunc cum beato suo magistro apostolo Paulo gloriatur et dicit: Bonum certamen certavi, cursum consummavi, fidem servavi. De caetero superest corona justitiae, quam reddet mihi Dominus in illa die justus judex, non solum autem mihi, sed et omnibus qui diligunt manifestationem ejus. Et illo quidem cum omnibus sanctis in Domino gloriante nobis necesse est, si meremur ejus sequi vestigia te traditionem fidei, per quam gloriosum meruit exitum, totis fidei viribus et usque ad mortem tenere et in unam Christi personam duas confiteri naturas. Divinitatis et humanitatis, creatricis et creatae, assumptricis et assumptae. Quae tamen substantiae aut naturae, non confusae, sed unitae, et in una eademque persona inseparabiliter, et in sua semper proprietate sunt permanentes. Quapropter unicuique substantiae naturae propria utique aptanda sunt, id est, infirmitatis humanitati, quae creata est digna, non vero mutabilia Divinitati, quae creavit. In tantum enim hae duae naturae in una persona Christi simul unitae sunt atque conjunctae, ut idem Jesus Christus Dei Filius, Deus et homo, aliquando res aut agat aut loquatur humanas, aliquando vero divinas. Nam denique ut duarum naturarum, id est Divinitatis et humanitatis, in se ostenderet substantias, navigans dormit in navi ut homo, et procellae, eminenti vento, vel mari imperat ut Deus, dicens: Tace, obmutesce. Et post quadraginta dierum atque noctium jejunium esurit ut homo, et in solitudine quinque millia virorum, exceptis infantibus et mulieribus, de quinque panibus et duobus piscibus refecit ut Deus. Et quid plura? A Judaeis crucifixus, et lancea in latere compunctus, moritur ut homo, et Lazarum quatriduanum de monumento resuscitavit ut Deus, auctoritate divina dicens: Lazare, veni foras. Harum ergo, domine, duarum naturarum in Christo traditio est fortiter custodienda, ne cum Eutychete aut caeteris ejus consentaneis eas in unam confundentes, novum incertae
Your nobility has sent me a copy of the little book on the Exposition of the new faith of Eutyches, which he set forth in writing to the most blessed pope of the apostolic see, Leo. You have also deigned to write that, if I had any opinion on it, I should indicate it in a letter of my humility. This indeed you yourself, out of zeal for the holy [faith], have affectionately deigned to enjoin; but to me, who have a trembling mind and a heart filled with fear, it seems perilous to enter upon this question, since the teacher and enlightener of the nations, the apostle Paul, commands and gives a general warning, saying: But avoid foolish and unlearned questions and contentions and fights about the law. They are useless and vain. Yet by the prayers of the same most blessed apostle Paul, with the help of the Lord and God Jesus Christ, I will attempt what my rustic speech and slender understanding are able; not as the greatness and majesty of the faith requires, but as the slender powers of my humility allow. When, therefore, I was running through the aforesaid copy of the letter, or little book of the faith, of Eutyches, I found among the rest the tenor of his words where he complains that it was demanded of him by the holy council of Bishops that he confess two natures in Christ. Had he, taking thought for the labours of his continence and of the long-standing chastity in him, been willing to confess this, he would never have suffered the peril of the sentence upon his faith. But because he would not confess two natures in Christ, in the one person of Christ, according to the tradition of the apostles and of the prophets and of the Gospels, in the very harbour of his departure he not only himself suffered the shipwreck of the labours of his continence, but also threw into confusion the faith of the Churches throughout the world, well founded long since, and, to crown his faithlessness, he killed the blessed bishop Flavian, a worshipper of Christ and a faithful preacher of the good faith. And he indeed, receiving the crown of martyrdom in quiet times, when there was no public persecution, now glories with his blessed master the apostle Paul and says: I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith. For the rest there remains the crown of justice, which the Lord, the just judge, will render to me in that day, and not to me only, but also to all who love His manifestation. And while he glories in the Lord with all the saints, it is necessary for us, if we are counted worthy to follow his footsteps, also to hold with all the strength of faith, and even unto death, the tradition of the faith through which he merited a glorious departure, and to confess two natures in the one person of Christ. Of Divinity and of humanity, the creating and the created, the assuming and the assumed. Yet these substances or natures are not confused but united, and in one and the same person inseparably, and are ever abiding in their own property. Wherefore to each substance the things proper to its nature are certainly to be fitted, that is, the things of weakness to the humanity, which was created, as befits it, but not changeable things to the Divinity, which created. For to such a degree are these two natures united and joined together in the one person of Christ, that the same Jesus Christ, Son of God, God and man, at one time does or speaks human things, and at another divine. For indeed, that He might show in Himself the substances of the two natures, that is, of Divinity and humanity, sailing He sleeps in the ship as man, and commands the storm, the rising wind, and the sea as God, saying: Be silent, be still. And after a fast of forty days and nights He hungers as man, and in the wilderness He refreshed five thousand men, not counting infants and women, from five loaves and two fishes, as God. And what more? Crucified by the Jews and pierced in the side with a lance, He dies as man, and He raised Lazarus, four days dead, from the tomb as God, saying with divine authority: Lazarus, come forth. The tradition, therefore, my lord, of these two natures in Christ is to be firmly guarded, lest, confounding them into one with Eutyches or the others who agree with him, we hold the new path of an uncertain
Editors' notes and page, col. 1245
Page
- running head: 1245 EPISTOLAE AD S. LEONEM MAGNUM PERTINENTES. — EPIST. VII. 1246
- marginal letters: A ‹EPISTOLA VII.›; B ‹sermo et tenuis meus sensus aggrediar; non ut ma-›; C ‹temporibus, nulla existente publica persecutione,›; D ‹duae naturae in una persona Christi simul unitae sunt›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: The head is completed from the facing column's image. The column ends mid-sentence at 'novum incertae'; the sentence closes in col. 1246 with 'fidei teneamus tramitem', and the English here already carries 'we hold ... path' for the sake of English word order, so that col. 1246 opens with 'faith.' only. 'pro studio sanctae affectuose' is printed so, with no noun for 'sanctae'; [faith] supplied in the English. UNSURE of the construction 'infirmitatis humanitati, quae creata est digna, non vero mutabilia Divinitati', which is set as printed. No scripture references are printed in this column. No editors' prose in this column.
fidei teneamus tramitem. Optime enim eos dedignaris, quia omne quod confusum, obscurum et incertum esse cognoscitur: siquidem ut datur intelligi, proprias easdem naturas Divinitatis et humanitatis imprudenti sensu in unum confundere videntur, ut non separantes humanitatis substantiam a Christi Divinitatis natura, ipsa voce Deum passibilem pronuntient. Nam denique epistola quam dicit Eutyches Julii quondam episcopi urbis Romae esse quam et ad solatium suae perfidiae ignoro, forsitan falsam protulit, cujus et pravo sensu duci cognoscitur, in ipso ultimo textus sui ita profitetur, dicens: Qui igitur sic sentiunt, non excedunt, ab inconsona contraria sentientibus, ut cum mente divinis praeceptis consonant, sermonibus discrepent. Necesse est enim eos, cum duas naturas intelligunt, alteram colere, alteram non adorare, et in divinum quidem baptizari, in humanam vero non baptizari. Vides ergo quomodo impugnantes et confundentes duarum naturarum substantiam, Deum passibilem pronuntiare perfido sensu conantur. Nos vero, qui catholicae fidei rectum tenemus tramitem, praetermissa hac confusione duarum naturarum, in Dominicam carnem baptizati, propterea eam adoramus, quia a Divinitate suscepta atque eidem ita unita sit, ut non alium atque alium, sed unum eumdemque Deum et hominem, Dei Filium confiteamur. Nam si Eutyches aut caeteri ejus consentientes hominem separant a Christo Deo, illi nos numquam adoramus aut servimus. Aut si quis nostrum purpuram aut diadema regale jacentia inveniat, numquid ea conabitur adorare? Mox vero ut ea rex fuerit indutus, periculum mortis incurrit, si quis eam simul cum rege adorare contempserit. Ita Christi Domini nostri perfectam humanitatem, non solam et nudam, sed Divinitati suae unitam, unum eamdemque Dei Filium, Deum verum, et hominem verum, si quis adorare contempserit, aeternam mortem patietur. Sequitur et Julius, cujus sensu ducitur Eutyches, et dicit: Si autem in mortem Domini baptizantur, unam profitemur naturam et impassionabilis Deitatis et passionabilis carnis. Velim plenius agnoscere quomodo dicant carnis? Si haec caro sine anima est, quid est caro ista nisi terra sine sensu, quae nec gratias agere valuit, nec crucis poenas sentire potuit? Quod autem caro sine anima sentire non possit cunctis est manifestum. Si autem, ut illi sentiunt, in illa Dominica carne Divinitas pro anima fuit, Divinitatem ergo passionibus subjiciunt. Si autem, ut vera se habet Scripturarum fidelissima ratio, simul cum carne et humanam suscepit animam, ergo perfectus Deus perfectam suscepit hominis naturam, ut ostenderet se simul cum humana carne et humanam suscepisse animam, id est perfectum hominem. Dicit enim: Pastor bonus animam ponit pro ovibus suis. Et Potestatem habeo ponendi animam meam, et iterum potestatem habeo sumendi eam. Et in ipso articulo passionis suae dicit: Tristis est anima mea usque ad mortem; et: Nunc anima mea conturbata est. Non enim Deus aliquando perturbatur, sed ille utique homo qui esuriit, qui sitiit, qui dormivit, qui lassatus fuit atque ploravit: quae omnia sine affectibus animae caro sola sentire non potuit, nisi ille homo perfectus quem suscepit Deus perfectus, dicente Hieremia propheta: Hic Deus noster, non aestimabitur alius ad eum: qui invenit omnem viam disciplinae, et dedit eam Jacob puero suo, et Israel dilecto a se. Et adjecit: Post haec in terris visus est, et cum hominibus conversatus est. Qua porro forma in terra visus fuerit et conversatus sit, sanctissimus prophetarum Isaias plenissime et apertius exponit: Domine, quis credidit auditui nostro, et brachium Domini cui revelatum est? Annuntiavimus coram ipso tamquam pueri, ut radix in terra sitienti. Non est ei species neque gloria. Vidimus eum, et non habuit speciem neque decorem; sed species ejus sine honore, et abjecta prae omnibus hominibus. Homo in plaga positus, sciens ferre infirmitates. Quoniam aversata est species ejus, et dehonestatus, et pro nihilo aestimatu⟨s⟩
faith. For you do very well to disdain them, since everything that is confused is known to be obscure and uncertain; for indeed, as it is given to understand, they seem by an imprudent judgement to confound into one those same proper natures of Divinity and humanity, so that, not separating the substance of the humanity from the nature of Christ's Divinity, they by that very word pronounce God passible. For indeed the letter which Eutyches says is that of Julius, formerly bishop of the city of Rome, which he has also brought forward, I know not [how], for the comfort of his faithlessness, perhaps a forged one, and by whose perverse sense he is known to be led, at the very end of its text makes this profession, saying: Those therefore who think thus do not depart, from those who hold discordant and contrary views, so that while in mind they agree with the divine precepts, in words they differ. For it is necessary that they, when they understand two natures, worship the one and not adore the other, and be baptized into the divine, but not be baptized into the human. You see, then, how, assailing and confounding the substance of the two natures, they strive with faithless meaning to pronounce God passible. But we, who hold the straight path of the catholic faith, setting aside this confusion of the two natures, having been baptized into the Lord's flesh, adore it for this reason, that it has been assumed by the Divinity and so united to the same that we confess not one and another, but one and the same God and man, the Son of God. For if Eutyches or the rest who agree with him separate the man from Christ God, that one we never adore or serve. Or if any of us should find the purple or the royal diadem lying on the ground, will he attempt to adore them? But as soon as the king has put them on, a man incurs peril of death if he scorns to adore it together with the king. So, if anyone scorns to adore the perfect humanity of Christ our Lord, not alone and bare, but united to His Divinity, one and the same Son of God, true God and true man, he will suffer eternal death. Julius also, by whose sense Eutyches is led, goes on and says: But if they are baptized into the death of the Lord, we profess one nature both of the impassible Deity and of the passible flesh. I should like to learn more fully in what way they say 'of the flesh'? If this flesh is without a soul, what is that flesh but earth without sense, which was neither able to give thanks nor could feel the pains of the cross? And that flesh without a soul cannot feel is plain to all. But if, as they think, in that flesh of the Lord the Divinity was in place of the soul, then they subject the Divinity to sufferings. But if, as the most faithful reasoning of the Scriptures truly has it, He assumed together with the flesh a human soul also, then the perfect God assumed the perfect nature of man, so as to show that together with human flesh He had assumed a human soul also, that is, a perfect man. For He says: The good shepherd lays down his soul for his sheep. And: I have power to lay down My soul, and I have power to take it up again. And at the very moment of His passion He says: My soul is sorrowful even unto death; and: Now My soul is troubled. For God is never troubled, but assuredly that man who hungered, who thirsted, who slept, who was wearied and wept: all which things flesh alone, without the affections of a soul, could not feel, but only that perfect man whom the perfect God assumed, as the prophet Jeremiah says: This is our God, no other shall be accounted of beside Him: Who found out every way of discipline, and gave it to Jacob His servant, and to Israel beloved by Him. And he added: After these things He was seen on earth, and conversed with men. Moreover, in what form He was seen on earth and conversed, the most holy of the prophets, Isaiah, sets forth most fully and more openly: Lord, who has believed our report, and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? We have announced before Him as children, as a root in thirsty ground. He has no form nor glory. We saw Him, and He had no form nor comeliness; but His form was without honour, and cast down beyond all men. A man set in affliction, knowing how to bear infirmities. For His countenance was turned away, and He was dishonoured, and accounted as nothing
Editors' notes and page, col. 1246
Page
- running head: 1245 EPISTOLAE AD S. LEONEM MAGNUM PERTINENTES. — EPIST. VII. 1246
- marginal letters: A ‹fidei teneamus tramitem. Optime enim eos dedigna-›; B ‹passibilem pronuntiare perfido sensu conantur. Nos›; C ‹tem in mortem Domini baptizantur, unam profitemur›; D ‹turbatur, sed ille utique homo qui esuriit, qui sitiit,›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: The column opens mid-sentence: 'teneamus tramitem' is already carried in the English of col. 1245 for the sake of word order, so the English here opens with 'faith.' only. The last word is printed at the edge of the line as 'aestimatu', with the final s not visible in the image (col. 1247 opens with 'est.'); set with ⟨s⟩. UNSURE: 'quam et ad solatium suae perfidiae ignoro, forsitan falsam protulit' is loosely built; [how] supplied. The quotation from the letter ascribed to Julius is punctuated as printed ('non excedunt, ab inconsona contraria sentientibus'); 'consonant' is printed, indicative. 'si quis eam simul cum rege' is printed so (eam after ea). No scripture references are printed in this column. No editors' prose in this column.
est. Hic peccata nostra portat, et pro nobis dolet. Nos aestimavimus eum in dolore esse et in plaga et in vexatione. Ipse autem vulneratus propter peccata nostra, et infirmatus est propter iniquitates nostras. Eruditio pacis nostrae in eum, livore ejus nos sanati sumus. Omnis ut oves erravimus, et omnes homines a sua via erraverunt. Et Dominus tradidit eum pro peccatis nostris. Ipse autem male vexatus continuit labia sua, ut ovis ad immolandum ductus est. Et sicut agnus coram tondente se sine voce, sic non aperuit os suum. In humilitate judicium ejus sublatum est. Generationem autem ejus quis enarravit? Quoniam tolletur a terra vita ejus, et ab iniquitatibus populi mei ductus est ad mortem. Et dabo inanes pro sepultura ejus, et divites pro morte ejus. Quoniam iniquitatem non fecit, nec dolus inventus est in ore ejus. Et Dominus vult purgare eum de plaga. Si detis pro peccato animas vestras, videbitis semen longae vitae, et vult Dominus adolere animae ejus, ostendere ei lumen, formare prudentiam, justificare justum, bene servientem pluribus. Et peccata eorum ipse portavit. Ideo ipse haereditatem possidebit multos, et fortium partietur spolia. Propter quod tradita est in mortem anima ejus, et inter iniquos deputatus est. Et ipse peccata multorum tollit, et propter iniquitates nostras traditus est. Pervide igitur, domine mi, secundum sanctae tuae mentis studium, quomodo praedicti prophetae Hieremias et Isaia sibimet consentientes asserant qualiter perfectus Deus de coelo descendens pro salute generis humani, susceperit hominem, et superius ab Isaia praedictas passiones uterque naturae illius in Christo suscepti hominis assignet. Nam numquid Deus, qui est invisibilis, incomprehensibiliter poterat comprehendi, aut inimicis tradi, aut inter impios deputari, aut mori, aut vita ejus a terra tolli? Sed ille utique qui, ut supra jam diximus, esuriit, sitivit, lassatus fuit, dormivit atque ploravit, qui etiam in cruce passionis pendens, cum vidisset in se inhabitantem Deum de suo exire corpore, lacrymabili voce clamavit post eum, Hebraica lingua dicens: Heli, Heli lamasabactani: hoc est: Deus meus, quare me reliquisti? quamvis tertia die eum esset resuscitaturus. Tamen necesse erat illud adimpleri quod jam praedixerat in Evangelio Jesus, suis discipulis dicens: Ego a Deo processi, exivi a Patre, et veni in hunc mundum, et iterum relinquo hunc mundum et vado ad Patrem. Siquidem et in ipsa passione, quamvis ille perfectus homo, a perfecto Deo susceptus, impiam moriens in cruce patiatur poenam, tamen et ipse impassibilis Deus in eodem a se suscepto perfecto homine, quamvis passionem non sustinuerit, tamen injuriam passus est. Nam sicut qui indumentum conscindit, et induto facit injuriam, ita et qui carnem ejus crucifixerunt, Divinitati ejus injuriam intulerunt. Hanc ergo Divinitatis injuriam omnia elementa videntia expaverunt. Nam denique terra contremuit, petrae scissae sunt, sol fugit in noctem, luna sanguineo colore fuscata est, et tamquam damnatione perpetua jam mundus oppressus esset, avulsae locis coelestibus stellae ruerunt, elementorum lege confusa, apertis monumentis, sepulta jam olim corpora animas receperunt. Ideo ergo catholici per orbem terrarum fidelissimi Ecclesiarum doctores secundum Scripturarum auctoritatem duas in Christo naturas praedicant, Divinitatis (et humanitatis. Quae utinam considerasset Eutyches), et tot annorum continentiae laboribus (se) apertis oculis non immersisset, nec Orientis Ecclesiis impiam protulisset
[He was]. This one bears our sins, and grieves for us. We accounted Him to be in sorrow and in affliction and in distress. But He was wounded on account of our sins, and was made weak on account of our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace was upon Him; by His bruise we have been healed. We have all gone astray like sheep, and all men have strayed from their own way. And the Lord delivered Him up for our sins. But He, though sorely distressed, kept His lips closed; as a sheep He was led to be sacrificed. And as a lamb before its shearer is without voice, so He did not open His mouth. In humiliation His judgement was taken away. And who has declared His generation? For His life shall be taken from the earth, and by the iniquities of my people He was led to death. And I will give the worthless for His burial, and the rich for His death. For He did no iniquity, nor was deceit found in His mouth. And the Lord wills to cleanse Him from the affliction. If you give your souls for sin, you shall see a seed of long life; and the Lord wills to † relieve His soul, to show Him light, to form understanding, to justify the just one who serves many well. And He Himself has borne their sins. Therefore He shall possess many as an inheritance, and shall divide the spoils of the strong. Because His soul was delivered up to death, and He was reckoned among the wicked. And He Himself takes away the sins of many, and was delivered up on account of our iniquities. Look closely, therefore, my lord, according to the zeal of your holy mind, how the aforesaid prophets Jeremiah and Isaiah, agreeing with each other, assert in what manner the perfect God, coming down from heaven for the salvation of the human race, assumed man, and how each assigns the sufferings foretold above by Isaiah to the nature of that man assumed in Christ. For could God, Who is invisible, be incomprehensibly apprehended, or delivered to enemies, or reckoned among the impious, or die, or have His life taken from the earth? But assuredly that one who, as we have already said above, hungered, thirsted, was wearied, slept and wept; who also, hanging on the cross of the passion, when he had seen the God dwelling in him go forth from his body, cried out after Him with a tearful voice, saying in the Hebrew tongue: Heli, Heli, lamasabactani, that is: My God, why hast Thou forsaken me? although on the third day He was going to raise him up. Yet it was necessary for that to be fulfilled which Jesus had already foretold in the Gospel, saying to His disciples: I proceeded from God, I came forth from the Father, and came into this world, and again I leave this world and go to the Father. For indeed in the passion itself also, although that perfect man, assumed by the perfect God, suffers in dying on the cross an impious punishment, yet the impassible God Himself also, in the same perfect man assumed by Him, although He did not undergo the passion, nevertheless suffered an injury. For just as he who tears a garment does an injury also to the one who wears it, so also those who crucified His flesh inflicted an injury on His Divinity. At this injury to the Divinity, therefore, all the elements, beholding it, were struck with dread. For indeed the earth quaked, the rocks were split, the sun fled into night, the moon was darkened with the colour of blood, and, as though the world were already overwhelmed by everlasting damnation, the stars, torn from their heavenly places, fell; the law of the elements being confounded and the tombs opened, bodies long since buried received their souls. For this reason, therefore, the catholic and most faithful teachers of the Churches throughout the world, according to the authority of the Scriptures, preach two natures in Christ, of Divinity (and of humanity. Would that Eutyches had considered these things), and had not, with open eyes, plunged (himself) under, with the labours of so many years of continence, nor brought upon the Churches of the East an impious
Editors' notes and page, col. 1247
Page
- running head: 1247 APPENDIX I AD PARTEM II OPP. S. LEONIS MAGNI. 1248
- marginal letters: A ‹est. Hic peccata nostra portat, et pro nobis dolet. Nos›; B ‹justum, bene servientem pluribus. Et peccata eorum›; C ‹lingua dicens: Heli, Heli lamasabactani: hoc est:›; D ‹esset, avulsae locis coelestibus stellae ruerunt, ele-›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: The column opens with 'est.', closing the Isaiah sentence left open in col. 1246 ('aestimatus est'); the English gives it in brackets since 'accounted as nothing' already stands in col. 1246. The last word 'protulisset' is split at the break (pro- / tulisset) and is set whole here from the first line of col. 1248; its object 'perturbationem' opens col. 1248. UNSURE (†): 'adolere animae ejus' is printed so (the old version has 'a dolore'); rendered by the sense. UNSURE: 'dabo inanes pro sepultura ejus' is printed so and kept. 'ab iniquitatibus' has a worn n, set as intended. Kept as printed (listed by Q4, 2026-10-12): 'Omnis ut oves erravimus' (for Omnes); 'Hieremias et Isaia sibimet' (for Isaias: a gap stands where the final s has failed); 'lamasabactani'. The round brackets in '(et humanitatis ... Eutyches)' and '(se)' are printed so, the editors' supplements standing in the text. No scripture references are printed in this column. EDITORS' MATTER, not set: under the foot of this column stands the first half of the Ballerini foot note (a), whose call is in col. 1248.