Migne Reading Room

PL 54 · cols. 1046–1054

Leo the Great, Letters

Letter CXX

PL 54:1046
nullus sibi docendi et praedicandi jus audeat vindicare, sive ille monachus, sive sit laicus, qui alicujus scientiae nomine glorietur. Quia etsi optandum est ut omnes Ecclesiae filii quae recta et sana sunt sapiant, non tamen permittendum est ut quisquam extra sacerdotalem ordinem constitutus gradum sibi praedicatoris assumat, cum in Ecclesia Dei omnia ordinata esse conveniat, ut in uno Christi corpore et excellentiora membra suum officium impleant, et inferiora superioribus non resultent. Data III idus Junii, Opilione viro clarissimo consule.
[…] no one should dare to claim for himself the right of teaching and preaching, whether he be a monk or a layman, who boasts in the name of some learning. For although it is to be wished that all the sons of the Church should think what is right and sound, yet it is not to be permitted that anyone placed outside the priestly order should take upon himself the rank of a preacher, since in the Church of God all things ought to be ordered, so that in the one body of Christ both the more excellent members fulfil their office and the lower do not resist the higher. Given on the third day before the Ides of June, in the consulship of Opilio, a man most illustrious.
EPISTOLA CXX.
LETTER CXX.
AD THEODORITUM EPISCOPUM CYRI.
To Theodoret, Bishop of Cyrus.
De fidei perseverantia.
On perseverance in the faith.
Dilectissimo fratri THEODORITO episcopo LEO episcopus.
To his most beloved brother Bishop Theodoret, Leo, bishop.
CAP. I. — Remeantibus ad nos fratribus, et consacerdotibus nostris, quos ad sanctum concilium sedes beati Petri direxit, agnovimus dilectionem tuam superno adjutorio, nobiscum tam Nestorianae impietatis quam Eutychianae vesaniae, exstitisse victricem. Unde gloriamur in Domino, cum propheta canentes: Adjutorium nostrum in nomine Domini, qui fecit coelum et terram (Psal. CXXIII, 8): qui nullum nos in nostris fratribus detrimentum sustinere permisit, sed quae nostro prius ministerio definierat, universae
Chap. I. — On the return to us of our brothers and fellow bishops, whom the see of blessed Peter sent to the holy council, we learned that your Love, with heavenly help, has stood out together with us as victor over both the Nestorian impiety and the Eutychian madness. Hence we glory in the Lord, singing with the prophet: Our help is in the name of the Lord, Who made heaven and earth (Ps. 123:8): Who has allowed us to suffer no loss in our brothers, but what He had first defined through our ministry He has, by the irrevocable assent of the whole […]
Editors' notes and page, col. 1046

Footnotes

(g) ‹sive ille› · printed under col 1045

Hujus decreti occasio colligitur ex epistola sequenti c. 6, ob Theodoriti scilicet querelas, quas legati e concilio Chalcedonensi revertentes pontifici significarunt, de quibusdam monachis Orientalibus qui praedicationis officium sibi arrogabant. Forte indicatur Barsumas abbas cum suis asseclis, qui quantum Eutychi faveret, non tam ex pseudosynodo Ephesina liquet, quam ex actione quarta Chalcedonensi, ubi totam Syriam commovisse traditur. Quatenus vero monachi a laicis hic distinguantur, vide not. 6 Quesn.

The occasion of this decree is gathered from the following letter, chapter 6: namely, because of the complaints of Theodoret, which the legates returning from the council of Chalcedon conveyed to the pontiff, about certain Eastern monks who were arrogating to themselves the office of preaching. Perhaps the abbot Barsumas is meant, with his followers; how much he favoured Eutyches is clear not so much from the false synod of Ephesus as from the fourth session of Chalcedon, where he is said to have stirred up all Syria. As to how far monks are here distinguished from laymen, see Quesnel's note 6.

(h) ‹ut quisquam› · printed under col 1045

Cod. Vallicell. collect. 8 et prima editio, extra sacerdotum ordinem; ex mox idem codex cum Vat. ejusdem collect. 8. praedicationis assumat.

The Vallicelliana manuscript of collection 8 and the first edition, extra sacerdotum ordinem; and just after, the same manuscript with the Vatican of the same collection 8, praedicationis assumat.

(i) ‹Data› · printed under col 1045, running over to the head of the notes under col 1046

Ita cum editis ante Quesn. nostri codd. Barb. et Vat. collect. 3, Vat. et Vallicell. collect. 8, Ratisp. collect. 19, exemplar primae editionis, et antiquissimus Veron. 55, qui hujus epistolae postremum caput exhibet. Quesnellus in textu, IV idus; in margine vero: Alias, III idus.

So, with the editions before Quesnel, our manuscripts: the Barberini and the Vatican of collection 3, the Vatican and the Vallicelliana of collection 8, the Regensburg of collection 19, the copy of the first edition, and the very ancient Verona 55, which gives the last chapter of this letter. Quesnel in the text, IV idus; but in the margin: Elsewhere, III idus.

(j) ‹EPISTOLA› (in the heading) · printed under col 1046

Alias 93. Quae autem antea 120 erat, nunc 152. Scripta 11 Junii an. 453.

Elsewhere 93. The one that was 120 before is now 152. Written 11 June in the year 453.

(k) ‹AD THEODORITUM› (call before the address heading) · printed under col 1046

Exstat in mss. collect. 11, 12, 18 et 21, usque ad 24, ac in exemplari Sichardi. Quesnellus laudat etiam codices Thuan. et Trecopithaenum, qui sunt collectionis 5. Sed haec epistola in his codicibus additamentum est ad hanc collectionem nequaquam pertinens, uti monuimus occasione alterius additamenti annot. 4 (Col. 923, n (a)) in epist. 85. Hujus epistolae exempla olim valde rara et non satis vulgata fuisse ex eo cognoscimus quod ejusdem non meminerunt Facundus Hermianensis et alii qui in causa trium Capitulorum Theodoritum vindicarunt, cum tamen haec praeter caetera documenta Theodorito perhonorifica fuisset. Hinc etiam in vetustioribus collectionibus non invenitur. Porro duo peculiaria in hac epistola observamus. Primum stylus secundi ac tertii capitis aliquantulum obscurior, ab usitato Leonis stylo non nihilum discrepat, ut conferenti patebit. Secundum in fine epistolae formula et alia manu earum litterarum propria, quae diversum characterem in clausula exhibent, in nulla alia Leonis epistola reperitur. Quid ex his colligere liceat alii judicent.

It survives in the manuscripts of collections 11, 12, 18 and 21 to 24, and in Sichard's copy. Quesnel also cites the de Thou manuscript and that of Trecopithaeus, which belong to collection 5. But in these manuscripts this letter is an addition in no way belonging to that collection, as we noted on the occasion of another addition, annotation 4 (col. 923, note (a)) to letter 85. That copies of this letter were once very rare and not widely circulated we learn from the fact that Facundus of Hermiane and others who defended Theodoret in the cause of the Three Chapters make no mention of it, although this [letter], above the other documents, would have been most honourable to Theodoret. Hence too it is not found in the older collections. Further, we observe two peculiarities in this letter. First, the style of the second and third chapters, somewhat more obscure, differs not a little from Leo's usual style, as will be plain to one who compares them. Second, the formula at the end of the letter, et alia manu, proper to letters that show a different hand in the closing clause, is found in no other letter of Leo. What may be gathered from these things let others judge.

(l) ‹sed quae› · printed under col 1046, running over to the head of the notes under col 1047

Mss. codd. Thuan. et Trecopith. a Quesnello laudati: Nostrum prius ministerium definierat, universae fraternitatis irretractabilis firmavit assensus. Quesnellus hic postillam affixit: Irretractabili concilii oecumenici assensu firmantur etiam primae sedis judicia, quibus similia alibi saepe in postillis inculcat. Sed non eum sensum Leonis verba praeferunt, ut judicia Romanae sedis, quasi per se non satis firma, concilii oecumenici assensu et confirmatione indigeant. Verbum enim firmavit non efficit ipsa primae sedis judicia, sed ad ea refertur quae ejusdem sedis judicio prius fuerant definita, ita ut irretractabilis sit concilii assensus, cum ea confirmat quae prius ab apostolica sede definita fuerunt. Caeterum alibi jam vidimus Leonem satis firmam et irretractabilem per sese agnovisse suam definitionem editam in epist. 28, ad Flavianum, quae hic indicatur, ita ut nullam concilii necessitatem agnoverit, nec in concilio de fide voluerit quaestionem moveri, ac si duobia et anceps esset doctrina quam in eadem epistola definierat. Vide epist. 82, 90 et 93, c. 2, epist. 94. Quod si sub Theodosio concilium petiit, illud non ob incertitudinem doctrinae jam definitae, quam retractari nolebat, sed ob removenda scandala et ob pacem facilius conciliandam postulasse, fuse ostendemus in observationibus ad diss. 8 Quesnelli. Econtra vero cum ipsi Patres Chalcedonenses, ac dein Marcianus imperator Chalcedonensis definitionis confirmationem a pontifice petierunt, ne dubium haberetur quod in concilio fuerat definitum (vide inter caeteras epist. 98 et 110) concilii judicia ut irretractabilia sint, primae sedis confirmatione indigere professi sunt. Post nonnulla ostenderit in Vat. collect. 24 et apud Sichardum.

The de Thou and Trecopithaeus manuscripts cited by Quesnel: Nostrum prius ministerium definierat, universae fraternitatis irretractabilis firmavit assensus ("our ministry had first defined, the irrevocable assent of the whole brotherhood has confirmed"). Quesnel here attached a marginal gloss: "By the irrevocable assent of an ecumenical council even the judgements of the first see are confirmed"; and he often urges similar things elsewhere in his glosses. But Leo's words do not bear the sense that the judgements of the Roman see, as though not firm enough of themselves, need the assent and confirmation of an ecumenical council. For the word firmavit does not produce the judgements of the first see themselves, but refers to what had first been defined by the judgement of that same see, so that the assent of the council is irrevocable when it confirms what had first been defined by the apostolic see. Besides, we have already seen elsewhere that Leo recognized his definition published in letter 28, to Flavian, which is indicated here, as firm enough and irrevocable of itself, so that he recognized no need of a council, and did not wish a question about the faith to be raised in the council, as if the doctrine he had defined in that letter were doubtful and uncertain. See letters 82, 90 and 93, chapter 2, [and] letter 94. And if under Theodosius he asked for a council, we shall show at length in the observations on Quesnel's dissertation 8 that he asked for it not on account of any uncertainty in the doctrine already defined, which he refused to have reconsidered, but to remove scandals and to bring about peace more easily. On the contrary, when the Fathers of Chalcedon themselves, and afterwards the Emperor Marcian, asked the pontiff for confirmation of the definition of Chalcedon, lest what had been defined in the council should be held doubtful (see, among others, letters 98 and 110), they professed that the judgements of a council need the confirmation of the first see in order to be irrevocable. A little after, ostenderit in the Vatican [manuscript] of collection 24 and in Sichard.

Editors' prose

Synopsis. — I. Haereses non sine Ecclesiae utilitate ortas irretractabili judicio comprimi. — II. Christi esse victoriam, quam de haereticis Ecclesia reportat. — III. Dioscori pervicacia etiam adversus Leonem saevientis. — IV. Scribentibus de rebus fidei sua verba esse libranda. — V. Theodoritum ab omni haereseos macula mundum esse demonstratum ab invincibili veritate. — VI. Vigilandum esse etiam post victoriam. Neminem sive monachum, sive laicum, praeter sacerdotes, praedicandi munus arrogare sibi debere.

Synopsis. — I. That heresies, which have arisen not without benefit to the Church, are suppressed by an irrevocable judgement. — II. That the victory which the Church wins over the heretics is Christ's. — III. The obstinacy of Dioscorus, raging even against Leo. — IV. That those who write on matters of faith must weigh their words. — V. That Theodoret has been shown by invincible truth to be clean of every stain of heresy. — VI. That watch must be kept even after victory. That no one, whether monk or layman, apart from priests, ought to arrogate to himself the office of preaching.

Page

  • running head: 1046 (the head EPISTOLA CXX. is printed across the page from col 1045)
  • marginal letters: A ‹tes, nullus sibi›; B ‹Synopsis›; C ‹nentes: Adjutorium›; D printed in the gutter of the footnote area, beside note (k)
  • old-edition numerals: 1218 after ‹officium›; 1219 after ‹impietatis›
  • signature: none
  • other: the column opens with "tes", the end of "sacerdotes" hyphenated from col 1045 and set whole there. The italic line "De fidei perseverantia." under the address heading is set as a caption in layer 1. The text continues at the head of col 1047 after "universae".
PL 54:1047
fraternitatis irretractabili firmavit assensu: ut vere a se prodiisse ostenderet, quod prius a prima omnium sede formatum, totius Christiani orbis judicium recepisset: ut in hoc quoque capiti membra concordent.
[…] brotherhood, confirmed: to show that what, first formed by the first see of all, the judgement of the whole Christian world had received, truly proceeded from Himself: so that in this too the members may agree with the head.
In quo amplior nobis accrescit gaudendi materia, dum tanto magis se perculit inimicus, quanto contra Christi ministros saevius insurrexit. Nam ne aliarum sedium ad eam quam caeteris omnium Dominus statuit praesidere, consensu assentatio videretur, aut alia quaelibet subrepere posset adversa suspicio; inventi prius sunt qui de judiciis nostris ambigerent. Et dum nonnulli a dissensionis
In this a fuller cause of rejoicing grows for us, in that the enemy struck himself down all the more, the more fiercely he rose up against the ministers of Christ. For lest the consent of the other sees to that [see] which the Lord of all appointed to preside over the rest should seem flattery, or any other adverse suspicion be able to creep in, there were first found some to have doubts about our judgements. And while some, by the […] of dissension […]
Editors' notes and page, col. 1047

Footnotes

(l) continued from col 1046, set in n1046

(a) ‹ostenderet, quod prius› · printed under col 1047

Mss. quatuor Thuan., a prima omnium fide et sede; cui lectioni affinis est cod. Barb. 57, a prima omnium fideliter sede. Mox pro formatum duo codd. Vat., alter collect. 11, alter collect. 21, firmatum. Cecropius episcopus, cum definitionem a Patribus Chalcedonensibus judices quaererent, eo opus non esse insinuans act. 2, pag. 1267 ait: Emerserunt quae ad Eutychem pertinebant: et super iis FORMA data est a sanctissimo archiepiscopo Romanae urbis, et sequimur eum, et epistolae (28, ad Flavianum) omnes sutscripsimus. Nec solus Cecropius ita sensit, sed universum etiam concilium; subditur enim: Reverendissimi episcopi clamaverunt: Ista omnes dicimus; sufficiunt quae exposita sunt: alteram expositionem non licet fieri.

Four manuscripts, the de Thou, a prima omnium fide et sede; akin to this reading is the Barberini manuscript 57, a prima omnium fideliter sede. Just after, for formatum, two Vatican manuscripts, one of collection 11, the other of collection 21, firmatum. Bishop Cecropius, when the judges asked the Fathers of Chalcedon for a definition, suggesting that there was no need of it, says (session 2, page 1267): "The matters concerning Eutyches have come up: and on them a FORM has been given by the most holy archbishop of the city of Rome, and we follow him, and we have all subscribed the letter (28, to Flavian)." Nor did Cecropius alone think so, but the whole council too; for it is added: "The most reverend bishops cried out: We all say these things; what has been set out suffices: it is not lawful for another exposition to be made."

(b) ‹ut in hoc quoque› · printed under col 1047

In relatione concilii Chalcedon. ad Leonem, seu epist. 98, cap. 1, quibus quidem sicut caput membris praecras.

In the report of the council of Chalcedon to Leo, that is letter 98, chapter 1: quibus quidem sicut caput membris praeeras ("over whom you presided as the head over the members").

(c) ‹concordent. In quo› · printed under col 1047

Alias, amplius... et tanto magis Cod. Vat. collect. 24 et Sichardus, amplior nobis in hac re fit gaudendi materia, dum tanto magis, etc.

Elsewhere, amplius... et tanto magis. The Vatican manuscript of collection 24 and Sichard, amplior nobis in hac re fit gaudendi materia, dum tanto magis, etc.

(d) ‹quanto› · printed under col 1047

Ms. Vat. collect. 11, etiam in Christi ministros. Mss. collect. 21 item habent, in Christi ministros.

The Vatican manuscript of collection 11, etiam in Christi ministros. The manuscripts of collection 21 likewise have in Christi ministros.

(e) ‹caeteris omnium Dominus› · printed under col 1047

Tres codd. Vat. collect. 11 et 21, instituit.

Three Vatican manuscripts of collections 11 and 21, instituit.

(f) ‹adversa suspicio;› (call before inventi) · printed under col 1047, running over to the head of the notes under col 1048

Illyriciani scilicet et Palaestini, dum legeretur epist. 28, ad Flavianum, actione 2, dubitationem tribus in locis protulerunt, quam statim Aetius et Theoderitus excludere nisi sunt Vide tom. IV Concil. Ven. editionis pag. 1238. Illyriciani vero, quibus adhuc nonnihilum ambigentibus ac inducias petentibus quinque dies concessi fuerunt, didicere quae ob diversitatem linguae in Leonis epistolam non recte intellexerant; et similiter Palaestini, uti traditur actione 4, pag. 1382 et 1393.

That is, the Illyrians and the Palestinians, when letter 28, to Flavian, was being read in the second session, raised a doubt in three places, which Aetius and Theodoret at once endeavoured to remove. See volume IV of the Venice edition of the Councils, page 1238. The Illyrians, however, to whom, as they were still somewhat in doubt and asked for a delay, five days were granted, learned what they had not rightly understood in Leo's letter because of the difference of language; and the Palestinians likewise, as is related in the fourth session, pages 1382 and 1393.

(g) ‹Et dum nonnulli› · printed under col 1048

Editi ante Quesn., dissensionum incitati auctore, ad contradictionis bella prosiliunt. Mss. codd. tres Quesnelli et totidem nostri ac Surii editio coacti pro incitati. Apud Sichardum, ad dissensiones incitati ab auctore contradictionis, ad insana bella prosiliunt.

The editions before Quesnel, dissensionum incitati auctore, ad contradictionis bella prosiliunt. Three of Quesnel's manuscripts and as many of ours, and Surius's edition, coacti for incitati. In Sichard, ad dissensiones incitati ab auctore contradictionis, ad insana bella prosiliunt.

Page

  • running head: 1047 S. LEONIS MAGNI EPISTOLAE. (printed across the page with 1048)
  • marginal letters: A ‹fraternitatis irretractabili›; B printed in the gutter of the footnote area, beside note (l) of col 1046 (‹firmavit non efficit›); C beside note (a) of this column (‹cedonenses, ac dein›); D beside the end of note (a) (‹sita sunt›)
  • old-edition numerals: 1221 after ‹videretur,› (so read at zoom 3.4; col 1048 also prints 1221, and the sequence expects 1220 here: UNSURE)
  • signature: none
  • other: the column opens with "fraternitatis", no hyphen at the foot of col 1046. The text fills only the top fifth of the page; the rest is footnotes.
PL 54:1048
incitati auctore ad contradictionum bella prosiliunt, ad majus bonum, malo ejus auctore totius bonitatis dispensante, perventum est. Dulcius siquidem munera gratiae divinae proveniunt, quoties non sine magnis sudoribus acquiruntur; et minus bonum videri solet pax continuata per otium, quam reddita per labores.
[…] author stirred up, leap forth into wars of contradiction, a greater good has been reached, the Author of all goodness disposing its evil. For the gifts of divine grace come forth the sweeter whenever they are acquired not without great sweat; and a peace prolonged through ease is wont to seem a lesser good than one restored through toil.
Ipsa quoque veritas et clarius renitescit, et fortius retinetur, dum quae fides prius docuerat, haec postea examinatio confirmarit. Multum denique sacerdotaliis officii meritum splendescit, ubi sic summorum servatur auctoritas, ut in nullo inferiorum putetur imminuta libertas. Et ad
Truth itself, too, both shines out more clearly and is held more firmly, when what faith had first taught, examination afterwards has confirmed. Finally, the merit of the priestly office shines out greatly where the authority of the highest is so preserved that the liberty of the lower is not thought to be diminished in anything. And to […]
Editors' notes and page, col. 1048

Footnotes

(f) continued from col 1047, set in n1047

(g) printed under this column; its call is in col 1047, set in n1047

(h) ‹ad majus bonum,› (call before malo) · printed under col 1048

Sic correximus ex mss. codd. Vat. collect. 21 et aliis quatuor a Quesnello allegatis nota 1, inter quos est Grimanicus; quae lectio praeferenda fuit vulgatae ab eodem Quesnello retentae, malum ejus: neque enim impersonale perventum est passivae significationis hoc nominativum patitur. Recipi posset malum ejus, si legeretur provectum est; sed nulli codices huic emendationi suffragantur. Sichardus, malum ejus... proventum (forte, provectum) convertitur.

So we have corrected from the Vatican manuscripts of collection 21 and four others cited by Quesnel in note 1, among which is the Grimani; this reading had to be preferred to the common one retained by the same Quesnel, malum ejus: for the impersonal perventum est, of passive meaning, does not admit this nominative. Malum ejus could be accepted if provectum est were read; but no manuscripts support this emendation. Sichard, malum ejus... proventum (perhaps provectum) convertitur.

(i) ‹quam reddita› · printed under col 1048

Editi ante Quesn. cum ms. Vat. collect. 24, post laborem.

The editions before Quesnel, with the Vatican manuscript of collection 24, post laborem.

(j) ‹quae fides prius› (the call is printed "(l)") · printed under col 1048

Codd. collect. 21, docuerit. Dein erat in editis cum mss. collect. 24, confirmaret. Potior visa est lectio mss. collect. 21, quibus concinit etiam cod. Vat. collect. 11, in quo est confirmaverit.

The manuscripts of collection 21, docuerit. Then the editions, with the manuscripts of collection 24, had confirmaret. The reading of the manuscripts of collection 21 seemed preferable, with which the Vatican manuscript of collection 11 also agrees, in which there is confirmaverit.

(k) ‹servatur auctoritas,› · printed under col 1048

In Vulgatis et in solo cod. Grim. Quesnellus reperit septem voces sequentes, ut in nullo inferiorum putetur imminuta libertas. Nos praeterea invenimus in mss. collect. 12 et 24, ac in exemplari Sichardi. Desiderantur vero in caeteris nostris codd. collect. 11 et 21, sicut etiam in septem a Quesnello memoratis not. 2. In uno Thuan., in Cantabrig et Trecopith., sic per saltum sequitur, ut ad majorem Dei gloriam. Nostra exemplaria collect. 11, pro summorum habent summopere; septem laudati codices Quesnelli summopere, vel summoperum; ex quo omnes ex eodem fonte prodire noscuntur.

In the common editions and in the Grimani manuscript alone Quesnel found the seven following words, ut in nullo inferiorum putetur imminuta libertas. We have found them besides in the manuscripts of collections 12 and 24 and in Sichard's copy. But they are missing in our other manuscripts of collections 11 and 21, as also in the seven mentioned by Quesnel in note 2. In one de Thou manuscript, in the Cambridge and the Trecopithaeus, the text skips and runs on thus: ut ad majorem Dei gloriam. Our copies of collection 11 have summopere for summorum; the seven manuscripts of Quesnel cited, summopere or summoperum; from which all are known to come from the same source.

(l) ‹imminuta› · printed under col 1048, running over to the head of the notes under col 1049

Indicatur libertas examinis a Patribus Chalcedonensibus utiliter adhibita, ut nonnullis episcopis, qui de Leonis definitione ambigebant, difficultates suas in concilio proponentibus, per tractatum ac discussionem catholici dogmatis satisfacerent, eosdemque catholicum sensum, quem minus intelligebant, edocerent, atque confirmarent in fide. Ita fit, ut ipsa veritas et clarius renitescat, et fortius retineatur, dum quae fides prius docuit per pontifices, haec postea examinatio confirmarit; et ad majorem Dei gloriam proficiat finis examinis, quando ad hoc se accipit exerendi (alius, exercendi) fiducia, ut vincatur adversitas, eorum nimirum qui definitis sese opponebant. Cum vero hunc finem tantum ejusmodi libertas, et examen spectent, ut quae definierunt summi pontifices, episcopi confirment, et oppugnantes edoceant, ac ab errore removeant, facile intelligitur quatenus sic summorum servetur auctoritas, ut in nullo inferiorum putetur imminuta libertas. Falluntur nimium qui ex his verbis colligunt Leonem putasse episcopis in Chalcedonensi concilio liberum et licitum fuisse suam definitionem in epistola 28 ad Flavianum expositam ita examini subjicere, ut possent ab ea dissentire, et judicium ei contrarium pronuntiare. Ad eam definitionem et epistolam referuntur illa quae fides prius docuerat, et illa pariter paulo ante praemissa: Quae (Deus) nostro prius ministerio definierat. Num ab iis quae fides docuit, quae Deus definivit, per quodcumque examen recedere cuiquam licet? Quid quod concilii Chalcedonensis tempore agebatur non solum de definitione primae et apostolicae sedis, quam Leo etiam ab initio ita tenendam credidit, ut haereticos declararit qui aliter saperent, cujusque proinde subscriptionem uti omnino debitam requisivit, verum etiam de definitione episcoporum subscriptionibus ab universa Ecclesia recepta, uti traditur epist. 88, c. 1 et 5, ac epist. 91. Quis etiam in liberiori nonullorum systemate definitioni ejusmodi contrarium sentire, aut contrariam sententiam ferre licitum opinetur? Leonem quidem non ita sensisse testes sunt ejusdem epistolae 90 et 93, cap. 2, ubi fidem jam in ea epistola definitam, in concilio retractari ac in disputationem adduci, ac si anceps esset atque dubia, omnino interdixit. Sicut concilium cogi, ita et tractatum in eo haberi consensit, ut qui decepti fuerant, ad unitatem pacis ac fidei compressa omni dissensione revocarentur. Vide epist. 89, ac plura in observationibus ad dissert. 8 Quesnelli. Addemus tandem et aliud. Cum post ipsam Chalcedonensem synodum ad compescendas, seu revincendas injustas Eutychianorum de ejusdem synodi definitione querelas, novum examen Leone imperatore postulante, institutum fuit editaeque episcoporum totius orbis sententiae, quae in Codice encyclio continentur, non alia tributa fuit, nec tribui potuit episcopis novi examinis libertas, nisi ut quae concilium definierat, haec novum examen confirmaret; ac propterea Chalcedonensis concilii auctoritas nihil exinde detrimenti cepit; et qui, ea libertate abusi, Chalcedonensem definitionem repudiarunt, haeretici habiti fuere. Similis libertas hic quoque intelligenda est.

What is meant is the liberty of examination usefully employed by the Fathers of Chalcedon, so that, when some bishops who were in doubt about Leo's definition put forward their difficulties in the council, they satisfied them by treatment and discussion of the Catholic dogma, and taught them the Catholic sense, which they understood less well, and confirmed them in the faith. So it comes about that truth itself both shines out more clearly and is held more firmly, when what faith first taught through the pontiffs, examination afterwards has confirmed; and that the end of the examination serves the greater glory of God, when the confidence of speaking out (another [reads] exercendi) takes itself to this, that adversity be overcome, namely that of those who were opposing what had been defined. But since such liberty and examination look only to this end, that the bishops should confirm what the supreme pontiffs have defined, and should instruct the opponents and remove them from error, it is easily understood how far the authority of the highest is so preserved that the liberty of the lower is not thought to be diminished in anything. Those are much mistaken who gather from these words that Leo thought that the bishops at the council of Chalcedon were free and permitted so to subject his definition, set out in letter 28 to Flavian, to examination that they could dissent from it and pronounce a judgement contrary to it. To that definition and letter refer the words quae fides prius docuerat, and likewise those put a little before: Quae (Deus) nostro prius ministerio definierat. Is anyone permitted, through any examination whatever, to depart from what faith has taught, what God has defined? What of the fact that at the time of the council of Chalcedon the question was not only of the definition of the first and apostolic see, which Leo from the beginning believed was to be held in such a way that he declared those who thought otherwise heretics, and whose subscription he therefore required as altogether due, but also of the definition received by the whole Church through the subscriptions of bishops, as is related in Letter 88, chaps. 1 and 5, and Letter 91. Who, even in the freer system of some, would think it lawful to hold a view contrary to such a definition, or to pronounce a contrary sentence? That Leo at least did not think so is witnessed by his Letters 90 and 93, chap. 2, where he altogether forbade that the faith already defined in that letter should be reconsidered in the council and brought into dispute, as though it were uncertain and doubtful. As he consented that the council be convened, so he consented that discussion be held in it, so that those who had been deceived might be recalled to the unity of peace and faith, all dissension being suppressed. See Letter 89, and more in the observations on Quesnel's Dissertation 8. We shall add, finally, something else. When, after the synod of Chalcedon itself, a new examination was instituted at the request of the emperor Leo to check or refute the unjust complaints of the Eutychians about that synod's definition, and the sentences of the bishops of the whole world were issued which are contained in the Codex encyclius, no other freedom of the new examination was granted, or could be granted, to the bishops than that the new examination should confirm what the council had defined; and therefore the authority of the council of Chalcedon suffered no loss from it; and those who, abusing that freedom, rejected the Chalcedonian definition were held to be heretics. A like freedom is to be understood here too.

Page

  • running head: 1048 (the head S. LEONIS MAGNI EPISTOLAE. is printed across the page from col 1047)
  • marginal letters: A ‹incitati auctore›; B beside note (g) (‹ad contradictionis bella›); C beside note (k); D beside note (l) (‹veritas et clarius›)
  • old-edition numerals: 1221 after ‹libertas.› (printed with a full stop after it)
  • signature: none
  • other: the call of note (j) is misprinted "(l)" (before docuerat); a second, correct "(l)" stands before libertas. The text continues at the head of col 1049 after "Et ad"; no hyphen.
PL 54:1049
majorem Dei gloriam proficit finis examinis, quando ad hoc se accipit exerendi fiducia, ut vindcatur adversitas: ne quod per se probatur reprobum, silentii praejudicio videatur oppressum.
[…] the conclusion of the examination advances to the greater glory of God, when the confidence to speak out is taken up for this purpose, that the opposition may be put down: lest what is proved reprobate of itself should seem to have been suppressed by the prejudice of silence.
CAP. II. — Exulta igitur, charissime frater, et in unico Dei Filio victor exulta. Vicit per nos ille pro se, cujus carnis veritas negabatur. Vicit per nos et pro nobis ille, cui vicimus. Secunda est post adventum Domini haec orbi festivitas. Redditum saeculo est, praedone prostrato, incarnationis divinae mysterium: quod humani generis inimicus, quia rebus ipsis auferre non poterat, calumniis obscurabat. Quinimmo ab incredulorum corde perierat immortale mysterium, quia nihil prodest tanta salus incredulis, ipsa Veritate suis dicente discipulis: Qui crediderit, et baptizatus fuerit, salvus erit; qui autem non crediderit, condemnabitur (Marc. XVI, 16).
CHAP. II. — Rejoice therefore, dearest brother, and rejoice as victor in the only Son of God. He has conquered through us for Himself, He Whose flesh's reality was being denied. He has conquered through us and for us, He for Whom we have conquered. This is the second festival for the world since the coming of the Lord. With the robber laid low, the mystery of the divine incarnation has been restored to the age: the mystery which the enemy of the human race, because he could not take it away in reality, was darkening with false charges. Nay more, the immortal mystery had perished from the heart of unbelievers, since so great a salvation profits the unbelieving nothing, as the Truth Himself says to His disciples: He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned (Mark 16:16).
Solis justitiae jubar, densis per Orientem Nestorii et Eutychis nebulis impeditum, pure ab Occidente resplenduit, ubi culmen summum in apostolis et doctoribus principaliter collocavit. Quamvis nec illic umquam defuisse credendus sit, quo confessores sibi egregios reservavit, ita ut dum denuo conaretur hostis antiquus, per secundi Pharaonis impoenitens cor, fidei Abrahae semen et filios repromissionis exstinguere, Deo miserante, languescens nisi sibi
The radiance of the Sun of justice, hindered throughout the East by the thick clouds of Nestorius and Eutyches, has shone out clearly from the West, where it placed its highest summit, principally, in the apostles and teachers. Although it must not be believed ever to have been wanting even there, since it kept outstanding confessors for itself there, so that when the ancient enemy strove anew, through the impenitent heart of a second Pharaoh, to extinguish the seed of Abraham's faith and the sons of the promise, by the mercy of God, growing faint, [he] […] except himself […]
Editors' notes and page, col. 1049

Footnotes

(l) continued from col 1048, set in n1048

(a) ‹charissime frater,› · printed under col 1049

Conjunctionem et a Quesnello omissam auctoritate mss. collect. 11 et 12 revocavimus. Dein codd. collect. 11, per se, loco pro se; codd. vero collect. 21 et 24 ac Sichardus utrumque desiderant. Postea pro vicimus editi Leonis ante Quesn. perperam vivimus.

The conjunction et, omitted by Quesnel, we have restored on the authority of the mss. of collections 11 and 12. Then the codices of collection 11 have per se in place of pro se; but the codices of collections 21 and 24 and Sichardus lack both. Next, for vicimus the printed editions of Leo before Quesnel wrongly have vivimus.

(b) ‹ille, cui vicimus.› · printed under col 1049, running over to the head of the notes under col 1050

Pleraeque editiones ante Quesn. cum mss. collect. 21, per quem secunda est.

Most editions before Quesnel, with the mss. of collection 21, have per quem secunda est.

(c) ‹(Marc. XVI, 16).› (call at the start of the next line, before Solis) · printed under col 1050

In margine Concil. ex mss. collect. 21, Sol justitiae subardens per Orientem. Hic error ortus est ex arbitraria emendatione depravatae lectionis, quam invenimus in cod. Vat collect. 11, Solis justitiae subardensis; ubi tamen lectio textui inserta satis emicat.

In the margin of the Councils, from the mss. of collection 21: Sol justitiae subardens per Orientem. This error arose from an arbitrary emendation of a corrupt reading which we found in the Vatican codex of collection 11, Solis justitiae subardensis; where nevertheless the reading set into the text shines out clearly enough.

(d) ‹pure ab Occidente resplenduit,› · printed under col 1050

Vulgati Leonis antiqui cum mss. collect. 24 et Sichardo, ubi commercium in apostolis. Binius, ubi culmen sanctum. Quesnellus ex cod. Grimanico, et cum editione Romana, ubi culmen suum. Praetulimus lectionem sex aliorum mss. Quesnelli, et nostrorum collect. 11, 12 et 21 ac editionis Surii, Labbeus, ubi culmen in apostolis, et summum in margine. Innuitur culmen summum, seu praerogativa Romanae Ecclesiae supra caeteras etiam principales ob apostolos Petrum et Paulum. Nam, ut Deo ait serm. 82, cap. 1, isti sunt qui te ad hanc gloriam provexerunt, ut... per sacram beati Petri sedem caput orbis effecta, latius praesideres religione divina, quam dominatione terrena.

The old printed editions of Leo, with the mss. of collection 24 and Sichardus, have ubi commercium in apostolis. Binius, ubi culmen sanctum. Quesnel, from the Grimani codex and with the Roman edition, ubi culmen suum. We have preferred the reading of six other mss. of Quesnel, and of ours of collections 11, 12 and 21, and of the edition of Surius; Labbe has ubi culmen in apostolis, with summum in the margin. The highest summit is meant, that is, the prerogative of the Roman Church over the others, even the principal ones, on account of the apostles Peter and Paul. For, as Leo [printed Deo] says in Sermon 82, chap. 1: these are they who advanced you to this glory, that... made the head of the world through the sacred see of blessed Peter, you might preside more widely by divine religion than by earthly dominion.

(e) ‹hostis antiquus,› · printed under col 1050

Codd. collect. 11 et 21, per sequentis Pharaonis. Indicatur Dioscorus Aegyptius, qui in latrocinio Ephesino multa in catholicos per vim molitus est, ut Eutychianam haeresim induceret. Qui autem terrore victi ei cesserunt, remota vi ad sanam mentem et Ecclesiam rediere.

The codices of collections 11 and 21: per sequentis Pharaonis. Dioscorus the Egyptian is meant, who at the Ephesine Robbery attempted many things against the catholics by violence, in order to bring in the Eutychian heresy. But those who yielded to him, overcome by terror, returned to a sound mind and to the Church once the violence was removed.

Page

  • running head: 1049 EPISTOLA CXX. (printed across the page with col 1050)
  • marginal letters: A ‹quando› (end of the first line); B ‹salvus erit; qui›; C (in the notes, beside ‹stolicae sedis, quam Leo›); D (in the notes, beside ‹norum de ejusdem synodi›)
  • old-edition numerals: 1222 after ‹baptizatus fuerit,›
  • signature: none
  • other: the column opens with "majorem", a whole word (no hyphen across the break from col 1048). The text ends a little above mid-column ("nisi sibi"); the rest of the column is footnotes. Notes (c), (d), (e) are printed under col 1050; the continuation of (b) heads the notes under col 1050.
PL 54:1050
nocere nihil posset. De quo et illud Omnipotens mirabilius egit, quia et quos sibi socios ad Israelitici populi caedes asciverat, num cum tyrannidis auctore submersit, sed cum suo populo congregavit; et, sicut revera se dignum, et soli sibi possibile fons misericordiae noverat, victos a nobis, nobiscum fecit esse victores. Nam dum solus vere sit humani generis hostis spiritus falsitatis, omnes de illo jam triumphare non dubium est, quos sibi veritas vindicavit. Nunc prorsus illa Redemptoris nostri dicta quam sint divinae auctoritatis apparet, dum contra hostes fidei sic aptantur, ut de ipsis dictum esse dubitare non liceat: Vos, inquit, ex patre diabolo estis, et desideria patris vestri vultis implere. Ille homicida fuit ab initio, et in veritate non stetit, quia veritas in eo non est. Quando loquitur mendacium, ex suis loquitur, quia mendax est, et pater ejus (Joan. VIII, 44).
[…] could harm nothing. In which matter the Almighty did this also more wonderfully, that those too whom he had taken as his allies for the slaughter of the Israelite people He did not drown with the author of the tyranny, but gathered with His own people; and, as the fountain of mercy knew to be truly worthy of Himself and possible to Himself alone, He made those conquered by us to be conquerors with us. For since the spirit of falsehood alone is truly the enemy of the human race, there is no doubt that all whom the truth has claimed for itself now triumph over him. Now it is altogether plain of what divine authority those words of our Redeemer are, when they fit the enemies of the faith so well that one may not doubt they were said of them: You, He says, are of your father the devil, and you wish to fulfil the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and did not stand in the truth, because the truth is not in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own, because he is a liar, and the father of it (John 8:44).
CAP. III. — Nihil ergo mirandum est quod hi qui in veritate Dei nostrae naturae mendacium crediderunt, patri suo et circa ista concordant; quidquid visum, quidquid auditum, quidquid denique, teste Evangelio, tactum est atque palpatum in unico Dei Filio, non ejus cujus probatum est, asserentes, sed coaeternae et coessentialis Patri fuisse substantiae: quasi aut Divinitatis natura crucis ligno transfixa
CHAP. III. — It is therefore nothing to wonder at that those who believed a falsehood about our nature in the truth of God agree with their father in these matters too; asserting that whatever was seen, whatever heard, whatever, finally, as the Gospel witnesses, was touched and handled in the only Son of God, was not of that substance of which it was proved to be, but of the substance coeternal and coessential with the Father: as though either the nature of the Divinity, pierced on the wood of the cross, […]
Editors' notes and page, col. 1050

Footnotes

(b) the end of note (b) heads the notes under this column; its call is in col 1049, set in n1049. (c), (d), (e) printed under this column; their calls are in col 1049, set in n1049.

(f) ‹quia et quos sibi› · printed under col 1050

Codd. Vat. collect. 24, conscios. Dein, caedem sociaverat in alio Vat. collect 11.

The Vatican codices of collection 24: conscios. Then, caedem sociaverat in another Vatican [codex] of collection 11.

(g) ‹misericordiae noverat,› · printed under col 1050

Quesnellus in margine: « Codd. Cantabr: et Barb., victor nobiscum non secum fecit esse victores. » Antiquores editiones Leonis pro victores habent victuros.

Quesnel in the margin: "The Cambridge and Barberini codices: victor nobiscum non secum fecit esse victores." The older editions of Leo have victuros for victores.

(h) ‹ut de ipsis› · printed under col 1050

Sic melius ex Vat. collect. 11. Alias, dicta dubitare.

So better, from the Vatican [codex] of collection 11. Elsewhere, dicta dubitare.

(i) ‹Quando loquitur mendacium,› · printed under col 1050

Idem codex, ex suo. Mss. collect. 12, 21 et 24 cum exemplo Sichardi et editis ante Quesn., ex suis propriis loquitur. Binius, ex propriis.

The same codex: ex suo. The mss. of collections 12, 21 and 24, with Sichardus's copy and the editions before Quesnel: ex suis propriis loquitur. Binius: ex propriis.

(j) ‹quasi aut Divinitatis› · printed under col 1050

Nominativum natura a Quesnello omissum, ex caeteris editis omnibusque codicibus restituimus. Dein, crescerem per aetatem in duobus mss. collect 21. Postea, spiritu Dei in plerisque editis ante Quesnellum cum cod. Vat. collect. 24.

The nominative natura, omitted by Quesnel, we have restored from the other editions and all the codices. Then, crescerem per aetatem in two mss. of collection 21. Next, spiritu Dei in most editions before Quesnel, with the Vatican codex of collection 24.

Page

  • running head: EPISTOLA CXX. 1050 (printed across the page from col 1049)
  • marginal letters: A ‹nocere nihil posset›; B ‹ritas in eo non est›; C (in the notes, beside ‹ardensis; ubi tamen›); D (in the notes, beside ‹victi ei cesserunt›)
  • old-edition numerals: 1223 after ‹victos›
  • signature: none
  • other: the note mark after "Divinitatis" is printed (j), and so is its note. Note (j)'s later readings (crescerem per aetatem, spiritu Dei) concern text in col 1051.
PL 54:1051
sit, aut inconvertibilis crescere per aetates, et in sapientia proficere sapientia sempiterna, vel Spiritu Deus, qui Spiritus est, subinde repleri potuerit. In hoc quoque se acerba vesania, ex quo auctore accesserit, prodit, quod quantum in se est, universis nocere molita est. Nam qui vos persequendo afflixit, caeteros ad consensum sceleris impellendo depravavit. Sed nec nos, licet in singulis fratribus, qua membra nostra sunt, vulnerasset, a speciali dolore fecit exceptos, quibus nova et inaudita prius atque incredibili audacia inferre contra suum caput est molitus injuriam.
[…] was, or the unchangeable [nature] could grow through the ages, and the everlasting Wisdom advance in wisdom, or God, Who is Spirit, could from time to time be filled with the Spirit. In this too the bitter madness betrays from what author it has come, that, so far as in it lies, it has striven to harm everyone. For he who afflicted you by persecution corrupted the rest by driving them to consent to the crime. Nor did he leave us exempt from a grief of our own, though he had wounded us in the individual brethren, inasmuch as they are our members; for with an audacity new, unheard of before and incredible, he strove to inflict injury upon us, against his own head.
Sed utinam vel post tot pessima resipiscens, non nos etiam de suo aeternae damnationis interitu contristasset. Quam mensuram sceleris praetermisit, cui nec hoc sufficere potuit, quod nec vivis parcendo, nec mortuis, etiam in sanguine innocentis et catholici sacerdotis pollutas jampridem, abdicata veritate atque approbata falsitate, manus intinxit? Et cum scriptum sit: Qui odit fratrem suum, homicida est (I Joan. III, 15); ille quod odio jam fecisse addictus est, implevit operibus, quasi nec haec audisse, nec illud quod Dominus ait: Discite a me quia mitis sum et humilis corde, et invenietis requiem animabus vestris. Jugum enim meum suave est, et onus meum leve est (Matth. XI, 29, 30). Dignus diabolici praedicator erroris, Aegyptius vastator inventus est; qui tanquam saevissimus tyrannus Ecclesiae, nefandas blasphemias per violentam seditiosorum turbam, et per cruentas manus militum venerandis fratribus imponebat. Et cum voce Redemptoris nostri firmatum sit, unum eumdemque homicidii esse et falsitatis auctorem (Joan. VIII, 44), ille pariter utrumque complevit: quasi non ut caveantur, sed ut
But would that, coming to his senses at least after so many most wicked deeds, he had not also grieved us with his own ruin in eternal damnation. What measure of crime has he passed over, for whom not even this could suffice, that sparing neither the living nor the dead, he dipped his hands, long since polluted, even in the blood of an innocent and catholic priest, having renounced the truth and approved falsehood? And whereas it is written: Whoever hates his brother is a murderer (1 John 3:15), he fulfilled in deeds what he had already been adjudged to have done by hatred, as if he had heard neither these words nor that which the Lord says: Learn from Me, for I am meek and humble of heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is sweet, and My burden is light (Matt. 11:29–30). The Egyptian ravager has proved a worthy preacher of the devil's error; he, like a most savage tyrant of the Church, was imposing unspeakable blasphemies upon venerable brethren through a violent mob of seditious men and through the bloody hands of soldiers. And whereas it has been confirmed by the voice of our Redeemer that one and the same is the author of murder and of falsehood (John 8:44), he fulfilled both alike: as though not so that they might be guarded against, but so that […]
Editors' notes and page, col. 1051

Footnotes

(a) ‹ex quo auctore› · printed under col 1051

Vulg, ante Quesn., cum eodem codice et Sichardo, processerit.

The printed editions before Quesnel, with the same codex and Sichardus: processerit.

(b) ‹Nam qui› · printed under col 1051

Editiones Leonis ante Quesn. et Labbeus cum mss. collect. 11 et 24 ac Sichardo, nos. Retinuimus vos aliis mss. et Binio suffragantibus; hic enim Leo Theodoritum alloquitur, quem Dioscorus persequendo afflixit.

The editions of Leo before Quesnel, and Labbe, with the mss. of collections 11 and 24 and Sichardus: nos. We have kept vos with the support of the other mss. and of Binius; for here Leo is addressing Theodoret, whom Dioscorus afflicted by persecution.

(c) ‹nova et inaudita› · printed under col 1051

Vocem prius a Quesnello restitutam praeferunt nostri codices collect. 11 et 21. Innuitur excommunicatio a Dioscoro lata contra ipsum suum caput Romanum pontificem; quem ausum antea inauditum et incredibilem detestatur synodus Chalcedonensis in epist. 98, ad Leonem. cap. 2. Vide not. 3 Quesnelli. Dein quidam codices omittunt utinam,

The word prius, restored by Quesnel, is shown by our codices of collections 11 and 21. The excommunication pronounced by Dioscorus against his very head, the Roman pontiff, is meant; a deed of daring unheard of before and incredible, which the synod of Chalcedon denounces in Letter 98, to Leo, chap. 2. See Quesnel's note 3. Next, some codices omit utinam,

(d) ‹pollutas› · printed under col 1051

Quid hic Leo respiciat vide apud Quesn. not. 4, qui mox pro abdicata scripsit addicta, et in margine: Ita mss. omnes. Id quidem invenimus in codd. collect. 21. At in aliis collect. 11, 12, 24, ac in exemplo Sichardi cum anterioribus editionibus, abdicata.

For what Leo has in view here, see Quesnel's note 4; soon after, for abdicata he wrote addicta, and in the margin: So all the mss. We have indeed found this in the codices of collection 21. But in the others, of collections 11, 12 and 24, and in Sichardus's copy with the earlier editions: abdicata.

(e) ‹jam fecisse› · printed under col 1051

Ita omnes Quesnelli et plerique nostri codd. atque Sichardus. Alias dictus, vel dictum est. Post pauca vulg. ante Quesn. cum mss. collect. 12, quasi nec audisset illud quod Dominus ait. Idem legitur in cod. Vat. collect. 11, qui solum addit idem ante vocem Dominus Recepimus lectionem Binii et mss. collect. 24, ad quam accedit Quesnellus cum codd. collect. 21, praemittentibus idem ante Dominus non satis apte, cum in antecedenti Scripturae testimonio nulla Christi Domini mentio occurrat.

So all Quesnel's codices and most of ours, and Sichardus. Elsewhere dictus, or dictum est. A little after, the printed editions before Quesnel, with the mss. of collection 12: quasi nec audisset illud quod Dominus ait. The same is read in the Vatican codex of collection 11, which only adds idem before the word Dominus. We have adopted the reading of Binius and of the mss. of collection 24, to which Quesnel comes near with the codices of collection 21, which put idem before Dominus not very fittingly, since in the preceding testimony of Scripture no mention of Christ the Lord occurs.

(f) ‹onus meum leve› · printed under col 1051, running over to the head of the notes under col 1052

Codd. collect. 11 delent est. Postea quia tamquam legitur in antiquis Leonis vulg. et apud Labbeum cum codd. collect. 24 et Sichardo.

The codices of collection 11 delete est. Next, quia tamquam is read in the old printed editions of Leo and in Labbe, with the codices of collection 24 and Sichardus.

Page

  • running head: 1051 S. LEONIS MAGNI EPISTOLAE. (printed across the page with col 1052)
  • marginal letters: A ‹sit, aut inconvertibilis›; B ‹nec mortuis, etiam›; C ‹et falsitatis auctorem›; D (in the notes, beside ‹do, qui mox pro abdicata›)
  • old-edition numerals: 1224 before ‹nec mortuis›
  • signature: none
  • other: the text ends a little above mid-column ("sed ut"); the rest of the column is footnotes.
PL 54:1052
perpetrentur, scripta sint, ad perditionis suae cumulum trahens, quae Dei Filius monuit ad salutem. Illud quoque surda nimis aure praeteriens, quod ab eodem Domino dictum est: Ego quod vidi apud Patrem meum, loquor, et vos quod vidistis apud patrem vestrum, facitis (Ibid., 38).
[…] they might be perpetrated, the words had been written, dragging to the heaping up of his own perdition what the Son of God counselled for salvation. Passing over too, with an ear far too deaf, that which was said by the same Lord: I speak what I have seen with My Father, and you do what you have seen with your father (ibid., 38).
CAP. IV. — Igitur dum sanctae memoriae Flaviano vitam praesentis saeculi moliretur auferre, se verae vitae luce privavit. Dum vos ab Ecclesiis vestris conaretur expellere, se a Christianorum collegio segregavit. Dum trahit plurimos, et impellit ad erroris assensum, multiplici animam suam vulnere sauciavit: solus ultra omnes, et per omnes, ac pro omnibus reus, qui causa reatus omnibus fuit.
CHAP. IV. — So while he strove to take away the life of the present age from Flavian of holy memory, he deprived himself of the light of the true life. While he tried to drive you out of your Churches, he cut himself off from the fellowship of Christians. While he drags very many and drives them to assent to error, he has wounded his own soul with a manifold wound: he alone is guilty beyond all, and through all, and for all, who was the cause of guilt to all.
Sed licet his tua fraternitas solido cibo firmata indigere minime videatur, tamen, ut quod nostri loci est impleamus circa vocem dicentis Apostoli: Praeter ea quae extrinsecus sunt, instantia mea quotidiana, sollicitudo omnium Ecclesiarum. Quis infirmatur, et ego non infirmor? Quis scandalizatur, et ego non uror (II Cor. XI, 28, 29)? Hoc praecipue praesenti occasione credimus admonendum, frater charissime, ut quotiescumque divina gratia administrante, illos qui foris sunt fonte doctrinae aut submergimus aut purgamus, in nullo ab illis quas Spiritus sancti Divinitas in Chalcedonensi consilio protulit, fidei regulis recedentes, inter utrumque hostem novellae perfidiae sermonem nostrum cum omni cautela libremus: non jam, quod absit, tamquam de dubiis disceptantes, sed auctoritate summa quae bene definita sunt astruentes; cum et in apostolicae sedis epistola universalis sanctae synodi assensu firmata, tanta divinae auctoritatis testimonia noverimus esse congesta, ut
But although your brotherliness, strengthened by solid food, seems to have little need of these things, nevertheless, that we may fulfil what belongs to our place with regard to the words of the Apostle, who says: Besides those things which are without, my daily pressing care, the solicitude for all the Churches. Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to stumble, and I do not burn (2 Cor. 11:28–29)? — we believe that this above all must be urged on the present occasion, dearest brother: that whenever, by the ministry of divine grace, we either immerse or cleanse at the fountain of doctrine those who are outside, departing in nothing from those rules of faith which the Divinity of the Holy Spirit brought forth in the council of Chalcedon, we weigh our speech with every caution between the two enemies of the new faithlessness: no longer, God forbid, as though disputing about doubtful matters, but affirming with the highest authority what has been well defined; since we know that in the letter of the apostolic see too, confirmed by the assent of the universal holy synod, so many testimonies of divine authority have been gathered, that […]
Editors' notes and page, col. 1052

Footnotes

(f) the end of note (f) heads the notes under this column; its call is in col 1051, set in n1051.

(g) ‹et vos› · printed under col 1052

Codd. collect. 11 et 24 cum Sichardo et Binio addunt ergo.

The codices of collections 11 and 24, with Sichardus and Binius, add ergo.

(h) ‹vitam praesentis saeculi moliretur auferre,› · printed under col 1052

Cod. Barb., se veritate et duce. Vat. collect. 24 et Sichardus, se serenae vitae luce.

The Barberini codex: se veritate et duce. The Vatican [codex] of collection 24 and Sichardus: se serenae vitae luce.

(i) ‹Dum› (before trahit plurimos) · printed under col 1052

Vat. collect. 11 et duo collect. 21, tradit. Postea idem codex collect. 11, solus ultra omnia ac pro omnibus reus.

The Vatican [codex] of collection 11 and two of collection 21: tradit. Next, the same codex of collection 11: solus ultra omnia ac pro omnibus reus.

(j) ‹illos qui foris sunt› · printed under col 1052

Catecheses indicat quibus instruebantur qui ad baptisma accedebant, vel ad unitatem Ecclesiae revertentes, ab heresi vel schismate purgandi erant.

He means the catecheses by which those were instructed who were coming to baptism, or who, returning to the unity of the Church, were to be cleansed of heresy or schism.

(k) ‹recedentes, inter› · printed under col 1052

Id est inter Eutychianos ac Nestorianos, qui oppositis erroribus catholicam fidem impetentes, maximam loquendi cautionem exigebant, uti S. pontifex explicat capite sequenti. Post pauca pro libremns quaedam editiones cum ms. Vat. collect. 11 et Sichardo, liberemus.

That is, between the Eutychians and the Nestorians, who, assailing the catholic faith with opposite errors, demanded the greatest caution in speaking, as the holy pontiff explains in the following chapter. A little after, for libremus [printed libremns] some editions, with the Vatican ms. of collection 11 and Sichardus, have liberemus.

(l) ‹sed auctoritate› · printed under col 1052

Ita Quesn. ex codd. Trecopith. et Thuan., cum quibus concordant duo nostri collect. 21. Vulgati antiquiores sua cum duobus codd. Quesn. et nostro Vat. collect. 24 atque Sichardo. Mox post verba in apostolicae sedis epistola codices Vat. collect. 11 et 21, ne sex a Quesnello laudati not. 5, qui partim ad easdem collectiones pertinent, partim e simili fonte dimanant, per saltum aliquot periodos transiliunt usque ad illa capitis sequentis: Sed benedictus Deus noster, earumque loco substituunt haec verba: Et caetera quae per ordinem supra posuimus, continuo agit. Sed benedictus Deus. Ipsa formula et caetera omissionem indicat. Integrum vero textum exhibent codices collect. 13, 12 ac 24 et exemplar Sichardi.

So Quesnel from the Pithou (Troyes) and de Thou codices, with which two of ours of collection 21 agree. The older printed editions have sua, with two codices of Quesnel and our Vatican [codex] of collection 24, and Sichardus. Soon after the words in apostolicae sedis epistola, the Vatican codices of collections 11 and 21, and the six cited by Quesnel in note 5 [printed ne], which belong partly to the same collections and partly flow from a similar source, leap over several periods as far as the words of the following chapter: Sed benedictus Deus noster, and in their place substitute these words: Et caetera quae per ordinem supra posuimus, continuo agit. Sed benedictus Deus. The formula et caetera itself indicates the omission. But the complete text is shown by the codices of collections 13, 12 and 24 and by Sichardus's copy.

Page

  • running head: MAGNI EPISTOLAE. 1052 (the head S. LEONIS MAGNI EPISTOLAE. is printed across the page from col 1051)
  • marginal letters: A ‹perpetrentur, scripta sint›; B ‹nime videatur›; C ‹salis sanctae synodi›; D (in the notes, beside ‹explicat capite sequenti›)
  • old-edition numerals: 1225 after ‹quotidiana,›
  • signature: none
  • other: the text ends a little above mid-column ("ut"); the rest of the column is footnotes.
PL 54:1053
nullus queat ulterius dubitare, nisi qui sibimetipsi errorum tenebras inferre maluerit, et synodalia gesta, vel quibus primum definitio fidei legitur esse formata, vel quibus praefatae litterae apostolicae sedis, etiam tuae fraternitatis studio defensae sunt, et maxime ad piissimos principes totius concilii allocutio, tot sint praecedentium Patrum testimoniis roborata, ut cuivis imprudenti ac pertinaci animo, si tamen non jam cum diabolo pro sua impietate damnatus est, valeant suadere.
[…] no one can doubt any longer, except one who has preferred to bring the darkness of errors upon himself; and that the synodal acts, both those in which the definition of faith is read to have been first formed, and those in which the aforesaid letter of the apostolic see was defended, by the zeal of your brotherliness also, and above all the address of the whole council to the most pious princes, are strengthened by so many testimonies of the preceding Fathers that they can persuade any imprudent and obstinate mind, provided it has not already been condemned with the devil for its impiety.
CAP. V. — Unde hoc quoque nos contra hostes Ecclesiae providere condignum est, ut eis nullam calumniandi occasionem, quod ad nos attinet, penitus relinquamus, nec umquam contra Nestorianos aut Eutychianos agentes, alteri eorum videamur terga vertisse; sed utrosque Christi hostes aequa lance vitemus atque damnemus: ita ut eos, quoties audientium quantalibet poscit utilitas, cum dogmatibus eorum digno anathemate promptissime atque evidentissime feriamus: ne si hoc a nobis aut obscurius fieri videatur aut tardius, putetur invitum.
CHAP. V. — Hence it is fitting that we provide against the enemies of the Church in this too: that, so far as concerns us, we leave them no occasion at all for calumny, and that, when acting against the Nestorians or the Eutychians, we never seem to have turned our backs on the other of them; but that we shun and condemn both enemies of Christ with an even balance: so that, as often as any benefit of the hearers demands it, we strike them together with their dogmas with a worthy anathema, most promptly and most plainly: lest, if this should seem to be done by us either too obscurely or too slowly, it be thought done unwillingly.
Quod quamvis prudentiam tuam res ipsa admonere sufficiat, jam tamen et experimenta docuerunt. Sed benedictus Deus noster, cujus invincibilis veritas ab omni haereseos macula mundum te, secundum sedis apostolicae judicium, demonstravit. Cui dignam retribues pro tot laboribus gratiam si talem te qualem probavimus ac probamus, pro universalis Ecclesiae defensione servaveris. Nam quod Deus omnium calumniosorum fallacias solvit, maximam beatissimi Petri curam pro cunctis nobis agnoscimus; qui postquam suae sedis judicium in fidei definitione firmavit, nec circa cujusquam vestrum, qui nobiscum pro
And although the thing itself suffices to admonish your prudence of this, yet experience too has already taught it. But blessed be our God, Whose invincible truth has shown you clean of every stain of heresy, according to the judgement of the apostolic see. You will render Him fitting thanks for so many labours if you keep yourself, for the defence of the universal Church, such as we have proved and do prove you to be. For in that God has undone the deceits of all the slanderers, we recognize the very great care of most blessed Peter for us all; who, after he had confirmed the judgement of his see in the definition of the faith, [allowed] no […] concerning any one of you who with us for […]
Editors' notes and page, col. 1053

Footnotes

(a) ‹inferre maluerit,› · printed under col 1053

Vulgati ante Quesn. cum mss. collect. 12 et 24, cum synodalia, ac postea, tot sit. Quesnelli emendationem, forte ex Grimanico ms. contextus exigit.

The printed editions before Quesnel, with the mss. of collections 12 and 24: cum synodalia, and afterwards, tot sit. The context requires Quesnel's emendation, perhaps from the Grimani ms.

(b) ‹vel quibus› · printed under col 1053

Fidei definitio in Chalcedonensi actione quinta formata fuit; litterae autem Leonis ad Flavianum antecedentibus actionibus secunda et quarta, vindicatae ac totius synodi assensu receptae fuere; ac propterea primum de ordine temporis intelligi nequit, vel exactum ordinem Leo secutus non est.

The definition of faith was formed in the fifth session of Chalcedon; but Leo's letter to Flavian was vindicated and received with the assent of the whole synod in the preceding sessions, the second and the fourth; and therefore primum cannot be understood of the order of time, or else Leo did not follow the exact order.

(c) ‹etiam› (before tuae fraternitatis studio) · printed under col 1053

Cum actione secunda Leonis epistola 28 legeretur, cumque adversus quamdam ejusdem epistolae sententiam ab Illyricianis et Palaestinis difficultates ingererentur, Theodoritus simile S. Cyrilli testimonium afferens, eam propugnavit. Vide tom. IV Concil. pag. 1238.

When Leo's Letter 28 was read in the second session, and difficulties were raised by the Illyrians and Palestinians against a certain statement of that letter, Theodoret defended it, bringing forward a similar testimony of St Cyril. See vol. IV of the Councils, p. 1238.

(d) ‹defensae sunt, et› · printed under col 1053

Maxime, inquit, quia in allocutione concilii plura testimonia Patrum recitata fuere.

He says maxime because in the council's address more testimonies of the Fathers were recited.

(e) ‹totius concilii allocutio› · printed under col 1053

Part. III concil. Chalced. n. 1.

Part III of the council of Chalcedon, no. 1.

(f) ‹ut eis› · printed under col 1053

Haec admonitio Theodoritum respicit, qui ob defensum antea Nestorium, et ob impugnatum Cyrillum in Nestorianismi suspicionem venerat; unde in synodo Chalcedonensi, ut se catholicum probaret, Nestorio anathema expresse dixit; quod ne exigentibus Patribus invite fecisse videatur, hic eidem Leo insinuat, ut data occasione non tam Eutychem quam Nestorium cum suis impiis dogmatibus, digno anathemate, promptissime atque evidentissime feriat.

This admonition has Theodoret in view, who, for having earlier defended Nestorius and attacked Cyril, had come under suspicion of Nestorianism; hence in the synod of Chalcedon, to prove himself catholic, he pronounced anathema on Nestorius expressly; and lest he should seem to have done this unwillingly at the demand of the Fathers, Leo here suggests to him that, when occasion is given, he strike not so much Eutyches as Nestorius, with his impious dogmas, with a worthy anathema, most promptly and most plainly.

(g) ‹prudentiam tuam› · printed under col 1053

Ita nostri codices cum Sichardo et editis ante Quesn., apud quem, res ipsae admonere sufficiant. Quod additur, experimenta docuerunt, innuit quae Ephesi et Chalcedone Theodorito contigerunt.

So our codices, with Sichardus and the editions before Quesnel, in whom [we read] res ipsae admonere sufficiant. What is added, experimenta docuerunt, hints at what befell Theodoret at Ephesus and Chalcedon.

(h) ‹mundum te, secundum› · printed under col 1053, running over to the notes under col 1054

Hujus judicii sedis apostolicae testimonium exstat in Chalcedonensi act. 1, ubi judices dixerunt pag. 874: Ingrediatur et reverendissimus episcopus Theodoretus, ut sit particeps synodi, quia et restituit ei episcopatum sanctissimus archiepiscopus Leo; et act. 8, pag. 1523, iidem judices concilii sententiam pro Theodorito postularunt, sicut et sanctissimus Leo archiepiscopus judicavit. Quibus concinens totum concilium dixit: Post Deum Leo judicavit; et legati pontificis pag. 1526: Theodoretum sanctissimus et beatissimus universae Ecclesiae episcopus urbis Romae Leo dudum in communione suscepit ita, sicut litterae ab eo ad nostram humilitatem testantur. Post pauca retribuas in ms. Vat. collect 11.

Testimony of this judgement of the apostolic see is found at Chalcedon, session 1, where the judges said (p. 874): Let the most reverend bishop Theodoret also enter, to take part in the synod, since the most holy archbishop Leo has restored his bishopric to him; and in session 8 (p. 1523) the same judges asked for the council's sentence for Theodoret, as the most holy archbishop Leo also judged. In harmony with them the whole council said: After God, Leo has judged; and the pontiff's legates (p. 1526): The most holy and most blessed Leo, bishop of the universal Church of the city of Rome, long since received Theodoret into communion, as the letter from him to our humility testifies. A little after, retribuas in the Vatican ms. of collection 11.

Page

  • running head: 1053 EPISTOLA CXX. (printed across the page with col 1054)
  • marginal letters: A ‹nisi qui sibimetipsi› (end of the first line); B ‹vitemus atque damnemus›; C ‹vit, nec circa cujusquam›; D (in the notes, beside ‹cil. pag. 1238.›)
  • old-edition numerals: 1226 before ‹CAP. V.›
  • signature: none
  • other: the text ends a little above mid-column ("pro"); the rest of the column is footnotes.
PL 54:1054
catholica fide laborastis, personam, quidquam reprobum videri permisit: quia nec poterat, Spiritu sancto judicante, quisquam ex eis non victor exire, quorum jam vicerat fides.
[…] the catholic faith have laboured, [allowed] anything reprobate to be seen [in the] person: for, with the Holy Spirit judging, none could come out other than a victor among those whose faith had already conquered.
CAP. VI. — Quod superest, exhortamur ut quia illic nonnullas Eutychiani ac Nestoriani erroris reliquias cognovimus remansisse, nunc etiam sedi apostolicae collabores. Victoria enim quam Christus Dominus noster suae donavit Ecclesiae, quamdiu in hoc mundo versamur, licet fiduciam majorem tribuat, non tamen in totum sollicitudinem perimit; nec ut dormiamus donata est, sed ut suavius laboremus.
CHAP. VI. — For the rest, we exhort you, since we have learned that some remnants of the Eutychian and Nestorian error have remained there, to labour together now too with the apostolic see. For the victory which Christ our Lord has granted to His Church, so long as we live in this world, though it gives greater confidence, yet does not entirely do away with anxious care; nor was it granted that we might sleep, but that we might labour more gladly.
Unde in hoc quoque tuae vigilantiae sollicitudine volumus adjuvari, ut tua relatione currente quid apud illas regiones doctrina Dominica proficiat, apostolicam sedem festines instruere: quatenus illius regionis sacerdotes, in quocumque usus exegerit, adjuvemus. De his vero quae in saepe dicto concilio illicita contra venerabiles Nicaenos canones praesumptione tentata sunt, ad fratrem et coepiscopum nostrum Antiochenae sedis praesulem scripsimus; adjicientes et illud, quod nobis propter improbitatem monachorum quorumdam regionis vestrae verbo mandasti per vicarios nostros, et hoc specialiter statuentes, ut praeter Domini sacerdotes nullus audeat praedicare, seu monachus, sive ille sit laicus, qui cujuslibet scientiae nomine glorietur. Quas tamen litteras, pro utilitate universalis Ecclesiae, per praedictum fratrem et coepiscopum nostrum Maximum, ad omnium voluimus pervenire notitiam: et ob hoc his noluimus earum exemplar adjicere, quia quae praedicto fratri et coepiscopo nostro injunximus, non dubitamus implenda. Et alia manu: Deus te
Hence in this too we wish to be helped by the solicitude of your vigilance: that by your report, as it goes forward, you hasten to inform the apostolic see what progress the Lord's teaching is making in those regions, so that we may help the priests of that region in whatever need may require. As for the things that were attempted in the often-mentioned council with unlawful presumption against the venerable canons of Nicaea, we have written to our brother and fellow bishop, the prelate of the see of Antioch; adding also that which you sent us word of by mouth through our vicars on account of the wickedness of certain monks of your region, and specially decreeing this, that apart from the priests of the Lord no one dare to preach, whether a monk or a layman, who glories in the name of any knowledge whatever. That letter, however, for the benefit of the universal Church, we have wished to come to the knowledge of all through our aforesaid brother and fellow bishop Maximus: and for this reason we have not wished to add a copy of it to this one, since we do not doubt that what we have enjoined on our aforesaid brother and fellow bishop will be carried out. And in another hand: May God […] you […]
Editors' notes and page, col. 1054

Footnotes

(h) the rest of note (h) heads the notes under this column; its call is in col 1053, set in n1053.

(i) ‹catholica fide› · printed under col 1054

Sic cum Quesnello et Binio nostri codd. collect. 11 et 21. Alias, laboratis. Paulo post videre in ms. Vat. collect. 11. Dein pro exire quaedam editiones existere.

So, with Quesnel and Binius, our codices of collections 11 and 21. Elsewhere, laboratis. A little after, videre in the Vatican ms. of collection 11. Then, for exire, some editions have existere.

(j) ‹tua relatione currente› · printed under col 1054

Veteres editiones cum mss. collect. 11, 12 et 24, ac exemplo Sichardi, quid apud illos religionis doctrina Dominica proficiat; et postea, illius religionis sacerdotes. Veram lectionem a Quesnello receptam mss. collect. 21 approbant. Deinde in quoscumque usus necessitas exegerit unus cod. Vat. collect. 21.

The old editions, with the mss. of collections 11, 12 and 24 and Sichardus's copy: quid apud illos religionis doctrina Dominica proficiat; and afterwards, illius religionis sacerdotes. The mss. of collection 21 confirm the true reading adopted by Quesnel. Next, in quoscumque usus necessitas exegerit in one Vatican codex of collection 21.

(k) ‹De his vero quae› · printed under col 1054

Alias, in supradicto. Respicitur canon Chalcedonensis pro Constantinopolitanae sedis praerogativa. Confer epistolam praecedentem ad Maximum, quae hic indicatur; ubi etiam monachorum improbitas reprehenditur, de qua vide ibidem annot. 30 (Col. 1045, n. g).

Elsewhere, in supradicto. The canon of Chalcedon on the prerogative of the see of Constantinople is in view. Compare the preceding letter to Maximus, which is meant here; where the wickedness of the monks is also rebuked, on which see there, annotation 30 (col. 1045, note g).

(l) ‹tentata sunt,› · printed under col 1054

Epist. 119.

Letter 119.

(m) ‹scripsimus;› · printed under col 1054

16, qu. 1, Adjicimus illud, c. 19.

16, q. 1, Adjicimus illud, c. 19.

(n) ‹ad omnium› · printed under col 1054

Al., volumus.

Elsewhere, volumus.

Page

  • running head: EPISTOLA CXX. 1054 (printed across the page from col 1053)
  • marginal letters: A ‹catholica fide›; B ‹stolicam sedem festines›; C ‹quae praedicto fratri›; D (in the notes, beside ‹Vat. collect. 11. Dein pro exire›)
  • old-edition numerals: 1227 after ‹quisquam›
  • signature: none
  • other: the text ends a little above mid-column ("Deus te"), continuing at the head of col 1055.