Migne Reading Room

PL 65 · cols. 303–310

Fulgentius of Ruspe, Letters

Editors' preface

PL 65:303
SANCTI FULGENTII
OF SAINT FULGENTIUS
EPISTOLAE
LETTERS
IN UNUM CORPUS NUNC PRIMUM COLLECTAE.
NOW FOR THE FIRST TIME GATHERED INTO ONE BODY.
EPISTOLA PRIMA.
FIRST LETTER.
De conjugali debito, et voto continentiae a conjugibus emisso.
On the conjugal debt, and on a vow of continence made by married persons.
Domino et merito venerabili filio FULGENTIUS, servorum Christi famulus, in Domino salutem.
To his lord and deservedly venerable son, FULGENTIUS, servant of the servants of Christ, greeting in the Lord.
CAPUT PRIMUM. Excusatio dilatae responsionis. — 1. Epistolam tuam, sanctae sollicitudinis indicem, ante aliquot menses accipiens, cum persolvere cuperem sine dilatione responsum, sic sum repentina corporis aegritudine correptus, ut febrium violenta nimietas commeatum mihi vitae praesentis auferret, nisi verus animarum corporumque medicus, qui sanat omnes languores nostros, et redimit (al. redimet) de interitu vitam nostram, ad removendum tantae infirmitatis flagellum, dignaretur medicinae suae largiri subsidium. Recepta quoque sospitate, non defuit quidem rescribendi (al. scribendi) voluntas, sed ad dirigendum obstitit hiemalis asperitas. Nunc itaque, quia creator et moderator temporum temperiem dignatus est donare ventorum, consultationi (al. consolationi) tuae, quod miseratione atque inspiratione superni largitoris accepi, redhibere non destiti.
CHAPTER I. Excuse for the delayed reply. — 1. When I received your letter, the token of a holy solicitude, some months ago, and wished to pay you an answer without delay, I was seized by so sudden an illness of body that the violent excess of the fevers would have taken from me my leave of the present life, had not the true Physician of souls and bodies, Who heals all our infirmities and redeems (al. will redeem) our life from destruction, deigned to bestow the help of His medicine for removing the scourge of so great an infirmity. When my health was restored, the will to reply (al. to write) was indeed not lacking, but the harshness of winter stood in the way of sending it. Now therefore, since the Creator and Ruler of the seasons has deigned to grant a mildness of the winds, I have not failed to return to your consultation (al. consolation) what I have received by the mercy and inspiration of the Giver on high.
CAP. II. Tenor interrogationis super continentia uxoris. Commixtio conjugalis in se mala non est, sed excessus. Debitum conjugale. — 2. Dicis itaque filiam nostram conjugem tuam pene usque ad extremum nuper aegrotasse periculum, et, sicut plerumque contingit, accepta manus impositione, poenitentiam secundum morem quem habet Christiana religio peregisse. Verum quia postmodum, divinae bonitatis munere, plenam accepit corporis sospitatem, fragilitatem carnis allegans, aetatis insuper juvenilis incontinentiam confiteris; et in hac ambiguitate cogitationis, qua carnem consideras, majestatemque formidas, velut nauta locorum ignarus, et fluctibus ventisque jactatus, dum periculorum incerta praecaves,
CHAP. II. The tenor of the question about the continence of the wife. Conjugal intercourse is not evil in itself, but excess is. The conjugal debt. — 2. You say, then, that our daughter, your wife, was lately ill almost to the point of extreme danger and, as often happens, having received the imposition of the hand, performed penance according to the custom which the Christian religion holds. But because afterwards, by the gift of the divine goodness, she received full health of body, you, pleading the frailty of the flesh, confess besides the incontinence of youthful age; and in this uncertainty of thought, in which you consider the flesh and fear the majesty [of God], like a sailor ignorant of the places and tossed by waves and winds, while you guard against uncertain dangers,
Editors' notes and page, col. 303

Footnotes

(a) ‹anchor: not visible in the page-foot images (call stands in the title of Epistola I, col 303)› · call in col 303

Ms. Victor., De eo quod continentiam debeant clerici conjugati servare post votum.

The Saint-Victor manuscript [titles it]: "That married clerics ought to keep continence after a vow."

(printed under page 157)

Page

  • running head: 303 S. FULGENTII EPISCOPI RUSPENSIS (head runs across the page; 304 at the right)
  • marginal letters: A tur aequalem. Sola vero (preceding work); B EPISTOLA PRIMA.; C dem rescribendi; D carnis allegans
  • old-edition numerals: 144 before SANCTI (in the caption); 145 after fragilitatem
  • other: the caption SANCTI FULGENTII EPISTOLAE IN UNUM CORPUS NUNC PRIMUM COLLECTAE is printed across both columns of page 157; set once here, read from the c303 and c304 top images together.
  • other: praeca-|ves split at the column break; set whole as praecaves (col 304 opens ves,).
PL 65:304
nostra tibi responsione demonstrari flagitas portum ubi possis animae vitare naufragium.
you demand that our reply show you a harbour where you may escape the shipwreck of the soul.
3. Tenor ergo interrogationis tuae duo quaedam me compellit non segniter consideranda pensare: scilicet non solum quid in se conjugalis admixtionis (al. commixtionis) qualitas habeat, sed etiam quid in unaquaque re pollicitatio voventis exposcat.
3. The tenor of your question, then, compels me to weigh two things that must be considered with no slackness: namely, not only what the character of conjugal union (al. intercourse) holds in itself, but also what the promise of one who vows demands in each matter.
4. Igitur, si per se ipsam quis fidelium conjugum commixtionem duce ratione consideret, culpabilis usus non in conjugali concubitu, sed in concumbentium reperietur excessu; neque ex commixtione maris et feminae, sed ex immoderatione libidinis culpam trahit coitus conjugalis. In conjugibus ergo excessus jure reprehenditur, nuptialis tamen dignitas collati sibi divinitus honoris munere non privatur. Ideo clamat apostolicae praedicationis auctoritas: Honorabile connubium in omnibus, et thorus immaculatus (Hebr. XIII, 4). Corinthios quoque super matrimonii honestate servanda Paulus informans, cum praemisisset: Bonum est homini mulierem non tangere (I Cor. VII, 1); quorumdam infirmitatem videns, atque apostolica satagens caritate, tanquam parieti inclinato, et maceriae impulsae (al. depulsae), non neglexit doctor egregius consolationis destinam, Christo in se loquente, supponere. Denique subsequenter adjungit: Propter fornicationes (al. fornicationem) autem unusquisque suam uxorem habeat; et unaquaeque suum virum habeat; uxori vir debitum reddat, similiter autem et uxor viro (Ibid., 2, 3).
4. Therefore, if anyone considers by itself, with reason as guide, the intercourse of faithful spouses, the blameworthy use will be found not in conjugal lying together but in the excess of those who lie together; and conjugal coition draws guilt not from the union of male and female, but from the immoderation of lust. In spouses, therefore, excess is rightly blamed, yet the dignity of marriage is not deprived of the gift of the honour divinely conferred on it. Hence the authority of the apostolic preaching cries out: Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled (Heb. 13:4). Paul too, instructing the Corinthians about keeping the honour of matrimony, when he had first said: It is good for a man not to touch a woman (1 Cor. 7:1), seeing the weakness of some, and busy with apostolic charity, did not neglect, as an excellent teacher, with Christ speaking in him, to set the prop of consolation under them, as under a leaning wall and a tottering (al. thrust-down) fence. Then he adds next: But because of fornications (al. fornication) let each man have his own wife, and let each woman have her own husband; let the husband render the debt to the wife, and likewise also the wife to the husband (ibid. 7:2–3).
5. Apostolicae itaque lectionis tenor ostendit, uxorem viro, et virum uxori quadam debiti communione misceri. Quod proculdubio non appellaret Apostolus debitum, nisi legitime sciret esse reddendum: nec juberet reddi mutuae consensionis officio, si esset iniqua reposcentis exactio: usque adeo namque nuptias
5. The tenor of the apostolic reading thus shows that the wife is joined to the husband, and the husband to the wife, by a certain communion of debt. Which the Apostle would beyond doubt not call a debt unless he knew it to be lawfully rendered; nor would he command it to be rendered by the duty of mutual consent if the claim of the one asking it back were unjust: so far indeed [does he go that] the marriage
Editors' notes and page, col. 304

Footnotes

(b) ‹anchor: non neglexit doctor egregius consolationis› · call in col 304

Destinam, id est fulcrum, fulcimen; ita Arnobius l. II contra gentes circa finem: Atlantem gestatorem, bajulum ac destinam caeli.

Destinam, that is, a prop, a support; so Arnobius, Against the Nations book II, near the end: "Atlas, the bearer, the porter and the prop of heaven."

(printed under page 157)

(c) ‹anchor: nec juberet› · call in col 304

Editi habent, nec juberet reddendum mutuae consensionis officium, sed concinnior videtur mss. Corb. et Vict. lectio.

The printed editions have "nor would he order the duty of mutual consent to be rendered", but the reading of the Corbie and Saint-Victor manuscripts seems neater.

(printed under page 157)

Page

  • running head: S. FULGENTII EPISCOPI RUSPENSIS 304
  • marginal letters: A deres largitatem (preceding work); B ves, nostra tibi; C Ideo clamat; D rem viro
  • old-edition numerals: (none)
  • other: the column's first word ves completes praeca-|ves, set whole at the end of col 303.
  • other: nu-|ptias split at the column break; set whole here as nuptias (col 305 opens ptias).
PL 65:305
operi divino applicare non ambigit gentium Doctor, ut et mulieris in corpore viri, et in uxoris corpore viri potestatem aequali prorsus jure confirmet, dicens: Mulier sui corporis potestatem non habet, sed vir; similiter autem et vir sui corporis potestatem non habet, sed mulier (Ibid., 4). Alio autem loco idem dicit: Quia non est potestas nisi a Deo (Rom. XIII, 1.)
the Teacher of the Gentiles does not hesitate to ascribe to the divine work, so as to confirm, by an entirely equal right, both the power of the woman over the body of the man and the power of the man over the body of the wife, saying: The woman does not have power over her own body, but the man; and likewise the man also does not have power over his own body, but the woman (ibid. 7:4). And in another place the same says: For there is no power but from God (Rom. 13:1).
CAP. III. Utendum conjugio propter prolem, non propter libidinem. — 6. Hujus igitur potestatis inculpabilis est usus, officio gignendi divinitus attributus, si justitiae terminum transgredi libidinosus non permittatur excessus. Justitia vero utendi †conjugii haec est, ut non explendae libidinis, substituendae prolis obtentu sibi conjuges congruo tempore misceantur. In illis namque bonis quae fecit Deus, invenitur casta copulatio uxoris et viri; in quibus Dei operibus libido non potest inveniri; nec aliquando justitiae congruit, quae non hominibus ex dono conditionis (al. conditoris), sed peccatoris ex vitio primae praevaricationis accessit. Sed quia sine illa, in corpore mortis hujus, proles humana non seritur, non eam affectant conjugia casta, sed tolerant, eique imponit nuptialis honestas modum sine qua non potest in carne peccati naturalis explere fecunditatis officium.
CHAP. III. Marriage is to be used for the sake of offspring, not for the sake of lust. — 6. The use of this power, therefore, divinely granted for the duty of begetting, is blameless, if lustful excess is not allowed to pass the bound of justice. And the justice of using marriage is this: that spouses come together at a fitting time, not for the satisfying of lust but for the sake of raising up offspring. For among those good things which God made is found the chaste coupling of wife and husband; among which works of God lust cannot be found; nor does it ever accord with justice, since it came upon men not from the gift of their creation (al. of the Creator), but from the vice of the sinner in the first transgression. But because without it, in the body of this death, human offspring is not sown, chaste marriages do not seek it but bear with it, and marital decency imposes a measure on it, without which it cannot, in the flesh of sin, fulfil the duty of natural fruitfulness.
7. Sic ergo quaeri debet ex nuptiis fructus, ut cohibendus sit lubricae voluptatis excessus. Quocirca, si conjugalis usus eatenus temperetur, ut non aestuanti libidini animus serviat, sed proventum nasciturae prolis attendat, et cum nata fuerit diluendam celerius spiritali generatione non negligat, non deputatur fidelibus conjugibus ad peccatum carnis indulta commixtio, quia et conjugalis servat confoederatio castitatem, et verecundia custodit modesta temperiem, et Deo dicandam conjugalis exhibet fecunditas prolem, ut et Redemptoris ope homo jam natus reformetur baptismatis sacramento, cujus opere prius formatur in utero; et illum habeat humana natura beneficio secundae nativitatis patrem, quem in prima nativitate suae conditionis agnoscit auctorem.
7. So, then, fruit ought to be sought from marriage in such a way that the excess of slippery pleasure is to be restrained. Wherefore, if conjugal use is so far tempered that the mind does not serve a seething lust but looks to the coming of the offspring to be born, and, when it has been born, does not neglect to have it washed more quickly by spiritual generation, the intercourse of the flesh allowed to faithful spouses is not counted to them as sin; because the conjugal covenant keeps chastity, and modest shame guards temperance, and conjugal fruitfulness brings forth offspring to be dedicated to God, so that the man already born may be re-formed by the help of the Redeemer in the sacrament of baptism, by Whose work he was first formed in the womb; and that human nature may have as Father, by the benefit of the second birth, Him Whom in its first birth it acknowledges as the Author of its creation.
8. Conjugatus ergo si fornicetur damnabiliter peccat; si vero thori fidem non deserat, sed in uxore sua, naturali duntaxat usu, aliquantulum intemperatus (al. intemperatius) excedat, non solum scilicet generationem quaerens, sed aliquando libidini carnis obediens, hoc quidem sine culpa non facit; talis autem culpa citius bene operanti atque oranti remittitur, quia ipsi conjugi servat maritalis caritas fidem, in qua non potest maritalis infirmitas custodire temperiem; et si nuptialis in uxore modestia non tenetur, a nuptiali tamen fide nulla immoderatione disceditur.
8. A married man, therefore, if he commits fornication, sins damnably; but if he does not desert the faith of the bed, but with his own wife, in the natural use only, goes somewhat intemperately (al. more intemperately) beyond measure, seeking not only, that is, generation, but sometimes obeying the lust of the flesh, this he does not indeed do without fault; yet such a fault is the more quickly forgiven to one who does good works and prays, because marital charity keeps faith with the spouse herself, towards whom marital weakness cannot keep temperance; and if marital modesty is not held to with the wife, still there is no departing, by any immoderation, from marital faith.
CAP. IV. Servata thori fides maculam libidinis diluit. Omnis fornicatio damnabilis praesertim in conjuge. — 9. Retenta ergo thori fides maculam diluit quam
CHAP. IV. Faith kept with the marriage bed washes away the stain of lust. All fornication is damnable, especially in a married person. — 9. Faith with the marriage bed, then, when retained, washes away the stain which
Editors' notes and page, col. 305

Footnotes

(a) ‹anchor: not visible in the page-foot images› · call in col 305

Ita mss. Corb. et Victor. nec non Ant. et Basil. Colon. vero, non habeat, sed vir, similiter... non habeat, etc.

So the Corbie and Saint-Victor manuscripts, and also the Antwerp and Basel [editions]. The Cologne [edition], however: "does not have, but the man, likewise ... does not have", etc.

(printed under page 158)

(b) ‹anchor: exhibet fecunditas prolem› · call in col 305

Mss. Corb. et Victor., ut Dei Redemptoris.

The Corbie and Saint-Victor manuscripts: "that ... of God the Redeemer."

(printed under page 158)

Page

  • running head: 305 EPISTOLA … (right part of the head cut off in the images)
  • marginal letters: A ptias operi; B casta copulatio; C celerius spiritali; D carnis obediens
  • old-edition numerals: 146 after accessit.
  • other: the column's first letters ptias complete nu-|ptias, set whole at the end of col 304.
  • other: the top third of the column is very soft. conjugii (in utendi conjugii) is uncertain: the end of the word is blurred; conjugio would also fit. eatenus is read from a blurred first letter (looks like c). divino (operi divino) is read from blurred type.
PL 65:306
contrahit infirmitas carnis, si mulieri †non misceatur alteri, quamvis non pro sola generatione, sed etiam propter fragilitatem carnis suae misceatur uxori: quia etsi praefixum concumbendi modum †transit, tamen conjugalem terminum non excedit; et licet contrahat carnalis infirmitas culpam, impetrat tamen nuptialis integritas veniam. Accipit ergo talis indulgentiam, non pro eo quod ab una debitum conjugale plus quam oportet exigit (al. exegit), sed quia una legitime (al. legitima) accepta contentus, alteram non requirit. Si tamen non desunt misericordiae opera, quae tantum valent in religione Christiana, ut non solum qui conjugiis utuntur aut qui continentes sunt, sed etiam virgines ad praemium virginitatis pervenire non possint, si opera misericordiae caritatisque neglexerint. Si vero quis intentus operibus bonis tantam servaverit in uxore temperiem, ut filiorum procreandorum causa tantummodo misceatur uxori, multa laude talis est proculdubio dignus, si quis hoc nostris potest implere temporibus.
the weakness of the flesh contracts, if he is not joined to another woman, although he is joined to his wife not for generation alone but also because of the frailty of his flesh: because, even if he passes beyond the prescribed measure of lying together, still he does not exceed the conjugal boundary; and though carnal weakness contracts guilt, marital integrity obtains pardon. Such a man therefore receives indulgence, not because he demands the conjugal debt from one woman more than he ought (al. demanded), but because, content with the one lawfully (al. lawful [wife]) received, he does not seek another. Provided, however, that the works of mercy are not lacking, which avail so much in the Christian religion that not only those who use marriage or those who are continent, but even virgins, cannot attain the reward of virginity if they have neglected the works of mercy and charity. But if anyone, intent on good works, keeps such temperance with his wife that he is joined to his wife only for the sake of procreating children, such a man is beyond doubt worthy of much praise, if anyone can fulfil this in our times.
10. Fornicatio tamen nunquam potest esse sine gravi crimine, in qua licet non dubitemus damnabiliter peccare hominem ab uxore disjunctum, damnabilius tamen fornicari existimo conjugatum. Utrumque autem Scriptura sancta judicandum, et a regno (al. regni) Dei pronuntiat alienum: scriptum namque est in Epistola ad Hebraeos: Quia fornicatores et adulteros judicabit Deus (Hebr. XIII, 4). Et in Epistola quam ad Corinthios scripsit Apostolus, dicitur: Nolite errare: neque fornicarii, neque idolis servientes, neque adulteri, neque molles, neque masculorum concubitores, neque fures, neque avari, neque ebriosi, neque maledici, neque rapaces, regnum Dei possidebunt (I Cor. VI, 9, 10). Rursus inter opera carnis idem apostolus Paulus fornicationem, immunditiam, luxuriamque dinumerat; in quorum conclusione dicit: Quoniam qui talia agunt regnum Dei non consequentur (Galat. V, 21). Praemonet etiam ne lugeat multos ex his qui ante peccaverunt, et non egerunt poenitentiam super immunditia, et fornicatione, et impudicitia, quam gesserunt (II Cor. XII, 21).
10. Fornication, however, can never be without grave crime; and though we do not doubt that in it a man separated from a wife sins damnably, yet I judge that a married man commits fornication more damnably. Holy Scripture, however, declares both to be judged and estranged from the kingdom (al. of the kingdom) of God: for it is written in the Epistle to the Hebrews: For God will judge fornicators and adulterers (Heb. 13:4). And in the Epistle which the Apostle wrote to the Corinthians it is said: Do not err: neither fornicators, nor those who serve idols, nor adulterers, nor the effeminate, nor those who lie with males, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor robbers will possess the kingdom of God (1 Cor. 6:9–10). Again, among the works of the flesh, the same apostle Paul reckons up fornication, uncleanness and lewdness; and at their close he says: That those who do such things will not attain the kingdom of God (Gal. 5:21). He also forewarns that he may mourn many of those who sinned before and have not done penance for the uncleanness and fornication and unchastity which they committed (2 Cor. 12:21).
CAP. V. Vota Deo reddenda absque excusatione. — 11. Igitur quia de qualitate conjugii, quod Dominus donavit, diximus, illud est consequenter tota sollicitudine pertractandum, quidnam vestrae voluntatis praefixerit (si qua tunc potuit esse) devotio. Neque enim quia in rebus (al. rebus) a Deo concessis usus hominibus non interdicitur, ideo debet homo quod voverit Deo non reddere, cum scriptum sit: Reddam tibi vota mea, quae distinxerunt labia mea (Psal. LXV, 13). Et ne quisquam sibi vellet excusationem tribulationis ad frustrandae licentiam promissionis assumere, nec se putaret voti rerum, si se dixisset ad aliquid vovendum non voluntate sed tribulatione compulsum, docens beatus David omnia esse Deo reddenda,
CHAP. V. Vows are to be rendered to God without excuse. — 11. Therefore, since we have spoken of the character of marriage, which the Lord has given, the next thing to be handled with all care is what the devotion of your will (if there could have been any then) laid down beforehand. For it is not the case that, because the use of things granted by God (al. things) is not forbidden to men, a man therefore ought not to render to God what he has vowed, since it is written: I will render to Thee my vows, which my lips have uttered (Ps. 65:13). And lest anyone should wish to take for himself the excuse of tribulation as licence to frustrate a promise, or should think himself not liable for a vow if he said that he had been driven to vow something not by will but by tribulation, blessed David, teaching that all things are to be rendered to God
Editors' notes and page, col. 306

Footnotes

(c) ‹anchor: regnum Dei non› · call in col 306

Ita ms. Corb. et Graecus Apostoli textus. Editi vero omnes, consequuntur.

So the Corbie manuscript and the Greek text of the Apostle. All the printed editions, however, have consequuntur, "obtain" [indicative, for "shall obtain"].

(printed under page 158)

(d) ‹anchor: et non egerunt poenitentiam› · call in col 306

Ms. Corb., Super immunditiam, et fornicationem, et impudicitiam.

The Corbie manuscript: "for the uncleanness and fornication and lewdness" [accusative for ablative].

(printed under page 158)

Page

  • running head: EPISTOLA I. 306
  • marginal letters: A contrahit infirmitas; B cordiae caritatisque; C tes, neque adulteri; D praefixerit (si qua
  • old-edition numerals: 147 after Corinthios
  • other: the top third of the column (to temporibus) is very soft. †non (si mulieri non misceatur alteri) and †transit (modum transit, tamen) are read from blurred type; the sense supports both.
  • other: red-|denda split at the column break; set whole here as reddenda (col 307 opens denda).
  • other: the variant in rebus (al. rebus) is set as printed, though the two readings appear identical.
PL 65:307
quae fuerint legitime duntaxat etiam in tribulatione promissa, cum dixisset Deo: Reddam tibi vota mea quae distinxerunt labia mea, continuo subdidit: Et locutum est os meum in tribulatione mea (Ibid., 14). Sed et in Deuteronomio scriptum est: Si autem voveris votum Domino Deo tuo, non tardabis reddere illud, quia exquirens exquiret Dominus Deus a te, et erit in te peccatum. Si autem nolueris vovere, non erit in te peccatum. Quae exeunt per labia tua custodies, et facies quemadmodum voveris Deo tuo votum quod locutus es ore tuo (Deut. †XVIII, 24). Dicit et Salomon: Statim ut voveris votum Domino, non tardabis reddere illud. Tu itaque quae voveris redde. Bonum est non vovere, quam vovisse et non solvere (Eccle. V, 3, 4).
that have been lawfully promised, even in tribulation, when he had said to God: I will render to Thee my vows which my lips have uttered, at once added: And my mouth has spoken in my tribulation (ibid. 65:14). And in Deuteronomy too it is written: But if you vow a vow to the Lord your God, you shall not delay to render it, because the Lord your God will surely require it of you, and it will be sin in you. But if you will not vow, there will be no sin in you. What goes out through your lips you shall keep, and you shall do as you have vowed to your God the vow which you have spoken with your mouth (Deut. 23:21–23). And Solomon says: As soon as you have vowed a vow to the Lord, you shall not delay to render it. So render what you have vowed. It is better not to vow than to have vowed and not to pay (Eccl. 5:3–4).
CAP. VI. Res licitae post votum fiunt illicitae. Continentiae voto obstrictis conjugium redditur illicitum. — 12. Proinde licitarum rerum usus licite cum temperantia geritur, donec rei licitae renuntiatio non vovetur, et quandiu non tenetur ex utriusque, id est ex mariti uxorisque consensu, perpetua continentiae promissio, non est illicita conjugalis admixtio (al. commixtio). Scriptum est enim: Si duxeris uxorem, non peccasti; et si nupserit virgo, non peccavit (I Cor. VII), 28). Verumtamen cum (al. etsi) non peccet virgo quae nubit, invenitur aliqua virgo peccare si nupserit: non enim peccat virgo nubens, si virginitatem Deo priusquam nuberet in corde non vovit. Caeterum si (quemadmodum dixit Apostolus (statuit in Corde suo firma non habens necessitatem, potestatem autem habens suae voluntatis, et hoc judicavit in corde suo, servare virginitatem suam (Ibid., 37), graviter postmodum peccat, si post dicatam virginitatem Deo, voluerit humano servire connubio. Nam et viduas quasdam beatus Paulus vinculo pronuntiat damnationis obstrictas, quia scilicet post continentiae professionem nubendi receptam non abjiciunt voluntatem. De quibus evitandis Timotheum sic instruit: Adolescentiores autem viduas devita; cum enim luxuriatae fuerint in Christo, nubere volunt, habentes damnationem, quia primam fidem irritam fecerunt (I Tim. V, 11). Adimit igitur concumbendi licentiam continentiae promissio, nec sola talibus fornicatio interdicitur, sed etiam maritalis admixtio prohibetur, et praevaricatricem voluntatem tenet culpabilis nexus, etiamsi nullus in opere consequatur effectus. Neque enim frustra scriptum est quia Concupiscentia cum conceperit, parit peccatum (Jac. I, 15).
CHAP. VI. Things lawful become unlawful after a vow. For those bound by a vow of continence marriage is made unlawful. — 12. Accordingly, the use of lawful things is carried on lawfully with temperance so long as the renunciation of the lawful thing is not vowed; and as long as a perpetual promise of continence is not held by the consent of both, that is, of husband and wife, conjugal union (al. intercourse) is not unlawful. For it is written: If you have taken a wife, you have not sinned; and if a virgin has married, she has not sinned (1 Cor. 7:28). Yet although (al. even if) a virgin who marries does not sin, some virgin is found to sin if she has married: for a virgin who marries does not sin if she did not vow her virginity to God in her heart before she married. But if (as the Apostle said) she has determined in her heart, firm, having no necessity, but having power over her own will, and has judged this in her heart, to keep her virginity (ibid. 7:37), she afterwards sins gravely if, after her virginity has been dedicated to God, she wishes to serve a human marriage. For blessed Paul also declares certain widows bound by the chain of condemnation, because, namely, after the profession of continence they do not cast off the will to marry which they have taken up. To avoid them he instructs Timothy thus: But avoid the younger widows; for when they have grown wanton in Christ, they wish to marry, having condemnation, because they have made void their first faith (1 Tim. 5:11–12). The promise of continence therefore takes away the licence of lying together; and not fornication alone is forbidden to such persons, but marital union too is prohibited, and a culpable bond holds the transgressing will even if no effect follows in deed. For not in vain is it written that Concupiscence, when it has conceived, brings forth sin (Jas. 1:15).
CAP. VII. Non est conjugibus licentia vovendi, sicut solutis, quia corporis sui potestatem non habent. Votum continentiae obligat, si fiat consensu utriusque conjugis. — 13. Quocirca non solum a virginibus integritas, verum etiam a viduis atque conjugibus debet Deo dicata continentia cum timore et tremore servari. Quia priusquam sit aliquis voti reus, non condemnatur, sive virgo licite nubat, sive maritus et uxor conjugale sibi debitum reddant. Postquam vero quisque, meliora consectans, professione seipsum continentiae sive integritatis obstrinxerit, gravissime
CHAP. VII. Married persons do not have the licence to vow that the unmarried have, because they do not have power over their own body. A vow of continence binds if it is made with the consent of both spouses. — 13. Wherefore not only integrity by virgins, but also continence dedicated to God by widows and married persons ought to be kept with fear and trembling. For before anyone is liable for a vow he is not condemned, whether a virgin lawfully marries, or husband and wife render each other the conjugal debt. But after anyone, pursuing better things, has bound himself by profession to continence or to integrity, most gravely
Editors' notes and page, col. 307

Footnotes

(a) ‹anchor: not visible in the page-foot images› · call in col 307

Mss. Corb. et Vict., Tale est autem.

The Corbie and Saint-Victor manuscripts: "But it is such."

(printed under page 159)

Page

  • running head: 307 S. FULGENTII EPISCOPI … (right part cut off in the images)
  • marginal letters: A denda, quae fuerint; B 12. Proinde licitarum; C dum peccat; D conceperit, parit peccatum
  • old-edition numerals: 148 after in Christo,
  • other: the column's first letters denda complete red-|denda, set whole at the end of col 306.
  • other: †XVIII, 24 in the Deuteronomy reference is read from blurred type; the passage is Deut. 23:21–23, given in the English.
  • other: the parenthesis opened before quemadmodum is not closed, and Corde is capitalized, as printed; set unchanged.
PL 65:308
delinquit, si sibi deinceps licere putat quod ante licitum fuerat. In talibus quippe rebus quod vovens Deo sibi adimit voluntas, nulla deinceps impune permittit usurpare necessitas; nec temerator voti excusationem justam suae praevaricationis inveniet, quem nemo compulit ut voveret.
does he offend if he thinks that what had been lawful before is lawful for him from then on. For in such matters what the will takes away from itself in vowing to God, no necessity thereafter allows it to lay claim to with impunity; nor will the violator of a vow find a just excuse for his transgression, since no one compelled him to vow.
14. Est plane aliquid discernendum inter votum virginis aut viduae, et inter votum eorum qui tenentur vinculo conjugali. Nec enim tanta est vovendi licentia vel libertas viro sive mulieri potestatem sui corporis non habenti, quanta est viduae cuilibet aut virgini: conjugato enim, vel conjugatae, corporalis continentiae vovendae facultas plena non suppetit, cujus corpus non in sua, sed in conjugis potestate consistit, secundum illud Apostoli dictum, quod supra posuimus: Mulier sui corporis potestatem non habet, sed vir; similiter autem et vir sui corporis potestatem non habet, sed mulier (I Cor. VII, 4). Non itaque sinitur absque conjugis voluntate continentiam assumere, cujus corpus non in propria potestate: hoc enim quisque recta et firma devotione solus promittit, quod sui tantum juris esse cognoverit. Tale est enim ut velit quisque corporis sui, quod est in conjugis potestate, continentiam profiteri, quale si quis de alterius substantia aut eleemoysnam facere aut sacrificium conetur offerre: Deus autem noster (sicut ipse testatur) diligit justitiam, et odio habet rapinam in holocausto (Isai. LXI, 8).
14. Clearly some distinction is to be made between the vow of a virgin or a widow and the vow of those who are held by the marriage bond. For the licence or freedom of vowing is not so great for a man or a woman who does not have power over his or her own body as it is for any widow or virgin: for the married man, or the married woman, whose body stands not in his or her own power but in the spouse's, does not have the full faculty of vowing bodily continence, according to that saying of the Apostle which we set down above: The woman does not have power over her own body, but the man; and likewise the man also does not have power over his own body, but the woman (1 Cor. 7:4). He, then, whose body is not in his own power is not permitted to take up continence without the will of the spouse: for each one alone promises with right and firm devotion what he knows to be of his own right only. For for anyone to wish to profess continence of his body, which is in the power of the spouse, is the same as if someone should try to give alms or to offer sacrifice from another's substance: but our God (as He Himself testifies) loves justice and hates robbery in a holocaust (Isa. 61:8).
15. Illa itaque inter conjuges est continentiae certa promissio, quae fuerit utriusque consensione firmata; quam cum vir et mulier sibi consentientes concordi voluntate, tanquam sacrificium in odorem suavitatis, super altare fidei, Deo vero ac summo in templo sui cordis obtulerint, nec mulier ulterius in viri, nec vir in mulieris corpore, ad reposcendum debitum conjugale potest habere legitimam potestatem. Sicut enim priusquam Deo simul voverent reprehensibilis fuit unius oblatio, quia legitimi consortis deerat assensus: ita cum pari obtulerit uterque consensu, quod est inseparabiliter utriusque commune, non erit impunitus, si quis munus Deo voluntaria devotione oblatum, illicito crediderit opere temerandum.
15. That promise of continence between spouses, therefore, is sure which has been made firm by the consent of both; and when husband and wife, consenting to each other with one accord of will, have offered it like a sacrifice for an odour of sweetness upon the altar of faith to the true and supreme God in the temple of their heart, neither can the woman any longer have lawful power over the body of the man, nor the man over the body of the woman, to claim back the conjugal debt. For just as, before they vowed to God together, the offering of one alone was blameworthy, because the assent of the lawful partner was lacking, so, when both have offered with equal consent what is inseparably common to both, anyone will not go unpunished who thinks that a gift offered to God by voluntary devotion may be violated by an unlawful act.
CAP. VIII. Qui non toto animo vovit, eo magis damnabilis est. De voto nihil licet retinere aut repetere. — 16. Quod si forte quis non toto animo vovisse causetur, eo magis damnabilis erit, quod non simplex ad Deum, sed fictus accessit. Scriptum est enim quia Spiritus sanctus disciplinae effugiet fictum, et auferet se a cogitationibus quae sunt sine intellectu (Sap. I, 5). Alio quoque loco fictos sancta Scriptura sic increpat: Vae duplici corde, et labiis sceleratis et manibus melefacientibus, et peccatori ingredienti terram duabus viis (Eccli. II, 14).
CHAP. VIII. He who did not vow with his whole mind is the more damnable. Nothing may be kept back or taken back from a vow. — 16. But if perhaps anyone pleads that he did not vow with his whole mind, he will be the more damnable for this, that he came to God not single-hearted but feigning. For it is written that the Holy Spirit of discipline will flee the feigner, and will withdraw Himself from thoughts that are without understanding (Wis. 1:5). In another place too Holy Scripture rebukes the feigners thus: Woe to the double heart, and to wicked lips and evil-doing hands, and to the sinner who walks upon the earth by two ways (Sir. 2:14).
17. Quam sit autem malum, quamque sollicite fugiendum, si quis de hoc quod Deo voverit aut retinere aut repetere aliquid mortifera praevaricatione pertentet, exemplo sunt Ananias et Saphira, quos de pretio agri quamdam partem infideliter subtrahentes,
17. And how evil it is, and how carefully to be shunned, if anyone attempts by deadly transgression either to keep back or to take back anything of what he has vowed to God, Ananias and Sapphira are an example, whom, faithlessly withdrawing a certain part of the price of the field,
Editors' notes and page, col. 308

Footnotes

(b) ‹anchor: est inseparabiliter› · call in col 308

Ms. Corb., utrique.

The Corbie manuscript: utrique, "to both" [for utriusque, "of both"].

(printed under page 159)

Page

  • running head: EPISCOPI RUSPENSIS 308
  • marginal letters: A delinquit, si sibi; B mus: Mulier sui; C voluntate, tanquam; D Deum, sed fictus
  • old-edition numerals: 149 after accessit.
  • other: the lines from Quod si forte to duabus viis (Eccli. II, 14) are soft; melefacientibus is read as printed but the first vowel is blurred; the reference is read as Eccli. II, 14.
PL 65:309
non solum vox apostolica, tanquam divini juris pervasores, increpavit (al. increpuit), sed etiam severitas justitiae coelestis occidit. Beatus denique Petrus, non solum fraudis vitio memoratum Ananiam dixit obnoxium, quin etiam cor ejus a Satana pronuntiavit impletum, dicens: Anania, cur implevit Satanas cor tuum mentiri te Spiritui sancto, ut fraudares de pretio agri? Nonne manens tibi manebat, et venundatum in tua erat potestate? Quid utique fecisti hoc? Non hominibus mentitus es, sed Deo (Act. V, 3, 4). Si quis igitur rem Domino jam devotam carnali victus illecebra crediderit denuo reposcendam, non est legitimus rei suae possessor, sed divini juris pronuntiatur invasor. Nec immerito continentiae jam devotae violator immundus audit, quod avarus pecuniae fraudator audivit.
not only did the apostolic voice rebuke (al. rebuked) as usurpers of the divine right, but the severity of heavenly justice also slew. Blessed Peter, indeed, not only said that the said Ananias was guilty of the vice of fraud, but even declared that his heart had been filled by Satan, saying: Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart, that you should lie to the Holy Spirit, so as to defraud from the price of the field? While it remained, did it not remain yours, and when sold was it not in your power? Why indeed have you done this? You have not lied to men, but to God (Acts 5:3–4). If anyone, therefore, overcome by the allurement of the flesh, thinks that a thing already devoted to the Lord may be claimed back again, he is not the lawful possessor of his own property, but is declared an invader of the divine right. And not undeservedly does the unclean violator of a continence already devoted hear what the greedy defrauder of money heard.
CAP. IX. Responsio ad interrogata ab initio epistolae. Verecundia in actu conjugali servanda. — 18. Proinde cuncta quae superius disputata sunt, conscientia vobis testimonium perhibente perpendite. Et si quidem continentiam pari vovistis assensu, tenorem vestrae dilectionis cum Dei timore servate: et si quando carnis infirmitas mentem pulsat, animus ad auxilium divinae miserationis accurrat, nec cedat libidini, sed Deum tota humilitate fidelis exoret, et carnali desiderio militanti adversus animam non consentiat, sed repugnet. Si vero continentiam unus vestrum sine alterius vovit assensu, temerarie se vovisse cognoscat, et debitum conjugi casta sinceritate redhibeat.
CHAP. IX. Answer to the questions asked at the beginning of the letter. Modesty to be kept in the conjugal act. — 18. Accordingly, weigh all that has been discussed above, with your conscience bearing you witness. And if indeed you vowed continence with equal assent, keep the tenor of your love with the fear of God: and if ever the weakness of the flesh assails the mind, let the soul run to the help of the divine mercy, and not yield to lust, but let the faithful soul entreat God with all humility, and not consent to the carnal desire that wars against the soul, but resist it. But if one of you vowed continence without the assent of the other, let him know that he vowed rashly, and let him pay back the debt to the spouse with chaste sincerity.
10. Verumtamen, ut omnia vestra honeste fiant, in redditione conjugalis debiti, sic infirmitatem carnis usus excipiat conjugalis, ut non caro libidini serviat, sed animi virtus adjuta divinitus carnalis concupiscentiae frena restringat. Negotium namque substituendae prolis ita debet a conjugibus peragi, ut subserviente verecundia dum se ad opus fecunditatis animus fidelis inclinat, modestiam simul naturalis honestatis, Deo adjuvante, custodiat: praecipue autem observandum est fidelibus conjugibus ut illa fugiant opera quae divina severitas et facienda prohibet, et facta condemnat. Haec enim nec apostolica doctrina fidelibus insinuare cessavit, ut ad custodiendam vitae bonae regulam prudenter instrueret salubriterque terreret.
19. Nevertheless, so that all your things may be done honourably, in the rendering of the conjugal debt let conjugal use so receive the weakness of the flesh that the flesh does not serve lust, but the strength of the mind, divinely helped, draws tight the reins of carnal concupiscence. For the business of raising up offspring ought to be carried out by spouses in such a way that, with modesty in attendance, while the faithful mind bends itself to the work of fruitfulness, it keeps at the same time, with God's help, the restraint of natural decency: but above all it is to be observed by faithful spouses that they flee those works which the divine severity both forbids to be done and condemns when done. For the apostolic teaching too did not cease to impress these things on the faithful, so as wisely to instruct them, and wholesomely to frighten them, to keep the rule of a good life.
CAP. X. Continentia a Deo omnibus est expetenda. De regimine familiae, et educatione prolis. Regula profectus et perfectionis in conjugio. — 20. Magnum itaque bonum est mulierem non tangere, quod debet omnis fidelis principaliter observare: propter fornicationes tamen, quisquis, sive conjugatus, sive a conjugio liber, si continentiam Deo non vovit, et seipsum ad implendam continentiam cernit invalidum (quamvis ubi plena fuerit continendi voluntas, et ab oratione atque operibus bonis non destiterit vera cordis humilitas, ille qui dixit: Petite, et dabitur vobis; quaerite, et invenietis; pulsate, et aperietur vobis (Matth. VII, 7); quia veritas
CHAP. X. Continence is to be sought from God by all. On the government of the household and the upbringing of offspring. The rule of progress and perfection in marriage. — 20. It is therefore a great good not to touch a woman, which every faithful person ought to observe first of all: yet because of fornications, whoever, whether married or free of marriage, has not vowed continence to God and sees himself too weak to fulfil continence (although, where the will to be continent has been full, and true humility of heart has not ceased from prayer and good works, He Who said: Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you (Matt. 7:7); because the Truth
Editors' notes and page, col. 309

Footnotes

(a) ‹anchor: not visible in the page-foot images› · call in col 309

Ita ms. Corb. At editi Colon., Ant. et Basil., Qui utique fecisti hoc, non es, etc.

So the Corbie manuscript. But the Cologne, Antwerp and Basel editions: "You who indeed have done this are not", etc.

(printed under page 160)

Page

  • running head: 309 EPISTOLA … (right part cut off in the images)
  • marginal letters: A non solum vox; B 18. Proinde cuncta; C in redditione; D Regula profectus
  • old-edition numerals: 150 after atque
  • other: the top third of the column (to audivit) is very soft; read with care, no word left doubtful. coelestis spelled out from the ligature.
  • other: the section numeral before Verumtamen reads 10. in the image (between 18 and 20); it may be a soft 19. The English gives 19.
PL 65:310
est et mentiri non potest, et bene petenti dat, et quaerenti ad inveniendum sese praeparat et bene pulsanti ipse †aperiat, ut ad penetralia vitae melioris introeat), tamen, si quis ad hoc †potius est de sua infirmitate sollicitus quam de Domini virtute securus, et continentiam non vovit †Deo, contineat ab iniquitate, et sicut decet utatur uxore: malitiam atque avaritiam fugiat, et non condemnabitur (al. condemnetur), si conjugi debitum reddat: non sit ebriosus, non invidus, non contentiosus, non fictus, non malignus, non litigiosus, non superbus, non rapax, non avarus: quantum ad ipsum attinet, pacem habere cum omnibus quaerat, perniciem non †teneat, nulli detrahat, cum amicis fidem teneat, inimicis nunquam perfidus aut perjurus existat; aliena non rapiat, aequitati pecuniam non praeponat; sit in negotiis justus, in operibus pius, mitis ad tolerandas, tardus ad retribuendas injurias; in fide stabilis, amator castitatis et pacis. Attendat Salvatoris nostri dictum, quo nobis et quid faciamus praecipit, et quid accipiamus ostendit; ait enim: Dimittite, et dimittetur vobis; date, et dabitur vobis (Luc. VI, 37). Si ergo quantum potest in eleemosynis largus et hilaris, et ad dimittendum peccantibus facilis ac suavis, nec tamen putet ita peccantibus veniam tribuendam, ut disciplinam suae domus existimet negligendam, sed vigoris (al. rigoris) retinens clementiaeque temperiem, servet in correptione modestiam, et in remissione censuram. Arguat, moneat, terreat, increpet, consoletur, oblectet; nec tantum faciat in subditis peccantibus quantum impetus furoris impellit, sed quantum modus consultationis exposcit: et si verberandus est pro peccato famulus, non ulciscendi libido praevaleat, sed aequitas Christiana potius illi clementer consulat quem flagellat; ac sic et quando justitia persequitur culpam, non desit misericordia, quae modeste novit tenuare vindictam.
is, and cannot lie, both gives to him who asks well, and makes Himself ready to be found by him who seeks, and Himself opens to him who knocks well, so that he may enter the inner chambers of the better life), yet, if anyone is rather anxious about his own weakness on this point than confident in the strength of the Lord, and has not vowed continence to God, let him keep himself from iniquity and use his wife as is fitting: let him flee malice and avarice, and he will not be condemned (al. let him not be condemned) if he renders the debt to his spouse: let him not be a drunkard, not envious, not quarrelsome, not feigning, not malicious, not litigious, not proud, not rapacious, not avaricious: as far as in him lies, let him seek to have peace with all, let him not cling to what destroys, let him slander no one, let him keep faith with friends, let him never prove faithless or perjured towards enemies; let him not seize what belongs to others, let him not set money before equity; let him be just in business, devout in works, gentle in bearing injuries, slow to repay them; steadfast in faith, a lover of chastity and peace. Let him attend to the saying of our Saviour, by which He both commands us what we are to do and shows us what we are to receive; for He says: Forgive, and it will be forgiven you; give, and it will be given to you (Luke 6:37). If, then, he is as far as he can generous and cheerful in almsgiving, and easy and gentle in forgiving those who sin, let him not however think that pardon is to be granted to those who sin in such a way that he judges the discipline of his house may be neglected, but, keeping a balance of vigour (al. rigour) and clemency, let him keep moderation in reproof and judgement in remission. Let him reprove, warn, frighten, rebuke, console, gladden; and let him not do so much against subordinates who sin as the impulse of fury drives, but as much as the measure of deliberation requires: and if a servant is to be beaten for a sin, let not the lust for revenge prevail, but let Christian equity rather take merciful thought for him whom it scourges; and so, even when justice pursues a fault, let mercy not be lacking, which knows how to soften punishment with moderation.
21. Nutriantur filii, secundum Apostoli praeceptum, in disciplina et eorreptione Domini (Ephes. VI, 4), nec permittantur impudice aut luxuriose vivere, cum non lasciviae, sed castitati ac temperantiae proles debeat Christiana servire. Neque enim et de malis operibus filiorum non erit in illa terribili examinatione parentum negligentia judicanda, cum et in hoc saeculo propterea Heli sacerdos (I Reg. II, 3) a Domino reprobatus fuerit et abjectus, non quia filiis in iniquitate consensit, sed quia peccantes mansueto quamvis sermone monuerit, prohibere tamen competenti severitate cessavit. Magis autem parentes qui vere diligunt filios, bene operando eis consulant, quam divitias colligendo; ne dum filiis tenaciter substantia colligitur, opportunitas boni operis omittatur.
21. Let children be brought up, according to the Apostle's precept, in the discipline and correction of the Lord (Eph. 6:4), and let them not be allowed to live shamelessly or luxuriously, since Christian offspring ought to serve not wantonness but chastity and temperance. For the negligence of parents in the matter of the evil works of their children will not go unjudged in that terrible examination, since even in this world Eli the priest (1 Sam. 2–3) was for this reason rejected and cast off by the Lord: not because he consented to his sons in iniquity, but because, though he admonished them when they sinned in gentle speech, he failed to restrain them with fitting severity. Rather, let parents who truly love their children provide for them by doing good works than by gathering riches, lest, while substance is tenaciously gathered for the children, the opportunity of good work be let slip.
22. Prae omnibus autem fideles meminerint conjugati semper orationibus atque eleemosynis insistendum; nec velint jugiter in ipsa carnis infirmitate jacere, sed festinent gradum vitae potioris ascendere. Et ut ad virtutem continentiae perveniat animus, magis magisque carnalis concupiscentiae comprimatur
22. Above all, let the faithful who are married remember that they must always persevere in prayers and almsgiving; and let them not wish to lie continually in the very weakness of the flesh, but hasten to climb the step of a better life. And so that the mind may attain the virtue of continence, let the excess of carnal concupiscence be more and more suppressed:
Editors' notes and page, col. 310

Footnotes

(b) ‹anchor: sed festinent› · call in col 310

Ms. Victor, gaudium.

The Saint-Victor manuscript: gaudium, "joy" [for gradum, "step"].

(printed under page 160)

Page

  • running head: EPISTOLA I. 310
  • marginal letters: A est et mentiri; B tati pecuniam; C consultationis exposcit; D iniquitate consensit
  • old-edition numerals: (none)
  • other: the top third of the column (to the Luke reference) is very soft. Uncertain readings: †aperiat (aperit would match dat and praeparat), †potius (ad hoc potius est), †Deo (non vovit Deo), †teneat (perniciem non teneat; the verb is barely legible). The variant closing reads condemnetur( in the image; set with a closing parenthesis.
  • other: the Heli reference is read as I Reg. II, 3 from soft type; the English gives the story's place (1 Sam. 2–3).
  • other: com-|primatur split at the column break; set whole here as comprimatur (col 311 opens primatur). The English carries the subject excessus from col 311's first word.