PL 54 · cols. 878–882

Leo the Great, Letters

Letters LXIII–LXV

τοῦ κανόνος τῆς πίστεως, ἢ τοῦ δικαίου, ἔγνωμεγεγενῆσθαι. Πᾶσα τοιγαροῦν ἀμφιβολία τῷ θείῳ δικαστηρίῳ ἐξήτασται. Φλαυιανὸς δὲ ὁ φωραθεὶς αἴτιος τοῦ βλαβεροῦ καινισμοῦ, τὴν ὀφειλομένην ἑαυτῷ τίμην ἀπηνέγκατο· καὶ τούτου ἀποκινηθέντος, πᾶσα εἰρήνη, καὶ πᾶσα συμφωνία ἐν ταῖς Ἐκκλησίαις βασιλεύει, καὶ οὐδὲν ἕτερον κρατεῖ, εἰ μὴ καθαρὰ ἡ ἀλήθεια.

[…] to the rule of faith or of justice, we have learned, was done. Every doubt, therefore, has been examined by the divine tribunal. And Flavian, who was detected as the author of the harmful innovation, has received the penalty due to him; and with him removed, all peace and all concord reign in the Churches, and nothing else prevails but the pure truth.

EPISTOLA LXIII.

LETTER LXIII.

EJUSDEM THEODOSII AD GALLAM PLACIDIAM AUGUSTAM.

OF THE SAME THEODOSIUS TO GALLA PLACIDIA AUGUSTA.

Qua respondet epistolae LVI.

In which he replies to Letter LVI.

Δεσποίνῃ τῇ ἐμῇ Πλακιδίᾳ, προσκυνητῇ Αὐγούστᾳ, Θεοδόσιος.

To my lady Placidia, venerable Augusta, Theodosius.

Ἐκ τῶν γραμμάτων τῆς σῆς ἡμερότητος ἡ ἡμετέρα ἔγνω αἰωνιότης, ὅ τι ὁ εὐλαβέστατος πατριάρχης Λέων παρὰ τῆς σῆς ᾔτησεν αἰωνιότητος. Τούτοις τοιγαροῦν δηλοῦμεν τοῖς γράμμασιν, ὅτι περὶ τούτων τῶν εἰρημένων παρὰ τοῦ εὐλαβεστάτου ἐπισκόπου, ἐντελέστερον καὶ σαφέστερον πολλάκις ἐγράφη· ἐξ ὧν ἀναμφιβόλως πεφανέρωται, μηδὲν ἡμᾶς παρὰ τὴν πατρῴαν πίστιν, ἢ τὰ θεῖα δόγματα, ἢ τοὺς ὅρους τῶν εὐλαβεστάτων ἐπισκόπων, οἵ τινες τοῦτο μὲν ὑπὸ τῆς θείας μνήμης Κωνσταντίνου ἐν τῇ Νικαιέων πόλει, τοῦτο δὲ πάλαι ἡμετέρῳ προστάγματι ἐν Ἐφέσῳ συνεληλύθασιν, ὡρικέναι, ἢ ἐψηφίσθαι, ἢ νενοηκέναι. Ἀλλὰ τοῦτο μόνον ἐν Ἐφέσῳ τετυπῶσθαι, ἵνα πάντες, οἵ τινες τῷ βλαβερῷ καινισμῷ τὰς ἁγιωτάτας ἐθορύβησαν Ἐκκλησίας, ἀξίως ἀποκινηθῶσι, προσετάξαμεν. Ταῦτά εἰσιν, ἅ τινα οὐκ εἰς ἀνατροπὴν, ἀλλ' εἰς συμφωνίαν, καὶ καθαρὸν σύνδεσμον τῆς προσκυνητῆς θρησκείας, παρὰ τῶν εὐλαβεστάτων τετυπῶται Πατέρων. Ὁ δὲ λεγόμενος Φλαυιανὸς ἔξαρχος τῆς τοιαύτης φιλονεικίας, θείᾳ ψήφῳ τῶν ἐκκλησιαστικῶν ἐκβέβληται πραγμάτων. Ταῦτα τοιγαροῦν εἰδυῖα ἡ σὴ ἡμερότης, δέσποινα ἀγνοτάτη μῆτερ, καὶ προσκυνητὴ Αὐγούστα, μηδὲν ἡμᾶς ποτε ὑπεναντίον τῆς παραδοθείσης πίστεως διανενοῆσθαι, καθὼς παρά τινων εἴρηται, ὑπολάβη, ἢ λογίσηται.

Our Eternity has learned from the letter of Your Gentleness what the most reverent patriarch Leo asked of Your Eternity. By this letter, therefore, we make known that concerning these matters spoken of by the most reverent bishop, it has often been written more completely and more clearly; from which it has been shown beyond doubt that we have defined, decreed or thought nothing against the ancestral faith, or the divine doctrines, or the definitions of the most reverent bishops who assembled, on the one hand under Constantine of divine memory in the city of the Nicaeans, and on the other, formerly, at our command at Ephesus. But we ordered that this alone be laid down at Ephesus: that all who troubled the most holy Churches with the harmful innovation should be removed, as they deserved. These are the things which were laid down by the most reverent Fathers, not for overthrow, but for concord and the pure bond of the venerable religion. And the said Flavian, the leader of such contentiousness, has been cast out of ecclesiastical affairs by a divine vote. Knowing these things, therefore, may Your Gentleness, lady, most holy mother and venerable Augusta, not suppose or reckon that we have ever thought anything contrary to the faith handed down, as is said by some.

EPISTOLA LXIV.

LETTER LXIV.

EJUSDEM THEODOSII AD LICINIAM EUDOXIAM.

OF THE SAME THEODOSIUS TO LICINIA EUDOXIA.

Qua respondet epistolae LVII.

In which he replies to Letter LVII.

Δεσποίνῃ τῇ ἐμῇ Εὐδοξίᾳ τῇ προσκυνητῇ βασιλίδι, Θεοδόσιος.

To my lady Eudoxia, the venerable empress, Theodosius.

Ἀεὶ μὲν οὖν τῆς σῆς ποθεινότητος τοῖς γράμμασι τερπόμεθα, καὶ ταῦτα ὅλῃ ψυχῇ ἡδέως περιπτυσσόμεθα, καὶ πάσαις ταῖς σαῖς αἰτήσεσι μετὰ πολλῆς τῆς χαρᾶς εἰώθαμεν ἐπινεύειν, δέσποινα ἀγνοτάτη θύγατερ, προσκυνητὴ βασιλίς· ἀλλὰ περὶ τοῦ ἐνεστῶτος πράγματος, τουτέστι, περὶ Φλαυιανοῦ, τοῦ ποτε ἐπισκόπου, τὰ τῇ αἰτίᾳ παρακολουθήσαντα τῷ εὐλαβεστάτῳ ἀρχιεπισκόπῳ Λέοντι

We always delight, indeed, in the letters of Your Dearness, and gladly embrace them with our whole soul, and we are accustomed to assent with much joy to all your requests, lady, most holy daughter, venerable empress; but concerning the present matter, that is, concerning Flavian, sometime bishop, the things that followed upon the case […] to the most reverent archbishop Leo […]

Editors' notes and page, col. 878

Footnotes

1 ‹anchor: "τοῦτο μὲν" (Letter LXIII)› · printed under col 878 In ms. Ven., ὑπὸ τοῦ τῆς θειας, etc.

In the Venice manuscript: ὑπὸ τοῦ τῆς θειας ("by the [emperor] of divine …"), etc.

2 ‹anchor: "τοῦτο δὲ" (Letter LXIII)› · printed under col 878 In marg. edit. Rom., ἴσ. πάλιν,

In the margin of the Roman edition: perhaps πάλιν ("again"),

(The notes (f) end, (g), (h), (i), (j) printed under col 878 have their calls in col 877 and are set in n877. A small raised mark after πράγματος in Letter LXIV answers no note printed on this page.)

Page

running head: 877 EPISTOLA LXIV. 878 (centred over both columns)
marginal letters: A not seen; B ‹Δεσποίνῃ τῇ ἐμῇ Πλακιδίᾳ›; C ‹ἐθορύβησαν Ἐκκλησίας›; D ‹θαμεν ἐπινεύειν›
old-edition numerals: 989 after ‹προσκυνητῇ Αὐγούστᾳ,›; 991 before ‹Δεσποίνῃ τῇ ἐμῇ Εὐδοξίᾳ›
signature: none
other: the column opens with των, the end of τούτων, which is set whole at the end of col 876. The Greek of Letters LXII (end), LXIII and LXIV (beginning) is set as the text in this column, with the two full-width captions (Letters LXIII and LXIV) in reading order. The last word, Λέον-, is completed at the head of col 880 and set whole here.

PL 54:879

τελείως ἡ ἡμετέρα κατεσήμασεν [pro κατεσήμηνεν] ἡμερότης· τῇ δὲ σῇ γλυκύτητι τοῦτο μόνον ἐδοκιμάσαμεν γνωρίσαι, ὅτι ὁ μνημονευθεὶς Φλαυιανὸς θείᾳ κρίσει τῶν ἀνθρωπίνων πραγμάτων ἀφηρέθη· ὅπως πᾶσα ἀμφιβολίας φιλονεικία ἀπὸ τῶν ἱερῶν Ἐκκλησιῶν ἀποκινηθῇ· καὶ οὐδὲν ἕτερον τοῦ λοιποῦ μετὰ ταῦτα δυνατὸν ὁρίσαι περὶ τῶν ἅπαξ ἤδη τετυπωμένων.

[…] our Gentleness has fully signified [for κατεσήμηνεν]; but to Your Sweetness we have thought fit to make known this alone, that the aforementioned Flavian has been removed from human affairs by divine judgement, so that all contention of doubt might be removed from the holy Churches; and nothing further is possible to define hereafter concerning the things once already laid down.

EPISTOLA LXV

LETTER LXV

seu

PRECES MISSAE AB UNIVERSIS COMPROVINCIALIBUS EPISCOPIS METROPOLIS ARELATENSIS AD S. LEONEM PAPAM.

THE PETITION SENT BY ALL THE BISHOPS OF THE PROVINCE OF THE METROPOLIS OF ARLES TO ST LEO THE POPE.

CAP. I.— Memores quantum honoris et reverentiae, beatissima sedi apostolicae, cui vos Dominus noster Jesus Christus pro meritis sanctitatis voluit praesidere, semper debitum fuerit, semperque debeatur, ordinationem qua sanctus frater et coepiscopus noster Ravennius in civitate Arelate post transitum beatae recordationis Hilarii episcopi, concordantibus omnium votis, ad summum pontificium, Domino favente, provectus est, missis continuo litteris apostolatui vestro indicare curavimus. Quibus a beatitudine vestra tanto dignatione et charitate fuisse responsum, immensas gratias agimus, etsi tantas, quantas debemus, referre non possumus. Notum

CHAP. I.— Mindful how much honour and reverence has always been due, and always is due, to the most blessed apostolic see, over which our Lord Jesus Christ willed you to preside for the merits of your holiness, we took care, by a letter sent at once, to make known to your apostleship the ordination by which our holy brother and fellow bishop Ravennius, in the city of Arles, after the passing of Hilary, the bishop of blessed memory, was advanced to the supreme pontificate, with the concurring wishes of all and by the Lord's favour. That your blessedness replied to it with such condescension and love, we give immense thanks, although we cannot return thanks as great as we owe. Known […]

Editors' notes and page, col. 879

Footnotes

(a) ‹anchor: "quia memoratus Flavianus" (Latin version of Letter LXIV)› · printed under col 879

Quesnellus in margine, divino.

Quesnel in the margin: divine.

(b) ‹anchor: "sacro judicio" (Latin version of Letter LXIV)› · printed under col 879

Ita omnes codices nostri, et Baluzii. Graecus etiam textus cohaeret. Editi, ab ecclesiasticis rebus, ut in epistola praecedenti tum in Graeco, tum in Latino textu legitur. Sed Theodosius hisce litteris respondens epistolae 57 Eudoxiae, eadem formula utitur, quam illa ibidem usurpaverat, ex humanis rebus potuisset auferri, ubi sane Flaviani mortem, de qua tum Eudoxia nihil acceperat, indicare non potuit; sed depositionem ejus intellexit, uti explicavimus annot. 9 (Col. 863, n. (h)) in laudatam epistolam 57. Eodem itaque sensu hanc formulam hic accepit etiam Theodosius: unde corrigendus est Quesnellus, qui hunc textum de Flaviani morte interpretatus est not. ultima in epistolam nobis 59, ac si ejus mors, quae sane praecesserat, a Theodosio hoc loco nuntiata fuerit.

So all our manuscripts, and Baluze's. The Greek text also agrees. The editions: from ecclesiastical affairs, as is read in the preceding letter both in the Greek and in the Latin text. But Theodosius, in this letter replying to Letter 57 of Eudoxia, uses the same formula which she had employed in that place, could be taken away from human affairs, where she certainly could not have meant the death of Flavian, of which Eudoxia had then learned nothing, but understood his deposition, as we explained in note 9 (col. 863, note (h)) on the said Letter 57. In the same sense, therefore, Theodosius too took this formula here: whence Quesnel must be corrected, who in his last note on what is for us Letter 59 interpreted this text of Flavian's death, as if his death, which had indeed preceded, had been announced by Theodosius in this place.

(c) ‹anchor: "removeretur Ecclesiis;" (Latin version of Letter LXIV)› · printed under col 879; its mark is printed like "(e)"

Restituimus et ex codicibus, ut erat apud Crabbum.

We have restored et ("and") from the manuscripts, as it was in Crabbe.

(d) ‹anchor: "EPISTOLA" (caption of Letter LXV)› · printed under col 879, continuing under col 880

Alias post ep. 49. Quae autem erat 63, nunc 85. Scripta diu ante Maium an. 458. Exstat haec epistola in unica collectione 15 Arelatensi. Vindicatur a Quesnello in observationibus quas notis praemittit. Contulimus cum ms. Vallicellano G. 99, apographo vetustioris codicis Ecclesiae Arelatensis, ex quo illam Baronius edidit. Cum nota chronica careat, certum tempus ignotum est. Solum affirmari potest scriptam fuisse ante diem 5 Maii anni 450, quo Leo hisce litteris respondit epistola sequenti, et non modico quidem tempore ante. Cum enim hae Gallicanorum preces ad Leonem missae fuerint per Petronium et Regulum, ut liquet ex epistola sequenti cap. I, hos autem diu apud se retinuisse S. pontifex affirmet epistola 67 data eodem die 5 Maii, sequitur diu ante Maium has preces transmissas fuisse. In hac vero temporis incertitudine, eas sequenti Leonis epistolae qua iisdem precibus respondet, praemittendas censuimus.

Formerly after Letter 49. And the letter that was 63 is now 85. Written long before May of the year 458 [sic]. This letter survives in the single collection 15, of Arles. It is vindicated by Quesnel in the observations which he sets before his notes. We have collated it with the Vallicelliana manuscript G. 99, a copy of an older manuscript of the Church of Arles, from which Baronius published it. Since it lacks a note of date, its exact time is unknown. It can only be affirmed that it was written before 5 May of the year 450, on which day Leo replied to this letter with the following letter, and indeed no short time before. For since this petition of the Gallic bishops was sent to Leo by Petronius and Regulus, as is clear from the following letter, chapter I, and the holy pontiff affirms, in Letter 67, given on the same day, 5 May, that he had kept them with him a long time, it follows that this petition was sent long before May. In this uncertainty of date, however, we have judged that it should be placed before the following letter of Leo, in which he replies to this same petition.

(e) ‹anchor: "PRECES MISSAE" (caption of Letter LXV)› · printed under col 880

In laudato ms. Vallic: Preces missae ab universis episcopis Galliar. ad Leonem papam Sed vox Galliar. linea superinducta deleta fuit. Utrum vero in antiquo codice Arelatensi unde sumptum fuit hoc apographum ad Baronium transmissum eadem vox Galliar. desit, an cum eadem litura legatur, ignoramus. Baronius et Sirmondus omittunt comprovincialibus.

In the said Vallicelliana manuscript: The petition sent by all the bishops of the Gauls to Leo the pope. But the word Galliar. ("of the Gauls") was deleted by a line drawn through it. Whether the same word Galliar. is lacking in the ancient manuscript of Arles from which this copy sent to Baronius was taken, or is read with the same erasure, we do not know. Baronius and Sirmond omit of the province.

(f) ‹anchor: "missis continuo" (Letter LXV, CAP. I); the call is printed like "(i)"› · printed under col 880

Indicantur epistolae 40 et 41 anni praecedentis.

Letters 40 and 41 of the preceding year are meant.

1 ‹anchor: "κρίσει τῶν" (Greek of Letter LXIV, printed at the head of col 880, set under this rail)› · printed under col 880, marked "(m)" In eod. marg., ἐκκλησιαστικῶν, L.

In the same margin: ἐκκλησιαστικῶν ("ecclesiastical"), L.

Editors' prose

SYNOPSIS. — I. Praemissis nonnullis de Ravennii electione ac moribus, antiqua Ecclesiae Arelatensis privilegia a Leone redintegrari postulant. — II. Eadem ex variis hujus Ecclesiae praerogativis confirmant, ac praesertim ex S. Trophimi in Gallias adventu. — III. Civilia Arelatensium jura ac privilegia imperatorum commemorant. — IV. Variis officiorum testimoniis Leonem demulcent.

SYNOPSIS. — I. After some preliminary remarks on the election and character of Ravennius, they ask that the ancient privileges of the Church of Arles be restored by Leo. — II. They confirm the same from various prerogatives of this Church, and especially from the coming of St Trophimus into the Gauls. — III. They recall the civil rights of the people of Arles and the privileges granted by the emperors. — IV. They soothe Leo with various tokens of their respect.

Ancient version (Latin)

(End of the Latin version of Letter LXIV, continued from col 877; the Greek is set as the text, above, under this rail.) mansuetudo significavit. Tuae vero dulcedini hoc solum approbavimus intimandum, quia memoratus Flavianus sacro judicio ab humanis rebus ablatus est, quatenus totius dubietatis contentio a sacris removeretur Ecclesiis; et nihil ulterius post haec definire possibile est, cum jam ista semel decisa sint.

Page

running head: 879 S. LEONIS
marginal letters: A ‹mansuetudo significavit›; B ‹adventu. — III.› (synopsis); C in the gutter beside the last text lines, above the notes; D in the footnote block beside note (d) ‹nunc 85›
old-edition numerals: 993 before ‹EPISTOLA LXV›
signature: none
other: the last lines of Letter LXIV stand at the head of both columns (Latin version in col 879, Greek in col 880); the caption of Letter LXV is printed in col 879 only, not across the page. By the ruling for cols 839/840 the Greek ending at the head of col 880 is set under this rail, before the caption, with its note 1. Its first syllable τι completes Λέοντι, set whole at the end of col 878. The Greek contains the printed bracket [pro κατεσήμηνεν], set and translated as printed.

PL 54:880

licet nobis ante jam fuerit praedictum sanctum fratrem et coepiscopum nostrum maxime coronae vestrae gratiam morum suorum mansuetudine et sanctitate meruisse, perceptis nunc tamen beatitudinis vestrae litteris, quanta eum charitate complectamini evidenter agnovimus. Unde praemissis officiis quae apostolatui vestro jure debentur suggestionem nostram, quae justitiae partibus fungitur, audiendam a corona vestra minime dubitamus: quippe cum non aliqua nova institui, sed prisca per vos optamus et antiqua reparari. Nec enim justum est ut honorem ejus quem, ut probavimus, impense diligitis, illa res minuat, qua pietatem vestram alter offendit. Et sane manifestum est Ecclesiae Arelatensi divinae gratiae favorem adesse, cui talem habere contigit sacerdotem per quem privilegia dignitatis antiquae, quae dolebat sibi pro tempore diminuta, gauderet in perpetuum recentioribus apostolicae sedis auctoritatibus reformata.

[…] though it had been [known] to us already before that our aforesaid holy brother and fellow bishop had earned above all the favour of Your Crown by the gentleness and holiness of his character, yet now, having received the letter of Your Blessedness, we have plainly recognized with how great love you embrace him. Hence, having first paid the courtesies which are due by right to your apostleship, we have no doubt at all that our representation, which acts on the side of justice, will be heard by Your Crown: since we desire, not that anything new be instituted, but that what is of old and ancient be restored through you. For it is not just that the honour of him whom, as we have proved, you love so greatly should be diminished by that thing by which another offended Your Piety. And plainly it is manifest that the favour of divine grace is present to the Church of Arles, to which it has befallen to have such a priest, through whom it might rejoice that the privileges of its ancient dignity, which it grieved to have been diminished for a time, have been restored for ever by the more recent authorities of the apostolic see.

CAP. II.— Omnibus etenim regionibus Gallicanis notum est, sed nec sacrosanctae Ecclesiae Romanae habetur incognitum, quod prima intra Gallias Arelatensis civitas missum a beatissimo Petro apostolo sanctum Trophimum habere meruit sacerdotem, et

CHAP. II.— For it is known to all the regions of Gaul, nor indeed is it held unknown to the most holy Roman Church, that the city of Arles, first within the Gauls, deserved to have as its priest Saint Trophimus, sent by the most blessed apostle Peter, and […]

Editors' notes and page, col. 880

Footnotes

(g) ‹anchor: "nostrum maxime"› · printed under col 880

Vide not. 1 Quesn.

See Quesnel's note 1.

(h) ‹anchor: "maxime coronae vestrae"› · printed under col 880

Ita cum Quesnello etiam Sirmondus, qui Arelatensem codicem consuluit. Baronius cum ms. Vallic., gratia morum suorum mansuetudinem et sanctitatem meruisse.

So, with Quesnel, Sirmond also, who consulted the manuscript of Arles. Baronius, with the Vallicelliana manuscript: had merited, by the grace of his character, gentleness and holiness.

(i) ‹anchor: "est ut honorem"› · printed under col 880

Ravennii scilicet, quem Leo sibi probatum tradidit epistola 40. Confer. etiam epist. 41.

That is, of Ravennius, whom Leo declared in Letter 40 to be approved by him. Compare also Letter 41.

(j) ‹anchor: "illa res minuat,"› · printed under col 880

Ita cum Quesnello cod. Vallic. Aliae editiones, quae pietatem vestram ante offendit. Respicit Hilarii factum in Celidonii causa, ob quod Leo illum metropolitico jure privavit, ut liquet ex epistola 10. Hinc autem cognoscitur hanc Hilarii poenam personalem habitam fuisse; ac propterea mox privilegia Arelatensis Ecclesiae pro tempore diminuta traduntur.

So, with Quesnel, the Vallicelliana manuscript. Other editions: which before offended Your Piety. It refers to Hilary's deed in the case of Celidonius, on account of which Leo deprived him of the metropolitan right, as is clear from Letter 10. From this, moreover, it is recognized that this penalty of Hilary's was held to be personal; and for this reason, shortly after, the privileges of the Church of Arles are said to have been diminished for a time.

(k) ‹anchor: "dolebat sibi"› · printed under col 880

Nimirum sub Hilario, qui metropolitico jure exutus fuerat epist. 10, quam poenam temporalem fuisse quoad ille viveret, ostendemus in observationibus ad dissert. 5 Quesnelli tom. II.

Namely under Hilary, who had been stripped of the metropolitan right by Letter 10; that this penalty was temporary, for as long as he lived, we shall show in the observations on Quesnel's dissertation 5, vol. II.

(l) ‹anchor: "regionibus Gallicanis"› · printed under col 880

Respiciuntur Zosimi litterae ad episcopos per Gallias et septem provincias constitutos, quibus Arelatensis sedis privilegia et jura statuta fuerant ac exinde omnibus Galliarum regionibus innotuere. Hae autem Gallorum preces Zosimi litteris adeo innituntur, ut nonnumquam ipsa fere earum verba descripta, praeferant.

The letter of Zosimus to the bishops established throughout the Gauls and the Seven Provinces is referred to, by which the privileges and rights of the see of Arles had been established and from then on became known to all the regions of the Gauls. This petition of the Gauls, moreover, leans so heavily on the letter of Zosimus that at times it presents almost its very words, copied out.

(The end of note (d), notes (e) and (f), and the note marked "(m)" answering the Greek call 1 are printed under this column; their calls are in col 879 or in text set under the col 879 rail, and they are set in n879.)

Page

running head: MAGNI EPISTOLAE. 880
marginal letters: A ‹τι τελείως› (text set under col 879); B ‹audiendam a corona vestra›; C in the gutter below ‹sanctum Trophimum›, beside the head of the footnote block; D in the footnote block beside note (j)
old-edition numerals: 994 before ‹licet nobis ante›
signature: none
other: the head of the column (the Greek ending of Letter LXIV) is set under the col 879 rail; this column's rail stands where Letter LXV resumes, at 994.

PL 54:881

exinde aliis paulatim regionibus Galliarum bonum fide et religionis infusum; priusque alia loca ab hoc rivo fidei quem ad nos apostolicae institutionis fluenta miserunt, meruisse manifestum est sacerdotem, quam Viennensis civitas, quae sibi nunc impudenter ac notabiliter primatus exposcit indebitos. Jure enim ac merito ea urbs semper apicem sanctae dignitatis obtinuit, quae in sancto Trophimo primitias nostrae religionis prima suscepit, ac postea intra Gallias hoc quod divino munere fuerat consecuta, studio doctrinae salutaris effudit. Cujus honoris obtentu Ecclesiam Arelatensem omnes decessores praedecessoresque nostri velut matrem debito semper honore coluerunt, tenentesque traditionem totam ab hac sibi civitates nostrae sede episcopos postularunt. Ab hujus Ecclesiae sacerdote tam decessores nostros quam nos ipsos constat in summum sacerdotium, donante Domino, consecratos.

[…] from there the good of faith and religion was poured, little by little, into the other regions of the Gauls; and it is manifest that other places obtained a priest from this stream of faith, which the streams of the apostolic institution sent to us, before the city of Vienne did, which now shamelessly and notoriously demands for itself a primacy that is not its due. For rightly and deservedly has that city always held the summit of holy dignity which first received the first fruits of our religion in St Trophimus, and afterwards, by zeal for saving doctrine, poured out within the Gauls what it had obtained by divine gift. On the ground of this honour all our predecessors and forerunners always revered the Church of Arles as a mother with due honour, and, holding to the whole tradition, our cities requested bishops for themselves from this see. It is certain that both our predecessors and we ourselves were consecrated to the supreme priesthood, by the Lord's gift, by the priest of this Church.

Quam quidem antiquitatem sequentes praedecessores beatitudinis vestrae, hoc quod erga privilegia Arelatensis Ecclesiae institutio vetusta tradiderat promulgatis (sicut et scrinia apostolicae sedis procul dubio continent) auctoritatibus confirmarunt: credentes plenum esse rationis atque justitiae, ut sicut per beatissimum Petrum apostolorum principem sacrosancta Ecclesia Romana teneret supra omnes totius mundi Ecclesias principatum, ita etiam intra Gallias Arelatensis Ecclesia, quae sanctum Trophimum ab apostolis missum sacerdotem habere meruisset, ordinandi pontificium vindicaret. His secundum religionem utitur privilegiis Ecclesia memorata.

Following this antiquity, indeed, the predecessors of Your Blessedness confirmed, by authorities which they promulgated (as the archives of the apostolic see also contain beyond doubt), what the ancient institution had handed down concerning the privileges of the Church of Arles: believing it to be full of reason and justice that, just as the most holy Roman Church, through the most blessed Peter, the prince of the apostles, should hold the principate over all the Churches of the whole world, so also within the Gauls the Church of Arles, which had merited to have as its priest St Trophimus, sent by the apostles, should claim the prerogative of ordaining. These privileges the said Church uses in accordance with religion.

Editors' notes and page, col. 881

Footnotes

(a) ‹anchor: "regionibus Galliarum"› · printed under col 881

Sic cod. Vallicel. cum Baronio et Sirmondo. Quesnellus, donum fidei. Quae autem hic de S. Trophimi missione narrantur, e Zosimi litteris surrepta sunt. Hac vero in re legenda erunt quae fusius disseremus in memoratis observationibus ad dissert. 5 Quesnelli part. II, c. 2.

So the Vallicelliana manuscript, with Baronius and Sirmond. Quesnel: the gift of faith. What is related here about the mission of St Trophimus is taken over from the letter of Zosimus. On this matter one should read what we shall discuss more fully in the said observations on Quesnel's dissertation 5, part II, ch. 2.

(b) ‹anchor: "tenentesque traditionem"› · printed under col 881

Quesn. in margine: Forte, notam.

Quesnel in the margin: Perhaps notam ("known").

Baronii in Sirmondi editiones, civitatis; perperam.

The editions of Baronius and Sirmond: civitatis ("of the city"); wrongly.

(d) ‹anchor: "procul dubio continent)"› · printed under col 881

Zosimi epistolae pro sede Arelatensi editae indicantur. Litteras autem Romanorum antistitum auctoritates appellatas hinc etiam confirmatur.

The letters of Zosimus issued on behalf of the see of Arles are meant. That the letters of the Roman pontiffs were called authorities is also confirmed from this.

Page

running head: 881 EPISTOLA LXV. (centred over both columns)
marginal letters: A ‹exinde aliis paulatim›; B ‹nostros quam nos ipsos›; C in the gutter below the last text line; D in the footnote block beside note (e)
old-edition numerals: 995 before ‹nostrae religionis›
signature: none
other: (none)

PL 54:882

CAP. III.— Caeterum multa sunt quibus secundum instituta principum cunctis intra regiones nostras civitatibus praeferatur. Haec in tantum a gloriosissimae memoriae Constantino peculiariter honorata est, ut ab ejus vocabulo praeter proprium nomen, quo Arelas vocitatur, Constantina nomen acceperit. Hanc clementissimae recordationis Valentinianus et Honorius fidelissimi principes specialibus privilegiis, et, ut verbo ipsorum utamur. Matrem omnium Galliarum appellando decorarunt. In hac urbe quicumque intra Gallias ex tempore praedictorum ostentare voluit insignia dignitatis, consulatum suscepit et dedit.

CHAP. III.— Moreover, there are many things by which, according to the institutions of the princes, it is preferred to all the cities within our regions. It was so particularly honoured by Constantine of most glorious memory that from his name, besides its own name by which it is called Arelas, it received the name Constantina. Valentinian and Honorius, most faithful princes of most clement memory, adorned it with special privileges and, to use their own word, by calling it the Mother of all the Gauls. In this city whoever within the Gauls, from the time of the aforesaid, wished to display the insignia of dignity received and gave the consulship.

Hanc sublimissima praefectura, hac reliquae potestates, velut communem omnibus patriam, semper inhabitant. Ad hanc ex omnibus civitatibus multarum utilitatum causa concurritur; et plane ita sibi erga privilegia memoratae vel Ecclesiae vel civitatis, divina, ut credimus, dispensatione, omnia consenserunt, ut semper sicut Ecclesia Arelatensis intra Gallias primatum in sacerdotio antiquitatis merito, ita etiam civitas ipsa principatum in saeculo opportunitatis gratia possederit. Unde factum est ut non solum provinciae Viennensis ordinationem, sed etiam trium provinciarum, contemplatione sancti Trophimi, sicut et sanctorum praedecessorum vestrorum patefacta sibi testatur auctoritas, Arelatensis Ecclesiae sacerdos ad sollicitudinem semper suam curamque revocarit. Cui id etiam honoris dignitatisque collatum est, ut non tantum has provincias potestate propria gubernaret, verum etiam omnes Gallias

This city the most sublime prefecture, this the other powers always inhabit, as the common fatherland of all. To it people flock from all the cities for the sake of many advantages; and plainly, by divine dispensation, as we believe, all things have so agreed together regarding the privileges of the said Church or city, that just as the Church of Arles has always possessed the primacy in the priesthood within the Gauls by merit of antiquity, so also the city itself has possessed the principate in the world by grace of its advantageous position. Whence it came about that the priest of the Church of Arles always recalled to his own solicitude and care not only the ordination of the province of Vienne but also that of the three provinces, out of regard for St Trophimus, as the authority of your holy predecessors, made known to him, also testifies. To him this, too, was granted of honour and dignity, that he should govern not only these provinces by his own power, but also all the Gauls […]

Editors' notes and page, col. 882

Footnotes

(e) ‹anchor: "ut verbo ipsorum utamur."› · printed under col 881

Perperam in vulgatis ante Quesnellum atque Sirmondum cum nostro codice Vallicell., matrimonium Galliarum. Honorius in Constitutione ad Agricolam an. 418 Arelatem metropolitanam civitatem appellat. In hac constitutione continentur pleraque ex his quae de privilegiis civilibus Arelatensis urbis hoc capite referuntur. Valentiniani autem constitutio desideratur. Quid vero circa has constitutiones et circa titulum matris omnium Galliarum sentiendum sit, explicabimus in observationibus allegatis part. II, c. 4, n. 2 et 3.

Wrongly, in the printed editions before Quesnel and Sirmond, with our Vallicelliana manuscript: the marriage of the Gauls. Honorius, in his Constitution to Agricola in the year 418, calls Arles the metropolitan city. This constitution contains most of what is related in this chapter about the civil privileges of the city of Arles. The constitution of Valentinian, however, is lost. What is to be thought about these constitutions and about the title mother of all the Gauls, we shall explain in the observations cited, part II, ch. 4, nos. 2 and 3.

(f) ‹anchor: "insignia dignitatis,"› · printed under col 881

Vide not. 2 Quesn.

See Quesnel's note 2.

(g) ‹anchor: "sed etiam"› · printed under col 881, continuing under col 882

Cum in sequentibus, praedecessorum vestrorum auctoritas, indicet epistolas Zosimi, in quibus tres provinciae, Viennensis et duae Narbonenses, Arelatensi tributae tantummodo memorantur, dubium exoritur num. hic quoque trium provinciarium nomine eaedem provinciae tres solummodo intelligendae sint, ita ut Viennensis in tribus his comprehendatur. At formulae, non solum provinciae Viennensis, sed etiam trium provinciarum, has tres ab illa videntur distinguere. Aliunde restituta jam per Bonifacium Zosimi successorem provincia Narbonensi prima episcopo Narbonensi, hi episcopi de eadem provincia ad Arelatensem sedem revocanda non videntur cogitasse; cum praesertim S. Leo epist. 10, Bonifacii judicium laudans, hanc provinciam ab Arelatensis jure alienam declaraverit, ut palam fiet in observ. in dissert. 5, part. II, cap. 2, n. 7. Hi porro episcopi trium provinciarum sunt, Viennensis, Narbonensis secundae et Alpium maritimarum. Id colligitur ex episcoporum nominibus, quae sequenti Leonis responsioni praefiguntur. Licet enim cujus sedis episcopi fuerint ibidem non exprimatur, aliis tamen ex documentis, quae hujus aevi episcopos cum suis sedibus exhibent, satis probabile est Constantinum fuisse episcopum Diensem, et Fonteium Vasensem provinciae Viennensis; Maximum vero fuisse episcopum Reiensem, Aselepium Aptensem, Armentarium Antipolitanum, ac Theodorum Forojuliensem in Narbonensi secunda; ad Alpes autem maritimas pertinere Valerianum Cemellensem, Ursum Senecensem, Nectarium Diniensem, et Ingenuum Ebredunensem. Has ergo tres provincias tantum ut Leo Arelatensi sedi praeservaret, hi episcopi postulasse videntur; nisi quis forte inter episcoporum Tarantasiae in Alpibus Graiis, et hanc quoque provinciam laudatos antistites comprehendisse arbitretur, adeo ut praeter Viennensem indicaverint provincias tres, Narbonensem secundam, Alpes maritimas et Alpes Graias. Alpes quidem Graias eosdem etiam fuisse complexos, judicium Leonis confirmat; cum inter quatuor oppida Arelatensi non concessa, sed Viennensi adjudicata recenseat Tarantasiam, quae ad Alpes Graias ex omnibus notitiis pertinet.

Since in what follows the authority of your predecessors indicates the letters of Zosimus, in which only three provinces, that of Vienne and the two Narbonenses, are mentioned as assigned to Arles, the doubt arises whether here too by the name of the three provinces only those same three provinces are to be understood, so that the province of Vienne is included in these three. But the formula not only of the province of Vienne, but also of the three provinces seems to distinguish these three from it. Moreover, since the province of Narbonensis Prima had already been restored to the bishop of Narbonne by Boniface, the successor of Zosimus, these bishops do not seem to have thought of recalling that province to the see of Arles; especially since St Leo, in Letter 10, praising Boniface's judgement, declared this province to be outside the jurisdiction of Arles, as will be made plain in the observations on dissertation 5, part II, ch. 2, no. 7. These bishops, further, are of three provinces: Vienne, Narbonensis Secunda and the Maritime Alps. This is gathered from the names of the bishops which are prefixed to Leo's following reply. For although it is not stated there of which see they were bishops, yet from other documents which show the bishops of this age with their sees it is quite probable that Constantine was bishop of Die, and Fonteius of Vaison, in the province of Vienne; that Maximus was bishop of Riez, Asclepius [printed Aselepius] of Apt, Armentarius of Antibes, and Theodore of Fréjus, in Narbonensis Secunda; and that to the Maritime Alps belong Valerian of Cimiez, Ursus of Senez, Nectarius of Digne, and Ingenuus of Embrun. These three provinces only, then, these bishops seem to have asked Leo to preserve for the see of Arles; unless perhaps someone should think that the said prelates included among them the [see] of the bishops of Tarentaise in the Graian Alps, and this province too, so that besides that of Vienne they indicated three provinces, Narbonensis Secunda, the Maritime Alps and the Graian Alps. That they included the Graian Alps as well is indeed confirmed by Leo's judgement; since among the four towns not granted to Arles but adjudged to Vienne he lists Tarentaise, which by all the notitiae belongs to the Graian Alps.

(h) ‹anchor: "praedecessorum vestrorum"› · printed under col 882

Sirmondus, partefactum.

Sirmond: partefactum ("made known").