PL 54 · cols. 1125–1131

Leo the Great, Letters

Letters CLV–CLVI

ecclesiastica pace servetur et regia. Unumquemque igitur vestrum, quos idem animus et eadem fidei causa conjunxit, vel qui vos haereticorum persecutione despecta, indefesso ardore fidei ex Aegypto sunt secuti, fraterno simul et paterno cohortor affectu, ut aequo et forti animo haec tentamenta toleretis; agnoscentes vos non amisisse propria, sed majora meruisse, quorum brevi fatigatione, qua ad confessorum pervenitur coronas, ita utitur providentia Dei, ut per vestram patientiam multorum devotio roboretur, et cum gloria venerandi principis Alexandrina Ecclesia, depulsis haereticis, antiquam recipiat dignitatem. Datum quinto idus Octobris, Constantino et Rufo consulibus.

[…] be preserved by the peace of the Church and of the realm. I therefore exhort each one of you, whom the same mind and the same cause of the faith have joined together, or who, despising the persecution of the heretics, have followed you out of Egypt with unwearied ardour of faith, with an affection at once brotherly and fatherly, to bear these trials with an even and brave mind; recognizing that you have not lost what was your own but have merited greater things, and that the providence of God so uses your brief weariness, by which one attains to the crowns of the confessors, that through your patience the devotion of many may be strengthened, and that, with the glory of the venerable prince, the Church of Alexandria, the heretics driven out, may recover its ancient dignity. Given on the fifth day before the ides of October, in the consulship of Constantine and Rufus.

EPISTOLA CLV.

LETTER CLV.

AD ANATOLIUM EPISCOPUM CONSTANTINOPOLITANUM.

TO ANATOLIUS, BISHOP OF CONSTANTINOPLE.

LEO ANATOLIO episcopo.

LEO to Anatolius, bishop.

CAP. I. — Diligentiam necessariae sollicitudinis, quam fraternitas tua in dirigendis ad nos litteris exsequitur, approbamus, et acceptis per filium nostrum Olympium paginis tuis, sacerdotalem in te curam vigere sentimus: cui nos quoque, quantum Dominus donat posse, non desumus, exorantes dilectionem tuam, ut quia tempus laboris incidimus, in sancta vigilantia perseveres, donec dextera Domini faciat virtutem (Ps. CXVII, 16), et sub pedibus Ecclesiae suae conterat tentatorem. Consolatur etenim nos per omnia praeparata divinitus clementissimi principis fides, quem meo rursus, sicut oportuit, suum cohortatus alloquio: ut impiissimorum latronum ausibus districtiore constantia faciat obviari: quos nefas est tantum de suo favore praesumere, ut etiam apud Constantinopolim audeant insanire. Sed hoc eis ideo divinae providentiae ratione permittitur, ut magis ac magis quo spiritu agitentur appareat: ne dubitari possit, in quantam essent audaciam prorupturi, si post damnationem impiissimae haeresis, disceptandi contra fidem acciperent potestatem, ut quantum in

CHAP. I. — We approve the diligence of necessary solicitude which your Fraternity carries out in sending letters to us, and having received your pages by our son Olympius, we perceive that priestly care is vigorous in you: to which we also, as far as the Lord grants us to be able, are not wanting, entreating your Beloved, since we have fallen upon a time of toil, to persevere in holy vigilance until the right hand of the Lord works might (Ps. 117:16) and crushes the tempter under the feet of His Church. For we are consoled by the faith, prepared in all things by God, of the most clement prince, whom I have again exhorted, as was fitting, by my address, that he should cause the attempts of those most impious brigands to be opposed with stricter constancy: for it is wrong that they should presume so much on his favour as to dare to rage even at Constantinople. But this is permitted them by the design of divine providence so that it may appear more and more by what spirit they are driven: lest it could be doubted into what audacity they would break out if, after the condemnation of the most impious heresy, they received the power of disputing against the faith, so that, as far as in […]

Editors' notes and page, col. 1125

Footnotes

(a) ‹ecclesiastica› · printed under col 1125

Forte legendum, potestate. QUESN.

Perhaps one should read potestate. QUESNEL.

(b) ‹EPISTOLA› · printed under col 1125

Alias 121. Scripta 11 Octob. an. 457.

Formerly 121. Written 11 October in the year 457.

Exstat in mss. collect. 5, 11, 12, 21, 24 et in exemplo Sichardi. Quesnellus huic epistolae titulum praefixerat: De relatione contra Timotheum Alexandrinum. At cum nihil ejusmodi in ipsa epistola legatur, per errorem, ut credimus, is titulus huic epistolae appositus fuit, qui aequius convenit epistolae 157. Idem sane Quesnellus dissert. 1 ad annum 457, n. 5, hunc titulum in suo ms. legi prodidit, id est in Grimanico. Ex hoc autem codice edidit laudatam epistolam 157, qua S. Leo relationi quidem contra Timotheum ab Anatolio transmissae respondet. Epistola autem 155 in ms. Grimanico nequaquam invenitur.

It survives in the manuscripts of collections 5, 11, 12, 21 and 24 and in Sichard's copy. Quesnel had put this title before the letter: On the report against Timothy of Alexandria. But since nothing of the kind is read in the letter itself, this title was attached to this letter by mistake, we believe; it fits letter 157 more fairly. Quesnel himself, in dissertation 1, on the year 457, n. 5, reported that this title is read in his manuscript, that is, in the Grimani. From this manuscript he published letter 157, just mentioned, in which St Leo replies to the report against Timothy sent by Anatolius. Letter 155, however, is by no means found in the Grimani manuscript.

(d) ‹SYNOPSIS› · printed under col 1125 (the call stands before the synopsis)

In tabula collect. 5, c. 93, hic titulus legitur: Ad Anatolium episcopum de adhortatione expugnandae haeresis Eutychianae, et quod expulsos quosdam de Aegypto pro fide catholica ipse susceperit.

In the table of collection 5, ch. 93, this title is read: To Anatolius the bishop, on the exhortation to overcome the Eutychian heresy, and that he himself had received certain men expelled from Egypt for the catholic faith.

(e) ‹quantum Dominus› · printed under col 1125, running on under col 1126

Vulg. ante Quesn. cum mss. posteriorum collectionum et Sichardo, dat posse. Dein pro exorantes codd. Cantabrig. Quesnelli, et noster Vat. collect. 11 exhortantes.

The common editions before Quesnel, with the manuscripts of the later collections and Sichard, have dat posse. Then, for exorantes, Quesnel's Cambridge manuscripts and our Vatican manuscript of collection 11 have exhortantes.

(f) ‹principis fides, quem› · printed under col 1126

Hic epistola ad imperatorem indicatur, quae per Olympium paulo ante laudatum missa traditur epist. 158, ac propterea una cum his ad Anatolium litteris transmissa fuit.

Here a letter to the emperor is indicated, which in letter 158 is said to have been sent by the Olympius mentioned a little before, and was therefore sent together with this letter to Anatolius.

(g) ‹constantia faciat› · printed under col 1126

Codd. collect. 11 et 21, obviare.

The manuscripts of collections 11 and 21 have obviare.

Editors' prose

SYNOPSIS. — I. Eum ad vigilantiam contra haereticorum conatus incitat. — II. Conniventiam clericorum Constantinop. arguit, circa quos vigorem in Anatolio desiderat pastoralem.

SYNOPSIS. — I. He stirs him to vigilance against the attempts of the heretics. — II. He rebukes the connivance of the clergy of Constantinople, towards whom he wants pastoral vigour in Anatolius.

Page

running head: 1125 EPISTOLA CLV. (continued over col 1126)
marginal letters: A ‹ecclesiastica pace›; B ‹(c) AD ANATOLIUM›; C ‹conterat tentatorem›; D ‹exemplo Sichardi› (in note c)
old-edition numerals: 1317 before pace; 1318 before principis
signature: none
other: the first e of "ecclesiastica" is printed raised above the line at the head of the column

PL 54:1126

ipsis est, latius hoc furore saevirent, quem fratres et coepiscopi nostri, qui ad vos nuper ex Aegypti partibus confugere, se pertulisse deplorant; quibus et a Christianissimo principe, et a tua fraternitatis Deo placita charitate solatia pietatis impendi non ambigerem, etiam si ipse non scriberes. Opportunum autem credidi ut ad ipsos quoque scripta dirigerem, quae illos possint in communis fidei proposito roborare, et quid pro patientia sua superna remuneratione mereantur, agnoscerent: sicut beatus apostolus docet, dicens: Excipite itaque illos cum omni gaudio in Domino, et hujusmodi cum honore habete, quoniam propter fidem Christi usque ad mortem accesserunt (Philipp. II, 29, 30).

[…] them lies, they would rage more widely with this fury which our brethren and fellow bishops, who lately fled to you from the regions of Egypt, lament that they have endured; to whom I should not doubt that the consolations of piety are being given both by the most Christian prince and by the charity of your Fraternity, pleasing to God, even if you yourself did not write. But I thought it opportune to send writings to them also, which could strengthen them in the resolve of the common faith, and that they might recognize what they merit by heavenly reward for their patience: as the blessed Apostle teaches, saying: Receive them therefore with all joy in the Lord, and hold such men in honour, since for the faith of Christ they came even to death (Phil. 2:29–30).

CAP. II. — Illud sane plurimum mihi displicere significo, quod inter dilectionis tuae clericos quidam esse dicuntur qui adversarium conniveant pravitati, et vasis irae vasa misericordiae misceantur. Quibus investigandis, et severitate congrua coercendis debet diligentia tua vigilanter insistere: ita ut his quibus prodesse non potuerit correctio, non pareat abscissio. Oportet etenim nos evangelici meminisse mandati, quod ab ipsa Veritate praecipitur, ut si nos oculus, aut pes, aut dextera scandalizaverit manus, a compage corporis auferatur: quia melius sit his in Ecclesia carere membris, quam cum ipsis in aeterna ire supplicia (Matth. XVIII, 8; Marc. IX, 42). Nam superfluo extra Ecclesiam positis resistimus, si ab his qui intus sunt in eis quos decipiunt vulneramur. Abjicienda prorsus pestifera haec a sacerdotali vigore patientia est, quae sibimet, peccatis aliorum parcendo, non parcit. Sicut Heli quondam sacerdos filiorum suorum delicta tolerando, cum ipsis divinae justitiae sententiam meruit experiri (I Reg. II, 27): quia segni indulgentia dissimulavit plectere peccatores. Quantum itaque opportunitas invitat officii, religiosissimum principem dilectio tua studeat frequentare, et non solum regiam, sed et sacerdotalem ipsius mentem, precibus meis obsecrare persiste: ut memor communis fidei, quam Spiritu sancto docente suscepimus, omnia haereticorum machinamenta confringat; neque quidquam illis in Ecclesiis Christi licere patiatur, ne in eorum potestate sint

CHAP. II. — I declare that this displeases me very greatly: that among the clergy of your Beloved there are said to be some who connive at the depravity of the adversaries, and that vessels of mercy are mingled with vessels of wrath. Your diligence ought to press vigilantly on investigating them and restraining them with fitting severity: so that, for those whom correction cannot profit, cutting off should not spare them. For we must remember the command of the Gospel, which is enjoined by the Truth Himself, that if an eye or a foot or the right hand scandalizes us, it be taken away from the frame of the body: since it is better to lack these members in the Church than to go with them into eternal punishments (Matt. 18:8; Mark 9:42). For in vain do we resist those placed outside the Church if we are wounded by those who are within, in those whom they deceive. This pestilent patience must be utterly cast away from priestly vigour, for by sparing the sins of others it does not spare itself. So Eli the priest once, by tolerating the offences of his sons, deserved to experience with them the sentence of divine justice (1 Sam. 2:27): because with slothful indulgence he neglected to punish the sinners. As far, therefore, as the opportunity of your office invites, let your Beloved be zealous to visit the most religious prince often, and persist in entreating with my prayers not only his royal but also his priestly mind: that, mindful of the common faith which we received by the teaching of the Holy Spirit, he may shatter all the machinations of the heretics, and suffer nothing to be permitted to them in the Churches of Christ, lest there be in their power […]

Editors' notes and page, col. 1126

Footnotes

(e) continued from col 1125, set in n1125.

(f) printed under this column; its call is in col 1125, set in n1125. (g) printed under this column; its call is in col 1125, set in n1125.

(h) ‹principe, et› · printed under col 1126

Mss. collect. 11 et 24 cum Sichardo, a tua fraternitate: forte melius.

The manuscripts of collections 11 and 24, with Sichard, have a tua fraternitate: perhaps better.

(i) ‹ad ipsos quoque› · printed under col 1126

Epist. 154.

Letter 154.

(j) ‹quae illos› · printed under col 1126

Duo codd. collect. 21, possent.

Two manuscripts of collection 21 have possent.

(k) ‹illos cum› · printed under col 1126

Vulg. ante Quesn. cum Sichardo delent omni.

The common editions before Quesnel, with Sichard, delete omni.

(l) ‹CAP. II. —› · printed under col 1126

24, qu. 2. Illud autem sane, c. †34.

24, qu. 2, Illud autem sane, c. 34 [the last figure uncertain].

(m) ‹inter dilectionis tuae› · printed under col 1126

Atticum respici, de quo ad Anatolium scripserat kal. Septembris epist. 151.

Atticus is meant, about whom he had written to Anatolius on the kalends of September, letter 151.

(n) ‹quia melius sit› · printed under col 1126

Quesnellus et noster Vindobon. cod. collect. 5, his in Ecclesia officiis carere membrorum. Anteriorum editorum lectionem aliis codd. et Sichardi exemplo confirmatam, uti aptiorem restituimus.

Quesnel and our Vienna manuscript of collection 5 have his in Ecclesia officiis carere membrorum. We have restored the reading of the earlier editors, confirmed by other manuscripts and by Sichard's copy, as more fitting.

Page

running head: EPISTOLA CLV. 1126 (continuing from col 1125)
marginal letters: A ‹ipsis est, latius›; B ‹gnifico, quod inter›; C ‹1319 parcendo›; D ‹Olympium paulo ante› (in note f)
old-edition numerals: 1319 before parcendo; 1320 before fidei
signature: none
other: none

PL 54:1127

divina mysteria, quibus in domo Dei, pro scelerum suorum magnitudine, nec habitandi jus residet, nec orandi. Data quinto idus Octobris, Constantino et Rufo viris clarissimis consulibus.

[…] the divine mysteries, men who, for the magnitude of their crimes, have no right either of dwelling or of praying in the house of God. Given on the fifth day before the ides of October, in the consulship of Constantine and Rufus, most illustrious men.

EPISTOLA CLVI.

LETTER CLVI.

AD LEONEM AUGUSTUM.

TO LEO AUGUSTUS.

LEO episcopus LEONI Augusto.

LEO, bishop, to Leo Augustus.

CAP. I. — Litteras clementiae tuae plenas virtute fidei et lumine veritatis veneranter accepi: quibus cuperem, etiam in eo quod praestantiam meam pietas vestra necessariam existimat, obedire, ut majorem fructum conspectu vestri splendoris assequerer.

CHAP. I. — I have received with veneration the letter of your Clemency, full of the strength of faith and the light of truth: which I should wish to obey even in that respect in which your Piety thinks my presence necessary, so that I might gain the greater fruit from the sight of your splendour.

Editors' notes and page, col. 1127

Footnotes

(a) ‹nec orandi. Data› · the call stands in col 1128 (the end of Letter CLV, set under the 1127 rail); the note is printed under col 1127 above the admonition, running on under col 1128

Vulg. antiquiores cum ms. Vat. collect. 24 ac Sichardo, pridie idus, et in margine, quinto idus. Verior haec chronica nota, quam cum mss. Quesnelli nostri etiam codd. praestantiorum collect. 5, 11 et 21 praeferunt; congruit enim cum die signato in epistola praecedenti, quae in hac indicatur cap. 1, et una cum hac transmissa cognoscitur. Facile porro fuit ex v idus librariorum lapsu litteram v disjunctis lateribus in duas unitates convertere, et scribere II idus ut in codd. collect. 24 haec dies signatur, non vero, ut in editis, Pridie idus.

The older common editions, with the Vatican manuscript of collection 24 and Sichard, have pridie idus, and in the margin quinto idus. This latter date is truer, which, with Quesnel's manuscripts, our manuscripts of the better collections 5, 11 and 21 also present; for it agrees with the day marked in the preceding letter, which is indicated in this one, ch. 1, and is known to have been sent together with it. Moreover, it was easy, by a slip of the copyists, to turn the letter v of v idus, its sides separated, into two units and to write II idus, as this day is marked in the manuscripts of collection 24, and not, as in the printed editions, Pridie idus.

(a) ‹EPISTOLA› (of Letter CLVI; a second note lettered (a) on this page) · printed under col 1127 at the foot of the page

Alias 125. Scripta 1 Decemb. an. 45⟨7⟩.

Formerly 125. Written 1 December in the year 457.

(b) ‹in eo quod› · printed under col 1127

Haec, quae non leguntur in litteris ad Anatolium in Admonitione indicatis, erant procul dubio in peculiari imperatoris ad Leonem epistola.

These words, which are not read in the letter to Anatolius indicated in the Admonition, were without doubt in the emperor's own letter to Leo.

Vulg. Leonis ante Quesn. cum mss. Vat. et Veneto collect. 12, ut majori fructu conspectum. Duo codd. Baluzii, ut fructu majorem conspectu.

The common editions of Leo before Quesnel, with the Vatican and Venetian manuscripts of collection 12, have ut majori fructu conspectum. Two of Baluze's manuscripts have ut fructu majorem conspectu.

(d) printed under this column, running on under col 1128; its call is in col 1128, set in n1128.

Editors' prose

ADMONITIO IN EPISTOLAM SEQUENTEM

ADMONITION ON THE FOLLOWING LETTER

1. Sequens epistola edita fuit a Merlino ex ms. collect. 12. Quesnellus eam relegit cum ms. Grim. collect. 18. Cum vero haec eadem epistola inserta fuerit codici encyclio, qui Leone vivente Graece scriptus fuit, nisi hic codex originalis periisset, hanc S. Leonis epistolam Graece redditam haberemus. At exstat hujus codicis Latina interpretatio, quam Epiphanius Scholasticus lucubravit. Hic autem cum nactus fuisset Leoninae epistolae Latinum exemplar, hoc suae versioni inseruit; et idcirco ex hoc codice, quem a Surio editum Baluzius cum duobus mss. Bellovacensi et Corbeiensi contulit, aliquot variantes suppetunt, quae nobis utiles fuere.

1. The following letter was published by Merlin from a manuscript of collection 12. Quesnel re-read it with the Grimani manuscript of collection 18. But since this same letter was inserted in the Codex Encyclius, which was written in Greek in Leo's lifetime, we should have this letter of St Leo rendered in Greek, had that original codex not perished. There survives, however, a Latin translation of this codex, which Epiphanius Scholasticus worked out. He, having come upon a Latin copy of Leo's letter, inserted it into his version; and therefore from this codex, which Baluze collated, as published by Surius, with two manuscripts, of Beauvais and of Corbie, some variants are available which have been useful to us.

2. Huic epistolae causam dederunt imperatoris Leonis litterae, quas ob Alexandrinos tumultus ad universos metropolitas tradidit. In laudato codice encyclio, cujus ordo, ut in mss. exstat, ex Baluzio profertur tom. V Concil. Venetae edit. pag. 33 et seqq. cap. 6, describitur imperatoris epistola ad Anatolium Constantinopolitanum; et postea cap. 11 subjiciuntur caeterorum episcoporum nomina, ad quos litterae similes directae fuerunt, ac inter hos primo datae dicuntur Leoni reverentissimo urbis Romae pontifici. Imperialis epistola ad Anatolium cum quaedam ejusdem Constantinopolitani episcopi peculiaria continet, tum vero alia Leonis papae propria, quae eidem inserta erant (vide annot 1 [Infra, n. b]) omittit; ac propterea eadem omnino ad Leonem pontificem transmissa dici nequit: unde huic editioni inserenda non fuit. Nihilo tamen minus quid Augusti litterae a Leone papa similiter peterent, satis exinde cognoscitur. Promoto scilicet ab Eutychianis ad Alexandrinam sedem Timotheo Aeluro, et occiso S. Proterio, maximoque tumultu inter Eutychianos et catholicos Aegyptios excitato, utrique cum libellis supplicibus ad imperatorem confugerunt. Utrosque libellos Leo Augustus cum suis litteris ad omnes metropolitanos, et potissimum ad Romanum pontificem misit, petens ut concilium cogerent, ibique de praedicto Timotheo, inquit, et de Chalcedonensi concilio, quid in commune sapitis, sine quolibet humano terrore, et absque gratia cujuscumque vel odio... cum omni celeritate meam facite cognoscere pietatem. Leo papa primus omnium sequentem epistolam rescripsit, cap. 10, eaque in codice encyclio statim post indicata episcoporum nomina primo loco describitur cap. 12. ut Evagrius testatur lib. II.

2. The occasion of this letter was given by the letter of the emperor Leo which he issued to all the metropolitans because of the Alexandrian disturbances. In the Codex Encyclius already mentioned, whose arrangement, as it stands in the manuscripts, is set out from Baluze in vol. V of the Councils, Venice edition, p. 33 and following, in ch. 6 the emperor's letter to Anatolius of Constantinople is copied; and afterwards, in ch. 11, the names of the other bishops to whom similar letters were sent are appended, and among these the letter is said to have been given first to Leo, most reverend pontiff of the city of Rome. The imperial letter to Anatolius, while it contains certain things peculiar to that bishop of Constantinople, omits other things proper to Pope Leo, which had been inserted in his letter (see annotation 1 [below, n. b]); and therefore it cannot be said to have been sent to the pontiff Leo in exactly the same form: hence it was not to be inserted in this edition. Nevertheless, what the Augustus's letter likewise asked of Pope Leo is sufficiently known from it. That is to say, when Timothy Aelurus had been promoted by the Eutychians to the see of Alexandria, and St Proterius had been killed, and a very great disturbance had been stirred up between the Eutychians and the catholic Egyptians, both parties fled to the emperor with petitions. Leo Augustus sent both petitions with his own letter to all the metropolitans, and above all to the Roman pontiff, asking that they assemble a council, and there, he says, "make known to my Piety with all speed what you think in common about the aforesaid Timothy and about the council of Chalcedon, without any human fear, and without favour or hatred of anyone ..." Pope Leo, first of all, wrote the following letter in reply, ch. 10, and in the Codex Encyclius it is copied in the first place, immediately after the names of the bishops indicated, ch. 12, as Evagrius testifies, book II.

3. Ex his autem cognoscitur error Pagii, qui has pontificis litteras imperialibus encyclicis redditas negavit ad an. 457, n. 11. Cum enim hae litterae pontificis codici encyclio inserantur, has non minus quam caeteras aliorum episcoporum in eodem codice contentas imperiali epistolae encyclicae rescriptas agnoscimus. Hinc etiam c. 4 mentio fit exemplarium precum catholicorum Eutychianorum, quae una cum imperialibus litteris transmissae in eodem codice encyclio exhibentur cap. 7 et 9. Imperatoris epistola circa Octobrem an. 457 per magistrianos ad universos metropolitas celerrime directa fuit. Hinc duo episcopi Agapitus Rhodius pag. 1892, et Lucas Dyrrachenus pag. 1297, se eas litteras hieme recepisse subindicant. Quod si Marcellianus comes in Chronico ad an. 458, et Augusti litteras et episcoporum responsa commemorat, id ea de causa accidit, quod licet imperialis encyclica missa fuerit an. 457, pleraque tamen responsa nonnisi an. 458 pervenere, unde Varadati monachi epistola (pag. 1934) die 27 Augusti signatur. Ita nihili est cur sequentem Leonis epistolam imperiali encyclicae redditam dubitemus.

3. From this, moreover, is recognized the error of Pagi, who, at the year 457, n. 11, denied that this letter of the pontiff was a reply to the imperial encyclical. For since this letter of the pontiff is inserted in the Codex Encyclius, we recognize that it, no less than the other letters of other bishops contained in the same codex, was written in reply to the imperial encyclical letter. Hence also in ch. 4 mention is made of the copies of the petitions of the catholics [and] the Eutychians, which, sent together with the imperial letter, are shown in the same Codex Encyclius, ch. 7 and 9. The emperor's letter was sent with the greatest speed by the magistriani to all the metropolitans about October of the year 457. Hence two bishops, Agapitus of Rhodes, p. 1892, and Lucas of Dyrrachium, p. 1297, hint that they received that letter in winter. And if Count Marcellinus in his Chronicle at the year 458 mentions both the Augustus's letter and the replies of the bishops, that happened for this reason: that although the imperial encyclical was sent in the year 457, most of the replies arrived only in the year 458; hence the letter of the monk Varadatus (p. 1934) is dated on 27 August. So there is no reason why we should doubt that the following letter of Leo was a reply to the imperial encyclical.

SYNOPSIS. — I. Post Chalcedonensem synodum nihil esse denuo tractandum circa fidem. — II. Antichristum eum esse qui veritatem ab Ecclesia declaratam rursus examinat. — III. Parricidas Alexandrini episcopi Ecclesiae praesidere nefas esse. — IV. Preces Leoni Augusto oblatae tam a catholicis quam ab haereticis, in quo differant. — V. Omnia Christianae religionis officia et mysteria apud Alexandriam esse intercepta. — VI. Scripta de fide prolixiora promittit, Anatolii incuriam taxat, catholicos commendat.

SYNOPSIS. — I. That after the synod of Chalcedon nothing is to be treated anew concerning the faith. — II. That he is Antichrist who examines again the truth declared by the Church. — III. That it is wrong for the murderers of the bishop of Alexandria to preside over the Church. — IV. In what the petitions offered to Leo Augustus by the catholics and by the heretics differ. — V. That all the offices and mysteries of the Christian religion have been cut off at Alexandria. — VI. He promises fuller writings on the faith, censures the negligence of Anatolius, commends the catholics.

Page

running head: 1127 S. LEONIS MAGNI (continued over col 1128 as "EPISTOLAE.")
marginal letters: A ‹divina mysteria›; B ‹EPISTOLA CLVI› (heading line, shared with "rer. Sed magis" in col 1128); C ‹jorem fructum conspectu›; no D seen
old-edition numerals: 1321 before EPISTOLA CLVI
signature: none
other: layout of page 568: two lines of Letter CLV at the head of each column (the right column's lines, "orandi … consulibus", are set under this rail by reading order), then note (a) for CLV's date in two columns, a rule, the ADMONITIO printed across the full page width (set above in reading order), then two columns again: Letter CLVI's heading, synopsis and CAP. I in this column, its text continuing at the head of the lower part of col 1128; "asseque-/rer" is set whole in this column

PL 54:1128

Sed magis id vobis arbitror placiturum, quod eligendum ratio demonstravit. Nam cum sancto et spiritali studio in universum pacem Ecclesiae muniatis, nihilque sit convenientius fidei defendendae, quam his quae per omnia instruente Spiritu sancto, irreprehensibiliter definita sunt, inhaerere: ipsi videbimur bene statuta convellere, et auctoritates quas Ecclesia universalis amplexa est, ad arbitrium haereticae petitionis infringere, atque ita nullum collidendis Ecclesiis modum ponere, sed data licentia rebellandi, dilatare magis quam sopire certamina.

But I think that will please you more which reason has shown must be chosen. For since with holy and spiritual zeal you are fortifying the peace of the Church throughout the world, and nothing is more fitting for the defence of the faith than to cling to what has been defined irreprehensibly, the Holy Spirit instructing throughout: we ourselves shall seem to tear up what was well decreed, and to break down, at the will of a heretical petition, the authorities which the universal Church has embraced, and so to set no limit to the dashing of Churches against one another, but, licence to rebel being granted, to widen rather than lull the conflicts.

Unde quia post illas Ephesinae synodi impietates, quibus Dioscori scelere fides catholica refutata et perversitas Eutychiana suscepta est, nihil ad conservationem fidei Christianae utilius potuit ordinari, quam ut praedicti facinus sancta synodus

Hence, since after those impieties of the synod of Ephesus, by which through the crime of Dioscorus the catholic faith was rejected and the Eutychian perversity received, nothing more useful for the preservation of the Christian faith could be ordained than that the holy synod […] the deed of the aforesaid […]

Editors' notes and page, col. 1128

Footnotes

(a) its call (at "Data", the end of Letter CLV, printed at the head of this column) is set with that text under the 1127 rail; the note is printed under col 1127 and runs on under this column; set in n1127.

(d) ‹inhaerere: ipsi› · printed under col 1127, running on under col 1128

Ita cum ms. Grim. Quesnelli nostri codd. et editio codicis encyclii, atque Facundus. Anteriores editiones Leonis, quomodo videbimur statuta velle convellere.

So, with Quesnel's Grimani manuscript, our manuscripts and the edition of the Codex Encyclius, and Facundus. The earlier editions of Leo have quomodo videbimur statuta velle convellere.

(e) ‹atque ita nullum› · printed under col 1128

Sic Grim. et nostri codd. cum Facundo. Edit. antiq. Leonis, corrigendis. Codex encyclius, colligendis.

So the Grimani and our manuscripts, with Facundus. The old editions of Leo have corrigendis. The Codex Encyclius has colligendis.

(f) ‹suscepta est, nihil› · printed under col 1128

Al. cum mss. collect. 12, ad confirmationem.

Others, with the manuscripts of collection 12, have ad confirmationem.

Editors' prose

(none; the full-width ADMONITIO on this page is set in n1127, in reading order)

Page

running head: MAGNI EPISTOLAE. 1128 (continuing "S. LEONIS" over col 1127)
marginal letters: A ‹orandi. Data›; B ‹rer. Sed magis›; C ‹ordinari, quam ut›; no D seen
old-edition numerals: 1322 before fidei defendendae
signature: none
other: the two lines at the head of this column ("orandi … consulibus", end of Letter CLV) are set under the 1127 rail by reading order; this rail stands at "Sed magis", where the column's text resumes below the full-width admonition ("rer" completes "assequerer", set whole in col 1127)

PL 54:1129

Chalcedonensis aboleret; et tanta illic haberetur coelestis cura doctrinae, ut nihil in cujusquam opinione resideret, quod a praedicationibus vel propheticis vel apostolicis dissonaret, ea scilicet moderatione servata, ut rebellibus tantum ac pertinacibus ab Ecclesiae unitate rejectis, nulli correcto venia negaretur: quid probabilius, quid religiosius poterit pietas vestra decernere, quam ut quae non tam humanis quam divinis sunt statuta decretis, nullus ultra sinatur impetere: ne vere digni sint tantum Dei munus amittere, qui de veritate ipsius ausi fuerint dubitare?

[…] of Chalcedon should abolish [it]; and that so great a care for heavenly doctrine should be had there that nothing should remain in anyone's opinion which was at variance with the preachings, whether prophetic or apostolic, this moderation, namely, being kept, that, while only the rebellious and obstinate were cast out from the unity of the Church, pardon should be denied to no one who was corrected: what more commendable, what more religious could your piety decree, than that no one should any longer be allowed to attack what has been established by decrees not so much human as divine: lest those be truly worthy to lose so great a gift of God who have dared to doubt His truth?

CAP. II. — Cum ergo universalis Ecclesia per illius principalis petrae aedificationem facta sit petra, et primus apostolorum beatissimus Petrus voce Domini dicentis audierit: Tu es Petrus, et super hanc petram aedificabo Ecclesiam meam; quis est, nisi aut Antichristus, aut diabolus, qui pulsare audeat inexpugnabilem firmitatem; qui id malitia sua inconvertibilis perseverans, per vasa irae et suae apta fallaciae, falso diligentiae nomine, dum veritatem se mentitur inquirere, mendacia desiderat seminare? Atque contemnenda et vitanda merito sibi incontinens furor et impietas caeca praescripsit, ut dum diabolico instinctu in sanctam Alexandrinam saevit Ecclesiam, quales essent qui Chalcedonensem synodum retractari cupiunt, disceretur. In qua nullo modo accipere potuit ut a nobis contra sanctam Nicaenam synodum sentiretur, quod haeretici mentiuntur, qui se fidem Nicaeni concilii tenere confingunt, in quo sancti et venerabiles Patres nostri contra Arium congregati, non carnem Domini, sed Deitatem Filii homousion Patri esse firmaverunt; in Chalcedonensi autem concilio adversus Eutychianam impietatem definitum est, de substantia virginis matris Dominum JESUM CHRISTUM sumpsisse nostri corporis veritatem.

CHAP. II. — Since, then, the universal Church has been made a rock through the building upon that chief Rock, and the first of the apostles, the most blessed Peter, heard the voice of the Lord saying: You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My Church; who is there, if not either Antichrist or the devil, who would dare to assail its impregnable firmness; who, persevering unconvertible in his malice, through vessels of wrath fitted for his deceit, under the false name of diligence, while he pretends to be seeking the truth, desires to sow lies? And unrestrained fury and blind impiety have deservedly prescribed for themselves things to be despised and shunned, so that, while at the devil's prompting it rages against the holy Church of Alexandria, it might be learned what sort of men they are who desire the synod of Chalcedon to be reconsidered. In that [Church] it could in no way be accepted that anything was held by us against the holy synod of Nicaea, as the heretics falsely claim, who pretend that they hold the faith of the council of Nicaea, in which our holy and venerable Fathers, assembled against Arius, affirmed that not the flesh of the Lord but the Godhead of the Son is homoousios with the Father; whereas in the council of Chalcedon it was defined against the Eutychian impiety that the Lord JESUS CHRIST took the reality of our body from the substance of the virgin mother.

CAP. III. — Apud christianissimum igitur principem, et inter Christi praedicatores digno honore numerandum, utor catholicae fidei libertate, et ad consortium te apostolorum ac prophetarum securus exhortor: ut constanter despicias ac repellas eos, qui ipsi se christiano nomine privavere; nec patiaris impios parricidas sacrilega simulatione de fide

CHAP. III. — With a most Christian prince, therefore, and one to be numbered with worthy honour among the preachers of Christ, I use the freedom of the catholic faith, and I confidently exhort you to the fellowship of the apostles and prophets: that you steadfastly despise and repel those who have themselves deprived themselves of the Christian name; and that you do not allow impious parricides, with sacrilegious pretence, to treat of the faith […]

Editors' notes and page, col. 1129

Footnotes

(a) ‹Petrus voce Domini› (before dicentis) · printed under col 1129

Vocem dicentis supplevimus ex duobus nostris mss. collect. 12 et codice encyclio.

We have supplied the word dicentis from our two manuscripts of collection 12 and from the Codex encyclius.

(b) ‹audeat inexpugnabilem› (before firmitatem) · printed under col 1129

Editi Leonis ante Quesn., nullo nostro codice opitulante, veritatem.

The editions of Leo before Quesnel, with none of our manuscripts supporting them, veritatem.

Duo mss. collect. 12, in contemnenda. Duo Baluzii codicis encyclii, contemnendum atque vitandum.... perscripsit.

Two manuscripts of collection 12, in contemnenda. Two [copies] of Baluze's Codex encyclius, contemnendum atque vitandum.... perscripsit.

(d) ‹synodum retractari cupiunt› (before disceretur) · printed under col 1129

Codd. Baluzii, docerentur.

Baluze's manuscripts, docerentur.

(e) ‹qui ipsi se› (at ipsi; the call is not printed) · printed under col 1129

Vulg. cum mss. collect. 12 et Surii exemplo omittunt ipsi. Quesnellus ex suo ms. adjecit cui favent exemplaria Baluzii.

The common editions, with the manuscripts of collection 12 and Surius's copy, omit ipsi. Quesnel added it from his manuscript, and Baluze's copies support it.

(f) printed under this column; its call is in col 1130, set in n1130 (g) printed under this column; its call is in col 1130, set in n1130 (h) printed under this column (running over under col 1130); its call is in col 1130, set in n1130

Page

running head: 1129 EPISTOLA CLVI. 1130 (one head across page 570)
marginal letters: A ‹Chalcedonensis aboleret›; B ‹(a) dicentis audierit›; C ‹Arium congregati›; D in the gutter level with the first footnote line, below the text
old-edition numerals: 1323 after audeat
signature: PATROL. LIV. (under this column; 36 under col 1130)
other: none

PL 54:1130

agere, quos constat fidem velle vacuare. Cum enim clementiam tuam Dominus tanta sacramenti sui illuminatione ditaverit, debes incunctanter advertere, regiam potestatem tibi non ad solum mundi regimen, sed maxime ad Ecclesiae praesidium esse collatam: ut ausus nefarios comprimendo, et quae bene sunt statuta defendas, et veram pacem his quae sunt turbata restituas, depellendo scilicet pervasores juris alieni, et antiquae fidei sedem Alexandrinae Ecclesiae reformando: ut correctionibus tuis Dei iracundia mitigata, religiosae antea civitati non retribuat quae admissa sunt, sed remittat. Constitue ante oculos cordis tui, venerabilis imperator, omnes qui per totum orbem sunt Domini sacerdotes, pro ea tibi fide in qua totius mundi est redemptio, supplicare. In qua te specialius ambiunt, quia apostolicae fidei sectatores Alexandrinae Ecclesiae praesedere, agentes apud pietatem tuam, ne haereticos homines, et merito pro sua perversitate damnatos, uti sua pervasione patiamini: cum sive impietatem erroris aspicias, sive opus perpetrati furoris attendas, non solum ad sacerdotii honorem admitti nequeant, sed ab ipso christiano nomine mereantur abscindi. Nam, quod exorata pietatis vestrae venia dixerim, quodam contagio splendorem vestrae serenitatis offuscant, cum sacrilegi parricidae id audeant petere quod nec innocentes liceat obtinere, gloriosissime imperator.

[…] to treat of the faith, who, it is plain, wish to make the faith void. For since the Lord has enriched your clemency with so great an illumination of His mystery, you ought unhesitatingly to observe that the royal power has been conferred on you not for the government of the world alone, but above all for the protection of the Church: so that by repressing wicked audacities you may both defend what has been well established and restore true peace to what has been disturbed, namely by driving out the usurpers of another's right and restoring the see of the ancient faith of the Alexandrian Church: so that, God's anger being appeased by your corrections, He may not requite to a city formerly religious the things that have been committed, but may remit them. Set before the eyes of your heart, venerable emperor, all the priests of the Lord who are throughout the whole world, making supplication to you for that faith in which lies the redemption of the whole world. In this they entreat you the more especially because followers of the apostolic faith have presided over the Alexandrian Church, pleading with your piety that you not allow heretical men, deservedly condemned for their perversity, to enjoy their usurpation: since, whether you look at the impiety of their error or consider the work of the fury they perpetrated, not only can they not be admitted to the honour of the priesthood, but they deserve to be cut off from the very name of Christian. For, if I may say it with your piety's pardon besought, they darken the splendour of your serenity by a kind of contagion, when sacrilegious parricides dare to ask for what not even the innocent may obtain, most glorious emperor.

CAP. IV. — Oblatae sunt pietati vestrae preces, quarum exemplaria vestris litteris subdidistis. Sed in his quae catholicorum sunt deplorantium, subscriptio continetur: et quia causa probabilis est, fiducialiter nomina singulorum, vel dignitas sui honoris aperitur. In illis autem, quas orthodoxo principi haeretica porrigere non formidavit obreptio sub incerto confusae universitatis vocabulo, ideo certum nomen retrahitur, ne non solum paucitas personarum, sed etiam meritum detegatur. Latere enim sibi utile existimat eorum quantitas, quorum est qualitas indicata: nec incongrue cujus loci homines sint, profiteri metuunt, qui meruere damnari. In una ergo catholicorum supplicatio continetur; in alia, haereticorum commenta panduntur. Hic sacerdotum Domini, et totius christiani populi, ac monasteriorum defletur

CHAP. IV. — Petitions have been presented to your piety, copies of which you appended to your letter. But in those which are from the lamenting catholics a subscription is contained: and because the cause is commendable, the names of the individuals, or the dignity of each one's rank, are confidently disclosed. But in those which heretical stealth did not fear to hand to an orthodox prince, under the vague term of a confused "whole body", a definite name is withheld for this reason, lest not only the fewness of the persons but also their deserts be uncovered. For their number thinks it to its own advantage to lie hidden, since their quality has been shown: and not unfittingly those who have deserved to be condemned are afraid to declare to what place they belong. In the one, then, is contained the supplication of the catholics; in the other the fabrications of the heretics are laid open. Here is lamented the overthrow of the priests of the Lord, and of the whole Christian people, and of the monasteries […]

Editors' notes and page, col. 1130

Footnotes

(f) ‹agere, quos constat› (before fidem) · printed under col 1129

Antiquae editiones Leonis, a fide deviare.

The old editions of Leo, a fide deviare.

(g) ‹regiam potestatem tibi› (before non ad solum) · printed under col 1129

Sic nostri codd. collect. 12 et mss. Baluzii Al., non solum ad mundi regimen.

So our manuscripts of collection 12 and Baluze's manuscripts. Others, non solum ad mundi regimen.

(h) ‹Dei iracundia mitigata› (before religiosae) · printed under col 1129, running over under col 1130

Editi antiquiores Leonis et codicis encyclii, regiae civitati non retribuat, quae antea admissa sunt. Emendationem Quesnelli nostra et Baluzii exemplaria approbant.

The older editions of Leo and of the Codex encyclius, regiae civitati non retribuat, quae antea admissa sunt. Our copies and Baluze's approve Quesnel's emendation.

(i) ‹specialius ambiunt› (before quia) · printed under col 1130

Vulg., qui. Correximus ex utrisque Baluzii codicibus.

The common editions, qui. We have corrected it from both of Baluze's manuscripts.

(j) ‹uti sua› (before pervasione) · printed under col 1130

Iidem Vulg., persuasione. Ms. Bellovac., perversione. Melius in Corbeien. Baluzii codice, quem secuti sumus.

The same common editions, persuasione. The Beauvais manuscript, perversione. Better in Baluze's Corbie manuscript, which we have followed.

(k) ‹christiano nomine mereantur› (before abscindi) · printed under col 1130

Al., abscidi.

Others, abscidi.

(l) ‹preces, quarum› (before exemplaria) · printed under col 1130

Haec tum catholicorum tum haereticorum exemplaria precum leguntur in codice encyclio tom. IV Concil pag. 1837 et 1848. Catholicorum precibus subscripti sunt episcopi quatuordecim, quatuor presbyteri et duo diaconi.

These copies of the petitions, both of the catholics and of the heretics, are read in the Codex encyclius, vol. IV of the Councils, pp. 1837 and 1848. Fourteen bishops, four priests and two deacons subscribed the petitions of the catholics.

(m) ‹sub incerto confusae› (before universitatis) · printed under col 1130

Editi antiqui Leonis cum mss. collect. 12, unitatis. Libellus haereticorum in laudato codice encyclio subscriptionibus caret.

The old editions of Leo, with the manuscripts of collection 12, unitatis. The heretics' petition in the Codex encyclius cited lacks subscriptions.

(n) ‹profiteri metuunt, qui› (before meruere) · printed under col 1130

Codd. Baluzii, metuere.

Baluze's manuscripts, metuere.

Page

running head: 1129 EPISTOLA CLVI. 1130 (one head across page 570)
marginal letters: A ‹agere, quos constat›; B ‹qua te 1324›; C ‹ptio continetur›; D ‹probant.› (level with the head of this column's footnotes)
old-edition numerals: 1324 after qua te
signature: 36 (under this column; PATROL. LIV. under col 1129)
other: the last word, de-fletur, is hyphenated across into col 1131 and set whole here

PL 54:1131

eversio; ibi immanium scelerum continuatio demonstratur; ut quod non licuit audiri, liceat dilatari.

[…] overthrow; there a continuous series of monstrous crimes is set out; so that what it was not lawful to hear may be lawful to spread abroad.

CAP. V. — Nonne perspicuum est, quibus pietas vestra succurrere, et quibus debeat obviare; ne Alexandrina Ecclesia, quae semper fuit domus orationis, spelunca nunc sit latronum? Manifestum quippe est, per crudelissimam insanissimamque saevitiam, omne illic coelestium sacramentorum lumen exstinctum. Intercepta est sacrificii oblatio, defecit chrismatis sanctificatio, et parricidalibus manibus impiorum omnia se subtraxere mysteria. Nec ullo modo ambigi potest, quid de his decernendum sit, qui post nefanda sacrilegia, post sanguinem probatissimi sacerdotis effusum, et concremati corporis cinerem in contumeliam aeris coelique dispersum audent sibi jus pervasae dignitatis expetere, et apostolicae doctrinae inviolabilem fidem ad concilia provocare. Maguum ergo vobis est ut diademati vestro de manu Domini etiam fidei addatur corona, et de hostibus Ecclesiae triumphetis: qua si laudabile vobis est adversarum gentium arma conterere, quanta erit gloria, ab insanissimo tyranno Alexandrinam Ecclesiam, in cujus contritione omnium Christianorum est injuria, liberare?

CHAP. V. — Is it not plain whom your piety ought to succour and whom to oppose, lest the Alexandrian Church, which has always been a house of prayer, should now be a den of thieves? For it is manifest that through a most cruel and most insane savagery all the light of the heavenly sacraments has been extinguished there. The offering of the sacrifice has been cut off, the sanctification of the chrism has failed, and all the mysteries have withdrawn themselves from the parricidal hands of the impious. Nor can there be any doubt at all what is to be decreed concerning those who, after unspeakable sacrileges, after the blood of a most approved priest was shed and the ashes of his burnt body scattered in insult to the air and the sky, dare to claim for themselves the right of a usurped dignity, and to call the inviolable faith of the apostolic doctrine to councils. It is a great thing, then, for you that to your diadem the crown of faith also should be added from the hand of the Lord, and that you should triumph over the enemies of the Church: for if it is praiseworthy for you to crush the arms of hostile nations, how great will be the glory of freeing from a most insane tyrant the Alexandrian Church, in whose crushing is the injury of all Christians?

CAP. VI. — Ut autem litterae meae pietati tuae colloquium quasi praesentis exhibeant, quidquid de communi fide fueram suggesturus, scriptis prosequentibus insinuandum esse perspexi. Ac ne hujus epistolae pagina in nimiam longitudinem tenderetur, aliis litteris, quae assertioni catholicae fidei congruunt, comprehendi: ut licet ea quae a sede apostolica sunt praedicata sufficerent, insidias tamen haereticorum etiam haec quae sunt adjecta reserarent. Sacerdotalem namque et apostolicum tuae pietatis animum, etiam hoc malum ad justitiam ultionis debet accendere, quod Constantinopolitanae Ecclesiae puritatem pestilenter obscurat, in qua inveniuntur clerici quidam haereticorum sensui consonantes, et intra ipsa catholicorum viscera assertionibus suis haereticos adjuvantes. In quibus deturbandis, si frater meus Analius

CHAP. VI. — But so that my letter may offer your piety a conversation as of one present, I judged that whatever I had been going to suggest concerning the common faith should be conveyed in the writing that follows. And so that the page of this letter should not be drawn out to excessive length, I have comprised in another letter the things that agree with the assertion of the catholic faith: so that, although what has been preached by the apostolic see would suffice, yet these things that have been added might also lay open the snares of the heretics. For this evil too ought to kindle the priestly and apostolic mind of your piety to the justice of punishment, that it pestilentially darkens the purity of the Church of Constantinople, in which are found certain clerics agreeing with the mind of the heretics, and within the very bowels of the catholics aiding the heretics by their assertions. In driving these out, if my brother Anatolius [printed "Ana-lius" across the column break] […]

Editors' notes and page, col. 1131

Footnotes

(a) ‹quod non licuit› (before audiri) · printed under col 1131

Sic omnes nostri et Baluzii cod., nec non Vulgati ante Quesn., apud quem, auderi.

So all our manuscripts and Baluze's, and also the common editions before Quesnel; in him, auderi.

(b) ‹spelunca nunc sit latronum?› (before Manifestum) · printed under col 1131

1, qu. 1, Manifestum est crudel., c. 69.

Edit. codicis encyclii, immanissimamque vesaniam. Mss. Baluzii, insanissimamque vesaniam.

The edition of the Codex encyclius, immanissimamque vesaniam. Baluze's manuscripts, insanissimamque vesaniam.

(d) ‹quid de his› (before decernendum) · printed under col 1131

Eadem mss., dicendum sit, et dein, sacratissimi sacerdotis: ac postea, in contumelia.

The same manuscripts, dicendum sit, and then, sacratissimi sacerdotis; and afterwards, in contumelia.

(e) ‹in nimiam longitudinem tenderetur› (before aliis) · printed under col 1131

Epist. 165, al. 134.

Letter 165, otherwise 134.

(f) ‹viscera assertionibus suis› (before haereticos) · printed under col 1131

Alias editiones Leonis antiquae, haereticorum partem adjuvantes. Atticum presbyterum intelligit, de quo epistola sequenti.

Otherwise the old editions of Leo, haereticorum partem adjuvantes. He means the priest Atticus, of whom [he speaks] in the following letter.

(g) printed under this column; its call is in col 1132, set in n1132 (h) printed under this column; its call is in col 1132, set in n1132 (i) printed under this column; its call is in col 1132, set in n1132 (j) printed under this column (running over under col 1132); its call is in col 1132, set in n1132