PL 65 · cols. 442–450

Fulgentius of Ruspe, Letters

Letter XVI

in aliquo non agnoscit, potest †cras Deo revelante cognoscere. Deo enim subest, cum volet, posse (Sap. XII, 18). Oremus ergo pro eis, ut Deus operetur in eis. Exhibeamus eis bonam voluntatem, de qua nos possimus habere mercedem, scientes quoniam in conspectu Dei quisquis de numero praedestinatorum fuerit, non †perit, et in omnibus voluntas Omnipotentis impletur, ut per gratiam salvi fiant, et agnitionem veritatis, Domino illuminante, percipiant.

in some point can tomorrow acknowledge it at God's revealing. For it lies with God to be able, when He will (Wis. 12:18). Let us pray, then, for them, that God may work in them. Let us show them good will, for which we may have a reward, knowing that in the sight of God whoever is of the number of the predestined does not perish, and that in all things the will of the Almighty is fulfilled, that they may be saved through grace and, the Lord enlightening them, come to the knowledge of the truth.

18. Prae omnibus studium gerite libros sancti Augustini, quos ad Prosperum et Hilarium scripsit, memoratis fratribus legendos ingerere. Quorum mentionem beatae memoriae Hormisda, sedis apostolicae gloriosus antistes, in epistola quam consulenti se sancto fratri consacerdotique nostro Possessori rescripsit, cum magno praeconio catholicae laudis inseruit. Cujus haec verba sunt: De arbitrio tamen libero et gratia Dei, quid Romana, hoc est catholica sequatur et servet Ecclesia, licet in variis libris beati Augustini, et maxime ad Prosperum et Hilarium abunde possit agnosci, tamen et in scriniis ecclesiasticis expressa capitula continentur.

18. Above all, take pains to press upon the brothers mentioned the reading of the books of Saint Augustine which he wrote to Prosper and Hilary. Hormisdas of blessed memory, glorious bishop of the apostolic see, made mention of them with great proclamation of Catholic praise in the letter which he wrote back to our holy brother and fellow priest Possessor when he consulted him. These are his words: Concerning free choice, however, and the grace of God, what the Roman, that is the Catholic, Church follows and keeps, although it can be abundantly learned in various books of blessed Augustine, and especially those to Prosper and Hilary, yet express chapters are also contained in the ecclesiastical archives.

19. Haec itaque, dilectissimi fratres, interrogantibus vobis breviter communi voluimus respondere rescripto. Caeterum unus ex nobis, in quantum Dominus servis suis recti gratiam dignatur donare sermonis, illis omnibus, quae memoratos fratres adversus gratiam et praedestinationem intimastis vel sentire, vel dicere, tribus libris vestro nomine dedicatis sufficienti disputatione respondit; quique adversus duos libros Fausti Galli septem libros edidit: quos cum recensueritis, agnoscetis protinus quemadmodum memorati Fausti commenta veritati contraria, catholicae fidei penitus inimica, discussio prodidit, ratio manifesta convicit, auctoritas divina compressit, et praecedentium Patrum consona prorsus attestatio confutavit.

19. These things, then, most beloved brothers, we have wished to answer briefly in a common reply to your questions. For the rest, one of us, so far as the Lord deigns to give His servants the grace of right speech, has answered with sufficient discussion, in three books dedicated to your name, all those things which you reported that the brothers mentioned either think or say against grace and predestination; and he has also published seven books against the two books of Faustus the Gaul: when you have gone through them, you will at once recognize how the inventions of the said Faustus, contrary to the truth and wholly hostile to the Catholic faith, examination has exposed, manifest reason has refuted, divine authority has suppressed, and the entirely harmonious testimony of the preceding Fathers has confuted.

20. Speramus autem in Domino, quoniam gratiae suae ita subsidium largietur, ut et bene sentientibus sanctae scientiae tribuat augmentum, et aliter quam oportet credentibus donet veritatis agnoscendae subsidium. Ipse enim facit gratiae suae participes quos praedestinavit ad vitam, ut in omnibus bonis suis humanae arbitrium voluntatis graetia Dei subjiciant; et ab ipso sibi cognoscant descendere omne datum optimum, et omne donum perfectum; sciant etiam ad ipso exspectandum semper auxilium, qui praedestinatis suis et gratiam et perseverantiam donat, ut gratiam pro gratia, donum vitae perennis accipiant.

20. And we hope in the Lord that He will so bestow the support of His grace as both to grant increase of holy knowledge to those who think rightly, and to give to those who believe otherwise than they ought the support for acknowledging the truth. For He makes partakers of His grace those whom He has predestined to life, so that in all their good things they subject the choice of the human will to the grace of God; and know that every best gift and every perfect present comes down to them from Him; and know also that help is always to be awaited from Him Who gives to His predestined both grace and perseverance, that they may receive grace for grace, the gift of everlasting life.

EPISTOLA XVI.

LETTER XVI.

SEU LIBER PETRI DIACONI ET ALIORUM QUI IN CAUSA FIDEI GRAECIS EX ORIENTE DOMAM MISSI FUERUNT.

OR THE BOOK OF PETER THE DEACON AND THE OTHERS WHO WERE SENT FROM THE EAST TO ROME BY THE GREEKS IN THE CAUSE OF THE FAITH.

De Incarntione et Gratiam Domini nostri Jesu Christi ad Fulgentium et alios episcopos Africae.

On the Incarnation and the Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, to Fulgentius and the other bishops of Africa.

Dominis sanctissimis et cum omni veneratione nominandis,

To the most holy lords, to be named with all veneration,

Editors' notes and page, col. 442

Footnotes

(b) ‹nomine dedicatis› · call in col 442

Fulgentius libris de Veritate præd. et gratiæ.

Fulgentius, in the books On the Truth of Predestination and Grace.

(printed under page 226)

Idem libris contra Faustum.

The same, in the books Against Faustus.

(printed under page 226)

(d) ‹sanctæ scientiæ› · call in col 442

Verba hæc, sanctæ scientiæ, adduntur in mss. S. Cr.

These words, "sanctae scientiae" (of holy knowledge), are added in the manuscripts of Holy Cross.

(printed under page 226)

Page

running head: …PISTOLA XVI. 442 (opening letters of the head fall on the facing column)
marginal letters: A ‹tatem in aliquo non agnoscit›; B ‹sancto fratri consacerdotique nostro›; C ‹dedicatis sufficienti disputatione›; D ‹optimum, et omne donum perfectum›
old-edition numerals: 276 after ‹adversus gratiam et praedestinationem›; 277 before ‹EPISTOLA XVI.›

PL 65:443

Datiano, Fortunato, Albano, Orontio, Boetho, Fulgentio, Januario et caeteris episcopis et in Christi confessione decoratis, exigui Petrus diaconus, Joannes, Leontius, alius Joannes, et caeteri fratres in causa fidei Romam directi.

to Datianus, Fortunatus, Albanus, Orontius, Boethus, Fulgentius, Januarius and the other bishops, adorned also in the confession of Christ, the lowly Peter the deacon, John, Leontius, another John, and the other brethren sent to Rome in the cause of the faith.

Caput I. Consensus Ecclesiarum in fide, confirmatio fidelium.—1. Utile et pernecessarium, sanctisque Dei Ecclesiis specialiter credimus profuturum, ea quae de Incarnatione et dispensatione divina nobiscum universae sanctae Orientalium Ecclesiae contra haereticos defendunt (qui pravis et iniquis argumentis antiquam Ecclesiae fidem inquietare non cessant), sanctitati vestrae suggerere atque de his consensum vestrae beatitudinis suppliciter promereri. Quia in nullo sanctam gloriosamque confessionem vestram credimus dissentire, praesertim cum uno ubique spiritu sanctam Dei Ecclesiam vegetari minime dubitemus. Non enim parva, imo potius magna laetitia universi replebuntur Orientales, si sanctitatem vestram suis, imo magis catholicis noverint in omnibus consentire dogmatibus.

CHAPTER I. The agreement of the Churches in the faith, the strengthening of the faithful.—1. We believe it useful and most necessary, and likely to be of especial profit to the holy Churches of God, to lay before your holiness the things which all the holy Churches of the East defend together with us against the heretics concerning the Incarnation and the divine dispensation (heretics who do not cease to disturb the ancient faith of the Church with crooked and wicked arguments), and humbly to win the assent of your blessedness to them. For we believe that in nothing do we dissent from your holy and glorious confession, especially since we have no doubt at all that the holy Church of God is quickened everywhere by one Spirit. For all the Easterners will be filled with no small, nay rather with great, joy if they learn that your holiness agrees in all things with their doctrines, or rather with the catholic doctrines.

2. Unde suppliciter petimus et obsecramus beatitudinem vestram, quatenus diligenti examinatione ea quae inferius continentur discutientes (ut decet verissimos et intrepidos Christi praedicatores), scriptis sententiam vestram nobis patefacere jubeatis: ut si, Deo praestante, catholicae fidei conveniens, et apostolicis traditionibus nostra apud vos (sicut non diffidimus) fuerit expositio comprobata, perfacile tantorum virorum, probatissimorumque sacerdotum auctoritate muniti, iniqua loquentium ora obstruere valeamus, et in fide sanctorum Patrum perseverantes, Deo, qui vos sanctimonii sui confessione glorificavit, gratias referamus, domini sanctissimi et Deo dignissimi. Nunc ea quae sequuntur diligentius petimus exploretis.

2. Therefore we humbly ask and beseech your blessedness that, examining with careful scrutiny the things contained below (as befits most true and fearless preachers of Christ), you would be pleased to make your judgement known to us in writing: so that if, God granting it, our exposition is approved by you (as we do not doubt it will be) as agreeing with the catholic faith and with the apostolic traditions, we, fortified by the authority of men so great and of bishops so thoroughly proved, may very easily be able to stop the mouths of those who speak wickedness, and, persevering in the faith of the holy Fathers, may give thanks to God, Who has glorified you by the confession of His holiness, most holy lords and most worthy of God. Now we ask that you examine more carefully the things that follow.

Cap. II. In Christo duae naturae, sine confusione, in, unam personam unitae. — 3. Igitur juxta sanctorum Patrum traditionem, Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum in duabus naturis unitis et inconfusis, id est divinitatis et humanitatis, in una persona sive subsistentia confitemnr. Nec illis acquiescentes qui unam Dei Verbi natnram incarnatam praedicantes venerabilis Chalcedonensis concilii fidem refugiunt, nec illos admittentes qui duas naturas dolose pronuntiantes, unam Dei Verbi naturam incarnatam minime confitentur, aestimantes hoc duarum naturarum professioni contrarium: quasi aliquid aliud quam duas naturas ineffabiliter unitas, una Dei verbi natura incarnata significet, beato Cyrillo Alexandrinae civitatis antistite in secunda epistola ad Successum episcopum Diocaesariae ita scribente: «Si enim unam naturam dicentes Dei Verbi, tacuissemus non inferentes incarnatam, sed velut abjicientes dispensationem,

CHAP. II. In Christ two natures, without confusion, united into one person. — 3. Accordingly, following the tradition of the holy Fathers, we confess our Lord Jesus Christ in two natures united and unconfused, that is, of divinity and of humanity, in one person or subsistence. We neither yield to those who, preaching one incarnate nature of God the Word, shun the faith of the venerable council of Chalcedon, nor admit those who, deceitfully professing two natures, refuse to confess one incarnate nature of God the Word, reckoning this contrary to the profession of two natures: as if one incarnate nature of God the Word signified anything other than two natures ineffably united, since blessed Cyril, bishop of the city of Alexandria, writes thus in his second letter to Successus, bishop of Diocaesarea: «For if, saying one nature of God the Word, we had been silent and not added "incarnate", but had as it were cast aside the dispensation,

Editors' notes and page, col. 443

Footnotes

(a) ‹call not visible in the page foot› · call in col 443

Ant., Diacono.

Ant. has "Diacono" (deacon).

(printed under page 227)

(b) ‹call not visible in the page foot› · call in col 443

Ms., gloriosamque confessionem credimus dissentire.

The manuscript has "gloriosamque confessionem credimus dissentire" (and we believe that the glorious confession disagrees).

(printed under page 227)

Ms., patefieri jubeatis.

The manuscript has "patefieri jubeatis" (that you order it to be made known).

(printed under page 227)

(d) ‹perfacile› · call in col 443

Sic ms., editi vero, et facile.

So the manuscript; the printed editions, however, have "et facile" (and easily).

(printed under page 227)

(e) ‹qui vos› · call in col 443

Editi, qui nos. Sed melius videtur quod habet ms., qui vos, quia episcopos compellant exsilio pro Christi divinitate gloriosos.

The printed editions have "qui nos" (who [glorified] us). But the manuscript's reading "qui vos" (who [glorified] you) seems better, because they are addressing bishops made glorious by exile for the divinity of Christ.

(printed under page 227)

(f) ‹persona sive subsistentia› · call in col 443

Editi, Lovan. an. 1556, et Basil. habent sive substantia. [UNSURE: the year is faint in this image]

The printed editions, the Louvain of 1556 and the Basel, have "sive substantia" (or substance).

(printed under page 227)

(g) ‹in secunda epistola› · call in col 443

Hac verba in secunda epistola, absunt ab editis, leguntur in ms.

These words, "in secunda epistola" (in the second letter), are missing from the printed editions; they are read in the manuscript. [Migne prints "Hac" for "Haec".]

(printed under page 227)

(h) ‹call not visible in the page foot› · call in col 443 or 444

Ita ms; at edd., Domini Verbum.

So the manuscript; but the editions have "Domini Verbum" (the Word of the Lord).

(printed under page 227)

Page

running head: 443 S. FULGENTII EPISCOPI ... (right half cut off in the image)
marginal letters: A ‹minandis, Datiano›; B ‹spiritu sanctam Dei Ecclesiam vegetari minime›; C ‹obstruere valeamus›; D ‹rum professioni contrarium›
old-edition numerals: 278 after ‹tantorum›

PL 65:444

erat illis forsitan non improbabilis sermo, simulantibus interrogare, ubi est in humanitate perfectio? aut quomodo substantia? nostra subsistit? Quoniam vero et perfectio quae in humanitate est, et essentiae nostrae manifestatio illata est, per id quod dictum est incarnata, jam desinant (al. deserant) arundineam virgam sibimet supponentes.»

those who pretend to ask would perhaps have had a not unreasonable argument: where is the perfection in the humanity? or how does our substance subsist? But since both the perfection that is in the humanity and the manifestation of our essence have been brought in through what was said, "incarnate", let them now cease (another reading: abandon) propping themselves on a staff of reed.»

Cap. III. Beata Virgo proprie Dei Mater.— 4. Beatam vero Virginem Mariam non propter dignitatem hominis illius qui ex ipsa natus est (quem gratia et non natura Deum quidam impie praedicare non metuunt), sed proprie et secundum veritatem credimus Θεοτόκον, id est Dei Genitricem, eo quod pepererit vere et proprie Deum Verbum incarnatum et hominem factum, atque essentialiter sive naturaliter carni unitum.

CHAP. III. The blessed Virgin is properly the Mother of God.— 4. The blessed Virgin Mary we believe to be Theotokos, that is, Mother of God, not on account of the dignity of that man who was born of her (whom some impiously do not fear to preach as God by grace and not by nature), but properly and in truth, because she truly and properly bore God the Word incarnate and made man, and united to flesh essentially, or naturally.

5. Propterea etiam essentialem sive naturalem factam naturarum unitionem omnimodis confitemur non sicut illi qui tanquam in propheta, ita in Christo Deum Verbum inoperasse contendunt. Quos redarguit beatus Gregorius Nazianzenus ad †Codonium, dicens: «Si quis sicut in propheta secundum gratiam dicit inoperasse Deum Verbum, et non essentialiter factam confitetur unitionem, sit vacuus melioris inoperationis, magis autem plenus sit deterioris.» Nec sicut illi qui secundum illustrationem, aut dilectionem, aut affectionem, personalem, vel subsistentialem, sive secundum auctoritatem, aut potentiam, aut aequalitatem honoris, unitionem tentant astruere naturarum. Quos paulo superius memoratus beatus Cyrillus anathematizat dicens (Anathematis. 3) contra Nestorium: «Si quis in uno Christo dividit substantias post unitionem, sola eas societate connectens secundum dignitatem, auctoritatem, aut potentiam, et non magis conjunctionem quae est secundum unitatem naturalem, anathema sit.» Deus enim Verbum, non nomine vacuo, non particula sui, sed natura Deus tantus quantus et Pater est, aequalis per omnia Patri, praeter hoc tantummodo quod ille Pater est, iste Filius, naturae se humanae uniens, factus est homo.

5. Therefore also we confess in every way that the union of the natures was made essential, or natural; not as those who contend that God the Word worked in Christ as in a prophet. These the blessed Gregory Nazianzen refutes, writing to Cledonius: «If anyone says that God the Word worked in [Him] by grace as in a prophet, and does not confess that the union was made essentially, let him be empty of the better working, and rather let him be full of the worse.» Nor as those who try to build up a union of the natures according to illumination, or love, or affection, personal or subsistential, or according to authority, or power, or equality of honour. These the blessed Cyril, mentioned a little above, anathematizes, saying against Nestorius (Anathematisms, 3): «If anyone in the one Christ divides the substances after the union, connecting them only by association according to dignity, authority or power, and not rather by a conjunction that is according to natural unity, let him be anathema.» For God the Word, not by an empty name, not as a particle of Himself, but God by nature, as great as the Father is, equal to the Father in all things, save only this, that the One is Father and the Other Son, uniting Himself to human nature, was made man.

6. Hinc etiam a sanctis Patribus adunatione ex divinitate et humanitate Christus Dominus noster compositus praedicatur. Quod nolens Paulus Samosatenus confiteri, damnatus est ab Antiocheno concilio, Malchione presbytero ejusdem Antiochenae Ecclesiae, viro per omnia eruditissimo, et ab universis sacerdotibus qui contra eumdem Paulum convenerant tunc electo; qui summum disputationis certamen concilio memorato suscipiens, ita eumdem haereaicum inter caetera redarguit, dicens: «Ex simplicibus fit certe compositum, sicut in Christo Jesu, qui ex Deo Verbo et humano corpore, quod est ex semine

6. Hence also Christ our Lord is preached by the holy Fathers as composed, by a uniting, of divinity and humanity. Paul of Samosata, refusing to confess this, was condemned by the council of Antioch, Malchion, a presbyter of the same Church of Antioch, a man most learned in all things, having then been chosen by all the bishops who had assembled against that same Paul; and he, taking up the chief contest of the disputation in the said council, among other things refuted that same heretic thus, saying: «From simple things there certainly comes to be a composite, as in Christ Jesus, Who [is made one] from God the Word and a human body, which is from the seed

Editors' notes and page, col. 444

Footnotes

(i) ‹post unitionem› · call in col 444

Editi, post unitatem: ms., post unitionem. [UNSURE: the editions' word is faint in this image]

The printed editions have "post unitatem" (after the unity); the manuscript, "post unitionem" (after the union).

(printed under page 227)

Page

running head: II EPISCOPI RUSPENSIS 444 (left part cut off in the image)
marginal letters: A ‹nem, erat illis forsitan›; B ‹unitum.›; C ‹Nestorium: «Si quis in uno›; D ‹viro per omnia eruditissimo›
old-edition numerals: 279 after ‹dignitatem,›

PL 65:445

David, unus factus est, nequaquam ulterius divisione aliqua, sed unitate subsistens. Tu vero videris mihi secundum hoc nolle compositionem fateri, ut non substantia sit in eo Filius Dei, sed sapientia secundum participationem. Hoc enim dixisti quia sapientia dispendium patiatur, et ideo composita esse non possit, nec cogitas quod divina sapientia sicut antequam se exinanisset, indiminuta permansit; ita et in hac exinanitione quam gessit misericorditer, indiminuta atque indemutabilis exstitit. Et hoc etiam dicis, quod sapientia habitaret in eo sicut habitamus et nos in domibus, ut alter in altero, sed neque pars domus nos sumus, nec nostri pars domus est.» Similiter etiam beatus Athanasius in libello cujus est titulus, Quod unus sit Christus, haereticorum vanitatem refutans, postquam de Filii Dei divinitate inquisitiones eorum superfluas †approbasset, ita prosequitur: «Sic, inquit, etiam de Incarnatione inquirunt: Quomodo, inquiunt, incarnatur Deus? quomodo incorporatur, quomodo componitur ad parvum corpusculum incapabilis? quomodo unitur increatus creato, incircumscriptus circumscripto? aut quomodo in partes magnus ille, et immensus, et individuus? Si autem magnitudo illa in parvo loco contracta est, aut parvum illud factum est magnum, aut pars, et non omnis divinitas carni unita est, quod est impium credere. Et prolapsi sunt ex hoc quod dicunt: Quomodo, et quali modo? et qua sententia et perfidia etiam isti et inhabitionem pro incarnatione opinati (operati) sunt, et pro unitate, et compositione inoperationem humanam, et pro una substantia Domini nostri Jesu Christi, duas subsistentias et duas personas, et pro sancta et ineffabili Trinitate, quaternitatem indecenter dogmatizantes, et impie?»

of David, was made one, in no way subsisting any further by any division, but by unity. But you seem to me on this ground to refuse to confess the composition, so that the Son of God should not be in Him as substance, but as wisdom by participation. For you said this, that wisdom would suffer loss, and therefore could not be compounded; nor do you consider that the divine Wisdom, just as before He emptied Himself He remained undiminished, so also in this emptying which He mercifully undertook He continued undiminished and unchangeable. And you also say this, that Wisdom dwelt in Him as we too dwell in houses, as one in another; but we are not part of the house, nor is the house part of us.» Likewise also the blessed Athanasius, in the little book whose title is That Christ is One, refuting the vanity of the heretics, after he had shown their inquiries about the divinity of the Son of God to be superfluous, continues thus: «So, he says, they also inquire about the Incarnation: How, they say, is God incarnated? how is He embodied, how is the Uncontainable compounded with a small little body? how is the Uncreated united to the created, the Uncircumscribed to the circumscribed? or how [is] that great One, the immeasurable and indivisible, [divided] into parts? But [they say] either that greatness was contracted into a small place, or that small thing was made great, or a part and not the whole divinity was united to flesh, which it is impious to believe. And they have fallen away through this which they say: How, and in what manner? and by what judgement and faithlessness have these too supposed (worked out) an indwelling in place of the incarnation, and in place of the unity and composition a human working, and in place of the one substance of our Lord Jesus Christ two subsistences and two persons, and in place of the holy and ineffable Trinity a quaternity, dogmatizing unbecomingly and impiously?»

7. Rursus beatus Gregorius in sermone de Filio: «Uno autem, inquit, capitulo meo, ut altiora quidem ascribas divinitati, et illi naturae quae passionibus et corpore probatur esse superior: humiliora vero compositio tribuas, qui propter te semetipsum exinanivit, et incarnatus est.» Hinc ergo rectissime credimus, quod plenus et perfectus Deus Verbum, etiam post assumptam carnem nullum augmentum detrimentumque pertulerit, imo unitione sua ineffabilem gloriam contulerit assumptae naturae.

7. Again the blessed Gregory in his sermon on the Son: «In one heading of mine, he says, [I bid you] ascribe the loftier things to the divinity, and to that nature which is shown to be above sufferings and body; but the lowlier things you should attribute to the composite One, Who for your sake emptied Himself and was incarnate.» Hence therefore we most rightly believe that God the Word, full and perfect, even after He had taken flesh, underwent no increase or loss, but rather by His union conferred ineffable glory on the nature assumed.

Cap. IV. Non est facta quaternitas in deitate per Incarnationis mysterium. — 8. Hac de causa Trinitas etiam post incarnationis mysterium Trinitas mansit, quia idem Deus Verbum, etiam cum propria carne unus est ex Trinitate: non quod caro ejus sit de substantia Trinitatis, sed quia caro Dei Verbi est, qui est unus ex Trinitate. Ipse enim omnino, est non alius ascendit in coelum, qui descendit de coelo, Filius hominis qui est in coelo (Joan. III, 13). Quapropter et Deum Verbum passum carne, et crucifixum carne, et sepultum carne secundum beatum Cyrillum profitemur dicentem (Anath. †XIII): «Si quis non confitetur

CHAP. IV. No quaternity was made in the Godhead through the mystery of the Incarnation. — 8. For this reason the Trinity remained a Trinity even after the mystery of the incarnation, because the same God the Word, even with His own flesh, is one of the Trinity: not that His flesh is of the substance of the Trinity, but because it is the flesh of God the Word, Who is one of the Trinity. For it is altogether He Himself, and not another, Who ascended into heaven, Who came down from heaven, the Son of man Who is in heaven (John 3:13). Wherefore we also profess God the Word to have suffered in the flesh, been crucified in the flesh and buried in the flesh, according to the blessed Cyril, who says (Anathematisms, XIII): «If anyone does not confess

Editors' notes and page, col. 445

Footnotes

(a) ‹call not visible in the page foot› · call in col 445

Editi Lov. et Basil., ut alter in altera.

The Louvain and Basel printed editions have "ut alter in altera" (so that the one [is] in the other).

(printed under page 228)

Page

running head: 445 EPISTOLA X... (right part cut off in the image)
marginal letters: A ‹David, unus factus est›; B ‹sitiones eorum superfluas approbasset›; C ‹rationem humanam, et pro una substantia›; D ‹etiam post incarnationis mysterium›
old-edition numerals: 280 after ‹detrimentumque›

PL 65:446

Deum Verbum passum carne, crucifixum carne, et mortem carne gustasse, factumque primogenitum ex mortuis, secundum quod est vita et vivificator tanquam Deus, anathema sit.

that God the Word suffered in the flesh, was crucified in the flesh, and tasted death in the flesh, and was made the firstborn from the dead, inasmuch as He is life and life-giver as God, let him be anathema.

9. Similiter etiam hominem Christum dicimus Verbum, secundum illud beati Joannis: Quod fuit ab initio, quod audivimus, quod vidimus oculis nostris, quod perspeximus, et manus nostrae tractaverunt de Verbo vitae (I Joan. I, 1). Neque enim Verbum secundum deitatis suae naturam tractari potuit manibus humanis, nisi fieret homo. Est etiam procul dubio puer ille quem beata Virgo genuit, quem pannis involvit, quem in praesepio collocavit, quem octavo †in circumcidit, quem Simeon vir justus propriis amplexatus est †gremiis, quem subjectum parentibus evangelistae referunt, quem profecisse aetate et sapientia (Luc. II, †52) protestantur, natura Deus, per quem facta sunt omnia visibilia et invisibilia, unigenitus et primogenitus, in quo omnia constant (Coloss. I, 16, 17), secundum apostolum Paulum. Et hoc ipsum claris vocibus etiam Isaias propheta protestatur dicens: Puer natus est nobis, et filius datus est nobis, cujus potestas in humero ejus, et vocabitur magni consilii Angelus, Admirabilis, Consiliarius, Deus fortis, Dominator, Pater futuri saeculi Princeps pacis (Isa. IX, 6).

9. Likewise also we call the man Christ the Word, according to that saying of blessed John: That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life (1 John 1:1). For the Word could not be handled by human hands according to the nature of His deity unless He became man. Beyond doubt, too, that child whom the blessed Virgin bore, whom she wrapped in swaddling clothes, whom she laid in a manger, whom she circumcised on the eighth [day], whom Simeon, a just man, embraced in his own bosom, whom the evangelists report to have been subject to His parents, whom they testify to have advanced in age and wisdom (Luke 2:52), is God by nature, through Whom all things visible and invisible were made, the Only-begotten and the Firstborn, in Whom all things hold together (Col. 1:16–17), according to the apostle Paul. And this very thing the prophet Isaiah also testifies in clear words, saying: A child is born to us, and a son is given to us, whose power is upon his shoulder, and he shall be called Angel of great counsel, Wonderful, Counsellor, God the mighty, Ruler, Father of the world to come, Prince of peace (Isa. 9:6).

10. Et idcirco acquiescendum illis nullatenus credimus, qui puero illi Deum fortem unitum asserunt, nec Deum fortem ipsum esse puerum credunt, praesertim cum non alterius cujuslibet, sed ejus omnino thronum, qui de Spiritu sancto et Maria Virgine natus est, atque in Jordane a Joanne, ut aquas sanctificaret baptizatus est in saeculum saeculi Psalmista testetur, dicens: Thronus tuus, Deus, in saeculum saeculi, virga aequitatis, virga regni tui; dilexisti justitiam, et odisti iniquitatem; propterea unxit te Deus tuus oleo exsultationis prae participibus tuis (Psal. XLIV, 7, 8). Quomodo autem ungi poterat Deus, cujus thronus est in saeculum saeculi, nisi fieret homo?

10. And therefore we believe that we must in no way yield to those who assert that God the mighty was united to that child, and do not believe that the child himself is God the mighty, especially since the Psalmist testifies that the throne, not of anyone else, but altogether of Him Who was born of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, and was baptized in the Jordan by John that He might sanctify the waters, is for ever and ever, saying: Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever; the sceptre of equity is the sceptre of Thy kingdom; Thou hast loved justice and hated iniquity; therefore Thy God has anointed Thee with the oil of gladness above Thy fellows (Ps. 44:7–8). But how could God be anointed, Whose throne is for ever and ever, unless He became man?

Cap. V. Deus factus est homo, non homo factus est Deus. — 11. Secundum hanc ergo prophetae sententiam, Deus factus est Christus, non autem Christus factus est Deus, sicut dicunt haeretici, qui per provectum non per naturam Christum Deum audent asserere: Deus enim unctus est, quia ipse factus est homo; non enim alter est Deus, alter homo, sed idem Deus, idem homo. Qui enim naturalis est filius Virginis, idem naturalis est Filius Dei. Proterea et duas nativitates Dei Verbi credimus et confitemur, id est, unam ante saecula a Patre (al. in Patre), secundum divinitatem; alteram in novissimis diebus, a Virgine sancta, secundum carnem; exsecrantes eos qui negant secundum carnem Verbi Dei nativitatem, qui etiam refugiunt unius ejusdemque Filii Dei fateri mirabilia et passiones, quod omnis Dei Ecclesia confitetur.

CHAP. V. God was made man, not man made God. — 11. According to this saying of the prophet, then, God was made Christ, but Christ was not made God, as the heretics say, who dare to assert that Christ is God by advancement, not by nature: for God was anointed because He Himself was made man; for God is not one and man another, but the same is God, the same man. For He Who is the natural son of the Virgin is the same Who is the natural Son of God. Therefore we also believe and confess two nativities of God the Word, that is, one before the ages from the Father (another reading: in the Father), according to the divinity; the other in the last days, from the holy Virgin, according to the flesh; execrating those who deny the nativity of the Word of God according to the flesh, who also shun confessing the wonders and the sufferings of one and the same Son of God, as the whole Church of God confesses.

Editors' notes and page, col. 446

Footnotes

(b) ‹in sæculum sæculi› · call in col 446

Locum hunc in excusis mutilum restituimus ope ms. Portarum ab his verbis, in sæculum sæculi, usque ad hæc, Deus in sæculum. In Basil. vero ligetur, sed ejus omnino thronus... sit in sæculum sæculi, virga æquitatis, etc.

This passage, mutilated in the printed copies, we have restored with the help of the Portes manuscript, from the words "in saeculum saeculi" (for ever and ever) as far as "Deus in saeculum" (God, for ever). In the Basel edition, however, it is read [printed "ligetur", for "legitur"]: "sed ejus omnino thronus... sit in saeculum saeculi, virga aequitatis" (but whose throne entirely... be for ever and ever, a sceptre of equity), etc.

(printed under page 228)

Page

running head: [EP]ISTOLA XVI. 446
marginal letters: A ‹Deum Verbum passum carne›; B ‹evangelistae referunt›; C ‹thronum, qui de Spiritu sancto›; D ‹sed idem Deus, idem homo›
old-edition numerals: 281 after ‹alter›

PL 65:447

12. Accipimus autem et quatuor concilia secundum hunc expositionis nostrae sensum: Nicaenum, trecentorum decem et octo episcoporum; Constantinopolitanum, centum et quinquaginta, qui damnaverunt impios Pneumatemachos, nec non etiam Ephesinum primum, cui praefuerunt beatissimi Coelestinus Romanus, et Cyrillus Alexandrinus antistites; et sanctum ac venerabile quod apud Chalcedonem celebratum est.

12. We also accept the four councils according to this sense of our exposition: that of Nicaea, of three hundred and eighteen bishops; that of Constantinople, of a hundred and fifty, who condemned the impious Pneumatomachians; and also the first of Ephesus, over which the most blessed bishops Celestine of Rome and Cyril of Alexandria presided; and the holy and venerable one which was held at Chalcedon.

13. Epistolas quoque beati Leonis amplectimur anathematizantes universos contraria dogmatibus Ecclesiae sentientes, simul et omnia scripta Theodori Mopsuestini, et Nestorii discipuli ejus, omnesque qui illis similia sapiunt cum eodem Nestorio, nec non etiam cuncta scripta duodecim adversantia capitulis beati Cyrilli (quae contra eumdem Nestorium edidit; his adjicientes Eutychen et Dioscorum cum sociis eorum, omnesque quos juste ac regulariter sedes apostolica condemnavit

13. We embrace also the letters of blessed Leo, anathematizing all who think things contrary to the doctrines of the Church, and together with them all the writings of Theodore of Mopsuestia and of Nestorius his disciple, and all who are of like mind with them together with the same Nestorius, and also all writings opposed to the twelve chapters of blessed Cyril (which he published against the same Nestorius); adding to these Eutyches and Dioscorus with their associates, and all whom the apostolic see has justly and canonically condemned.

Cap. VI. Qualis homo creatus; et qualis cum sua posteritate per peccatum effectus. Per peccatum totus homo factus est deterior. Sine gratia non nisi humana cogitantur. Quid sit credere. — 14. Post haec consequens est etiam qualiter de Christi gratia sentiamus, qua nos eruit de potestate Satanae, secundum quod nobis est traditum, vestrae beatitudini declarare: quia etiam in hac parte auctoritas vestra nobis valde est necessaria.

CHAP. VI. What kind of man was created; and what he became, with his posterity, through sin. Through sin the whole man was made worse. Without grace only human things are thought. What it is to believe. — 14. After this it follows that we should also declare to your blessedness how we think of the grace of Christ, by which He rescued us from the power of Satan, according to what has been handed down to us: for in this part too your authority is greatly needed by us.

15. Credimus itaque bonum et sine ulla carnis impugnatione, a Deo creatore omnium, factum Adam, magnaque praeditum libertate, ita ut et bonum facere in propria facultate haberet, et malum, si vellet, posset admittere. Eratque mors et immortalitas in ejus posita quodammodo arbitrii libertate. Capax enim erat utriusque rei, ut si servaret praeceptum, sine experientia mortis fieret immortalis; si vero contemneret, mors continuo subsequeretur. Itaque serpentis astutia depravatus, sponte divinae legis praevaricator effectus est, et ideo secundum quod ei praedictum fuerat, justo Dei judicio mortis poena damnatur, totusque, id est secundum corpus et secundum animam, in deterius commutatus, amissa libertate propria, sub peccati servitio mancipatur.

15. We believe, then, that Adam was made good, and without any assault of the flesh, by God the creator of all things, and endowed with great freedom, so that he had it in his own power to do good, and could, if he wished, commit evil. And death and immortality were placed, in a certain manner, in the freedom of his choice. For he was capable of either thing: if he kept the commandment, he would become immortal without experience of death; but if he despised it, death would follow at once. And so, corrupted by the cunning of the serpent, he of his own will became a transgressor of the divine law, and therefore, as had been foretold him, he is condemned by the just judgement of God to the penalty of death, and, changed wholly for the worse, that is, in body and in soul, having lost his proper freedom, he is delivered over into the servitude of sin.

16. Ex hoc nullus est hominum qui non hujus peccati vinculo nascatur astrictus, praeter eum qui ad hoc vinculum peccati solvendum, novo generationis modo natus est mediator Dei et hominum homo Christus Jesus. Quid enim aliud potuit aut potest nasci ex servo, nisi servus? Neque enim cum esset liber Adam, filios procreavit, sed postquam servus peccati factus est. Ideo sicut omnis homo ab illo est, ita et omnis homo servus peccati per ipsum est. Hinc et Apostolus: Ex uno, inquit, in omnes homines in condemnationem (Rom. V, 18). Et rursus, Per unum hominem peccatum intravit in hunc mundum, et per peccatum mors, et ita in omnes homines mors pertransiit, in quo omnes peccaverunt

16. From this there is no one of men who is not born bound by the chain of this sin, except Him Who, to loose this chain of sin, was born by a new manner of generation, the mediator of God and men, the man Christ Jesus. For what else could or can be born of a slave but a slave? For Adam did not beget sons while he was free, but after he had been made a slave of sin. Therefore, as every man is from him, so also every man is a slave of sin through him. Hence also the Apostle: From one, he says, unto all men unto condemnation (Rom. 5:18). And again, Through one man sin entered into this world, and through sin death, and so death passed into all men, in whom all have sinned

Editors' notes and page, col. 447

Page

running head: 447 S. FULGENTII EPISCOPI ... (right part cut off in the image)
marginal letters: A ‹12. Accipimus autem›; B ‹beati Cyrilli (quae contra›; C ‹in propria facultate haberet›; D ‹tionis modo natus est›
old-edition numerals: 282 after ‹Et rursus,›

PL 65:448

(Ibid., 12.). Falluntur ergo omnimodo qui dicunt mortem solam, non etiam peccatum transiisse in genus humanum, cum Apostolus, et peccatum, et mortem mundo per eum testetur illatam.

(Rom. 5:12). Those therefore are altogether deceived who say that death alone, and not sin also, passed into the human race, since the Apostle testifies that both sin and death were brought into the world through him.

17. Ab hac igitur damnatione et morte nullus omnino liberatur, nisi gratia Redemptoris: qui cum esset Dominus utpote Deus, ut nos a servitute perpetua et potestate diaboli liberaret, atque ad veram libertatem reduceret, factus est servus, accipiens formam servi (Philip. II, 7). Hinc est quod dicit ad Judaeos: Tunc vere liberi eritis, si vos Filius liberaverit (Joan. VIII, 36). Putabant enim se vere liberos, qui humanis occupationis intentione vanissima serviebant. Ut ergo falsa libertas fieret vera libertas, id est, ut humana libertas fieret Christiana libertas, eadem libertas liberatore indiguit, quo posset, per ejus gratiam ab occupationibus humanis aversa, ea cogitare et desiderare quae pertinent ad vitam aeternam.

17. From this condemnation and death, therefore, no one at all is set free except by the grace of the Redeemer: Who, though He was Lord, as being God, became a slave, taking the form of a slave (Phil. 2:7), that He might free us from perpetual slavery and the power of the devil and lead us back to true freedom. Hence it is that He says to the Jews: Then you will be truly free, if the Son sets you free (John 8:36). For they thought themselves truly free, who were enslaved by the most vain striving of human preoccupation. In order, then, that false freedom might become true freedom, that is, that human freedom might become Christian freedom, that same freedom needed a liberator, by whom, turned through His grace from human preoccupations, it might be able to think and desire the things that pertain to eternal life.

18. Sine hac igitur gratia potest quidem cogitare et desiderare humana, non autem potest cogitare, aut velle, desiderare divina, quorum primum est et praecipuum fundamentum, et crepido quodammodo, sive omnium bonorum origo, credere in Dominum gloriae crucifixum (I Cor. II, 8), quod utique non est ex naturalis arbitrii libertate, quia non hoc caro et sanguis, sed Pater coelestis revelat cui voluerit (Matth. XVI, 17), ad veram eum attrahens libertatem, non violenta necessitate, sed infundendo suavitatem per Spiritum sanctum, ut mox credentes dicamus: quia Dominus est Jesus, quod nemo per naturalem arbitrii libertatem potest dicere, nisi in Spiritu sancto (I Cor. XII, 3).

18. Without this grace, therefore, [freedom] can indeed think and desire human things, but it cannot think, or will, or desire divine things, of which the first and chief foundation, and as it were the base, or the origin of all good things, is to believe in the Lord of glory crucified (1 Cor. 2:8); and this certainly is not from the freedom of natural choice, for flesh and blood does not reveal this, but the heavenly Father, to whom He will (Matt. 16:17), drawing him to true freedom, not by violent necessity, but by pouring in sweetness through the Holy Spirit, so that, believing, we at once say that Jesus is Lord, which no one can say through the natural freedom of choice, except in the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 12:3).

19. Frustra ergo garriunt qui dicunt: Meum est velle credere, Dei autem gratiae est adjuvare; cum etiam ipsum credere, quod est consensum praebere veritati, nobis a Deo dari testetur Apostolus dicens: Vobis enim datum est a Christo, solum ut in eum credatis, verum etiam ut pro illo patiamini (Philip. I, 29).

19. Idly therefore do they chatter who say: It is mine to will to believe, but it is God's grace to help; since the Apostle testifies that even believing itself, which is to give assent to the truth, is given to us by God, saying: For to you it has been given by Christ, only that you should believe in Him, but also that you should suffer for Him (Phil. 1:29).

Cap. VII. Deus alios facit credere sua bonitate, alios deserit justo judicio, sed occulto. — 20. Sed dicunt, si nolentes Deus facit ut velint credere, nullus autem est qui naturaliter (ut dicitis) possit credere aut aliquid boni velle quod pertinet ad vitam aeternam, cur ergo non facit omnes velle, cum non sit personarum acceptio apud Deum, praesertim cum de ipso scriptum sit: Qui vult omnes homines salvos fieri et ad agnitionem veritatis venire (I Tim. II, 4)? Aut enim vult, et non potest; aut mentitur Scriptura divina. Quod si horum quodlibet sentire est impium, restat ut non ille excitet voluntatem humanam, sed eam exspectet ab homine, ut aequum sit in volentibus praemium, in nolentibus autem justa damnatio.

CHAP. VII. God makes some believe by His goodness, others He forsakes by a just judgement, but a hidden one. — 20. But they say: If God makes the unwilling will to believe, and there is no one who (as you say) can by nature believe or will any good that pertains to eternal life, why then does He not make all will, since there is no respect of persons with God, especially since it is written of Him: Who wills all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth (1 Tim. 2:4)? For either He wills and cannot; or the divine Scripture lies. But if it is impious to think either of these, it remains that He does not rouse the human will, but waits for it from man, so that there may be a fair reward for the willing, and for the unwilling a just condemnation.

21. Haec si ita sunt, ut haeretici jactitant, comprehensa sunt ab ipsis inscrutabilia et incomprehensibilia Dei judicia. Si enim, ut ipsi volunt, nolentes

21. If these things are so, as the heretics boast, then the inscrutable and incomprehensible judgements of God have been comprehended by them. For if, as they themselves would have it, the unwilling

Editors' notes and page, col. 448

Footnotes

(a) ‹call not visible in the page foot› · call in col 448

Aberant ab editis vera libertas; id est, ut humana libertas fieret; et substituta sunt hæc ex ms.

The words "vera libertas; id est, ut humana libertas fieret" (true freedom; that is, so that human freedom might come to be) were missing from the printed editions, and have been supplied from the manuscript.

(printed under page 229)

(b) ‹possit credere› · call in col 448

Editi, potest credere in Filio Dei; at ms., possit credere, aut velle, absque in Filio Dei.

The printed editions have "potest credere in Filio Dei" (can believe in the Son of God); but the manuscript has "possit credere, aut velle" (could believe, or will), without "in Filio Dei".

(printed under page 229)

Page

running head: [FULGENT]II EPISCOPI RUSPENSIS 448
marginal letters: A ‹(Ibid., 12.). Falluntur ergo›; B ‹eadem libertas liberatore indiguit›; C ‹naturalem arbitrii libertatem›; D ‹acceptio apud Deum, praesertim›
old-edition numerals: (none)

PL 65:449

damnat, salvat autem volentes, nihil est omnino quod quaeratur ulterius. Et, quantum ad ipsos, fallit Scriptura divina, quae incomprehensibilia Dei testatur judicia (Rom. XI, 33). Nos autem incomprehensibilia credentes et demonstrantes judicia Dei, ex una massa perditionis alios salvari dicimus bonitate et gratia Dei, alios justo et occulto judicio derelinqui.

He condemns, but saves the willing, there is nothing at all further to be asked. And, as far as they are concerned, the divine Scripture deceives, which testifies that the judgements of God are incomprehensible (Rom. 11:33). But we, believing and showing the judgements of God to be incomprehensible, say that out of the one mass of perdition some are saved by the goodness and grace of God, others are left by a just and hidden judgement.

22. Alioquin dicant, si possunt hi qui hoc divinae justitiae et bonitati contrarium aestimant, cur is qui omnes homines vult salvos fieri et ad agnitionem veritatis venire, tam multas virtutes fecit in Corozaim et †Bethsaida et nullam harum in Tyro et Sidone facere voluit, ubi si factae fuissent (sicut ipse testatur) forsitan in cinere et cilicio poenitentiam egissent (Matth. XI, 21)? Aut cur in Asia et Bithynia Apostolum vetuit verbum salutis annuntiare (Act. XVI, 6, 7)?

22. Otherwise let those who reckon this contrary to the divine justice and goodness tell us, if they can, why He Who wills all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth did so many mighty works in Chorazin and Bethsaida, and was willing to do none of them in Tyre and Sidon, where, if they had been done (as He Himself testifies), they would perhaps have done penance in ashes and sackcloth (Matt. 11:21)? Or why He forbade the Apostle to proclaim the word of salvation in Asia and Bithynia (Acts 16:6–7)?

23. Quod si ita nequeunt comprehendi, redeant ad se, et invenientes se homines, desinant quaerere cur alios salvet gratuito dono, alios derelinquat justo et occulto judicio, qui potestatem habet ex eadem massa aliud vas facere in honorem, aliud in contumeliam; et clament una nobiscum, imo juxta Apostolum: O altitudo divitiarum sapientiae et scientiae Dei! Quam inscrutabilia sunt judicia ejus, et investigabiles viae ejus! Quis enim cognovit sensum Domini? aut quis consiliarius ejus fuit? aut quis prior dedit illi, et retribuetur ei? quoniam ex ipso, et per ipsum, et in ipso sunt omnia. Ipsi gloria in saecula saeculorum. Amen (Rom. I, 33, 34 et seq.). Manifeste ergo non nobis, sed Apostolo omnino resistit qui dicit: Nisi ego prius voluero, gratia ad me non venit. Quod omnino nihil aliud est dicere, nisi prius dare Deo, ut retribuatur illi.

23. But if they cannot thus be comprehended, let them return to themselves and, finding themselves to be men, cease to ask why He saves some by a free gift and leaves others by a just and hidden judgement, Who has power to make from the same mass one vessel for honour, another for dishonour; and let them cry out together with us, or rather with the Apostle: O the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How inscrutable are His judgements, and His ways unsearchable! For who has known the mind of the Lord? or who has been His counsellor? or who has first given to Him, and it shall be repaid him? for from Him, and through Him, and in Him are all things. To Him be glory for ever and ever. Amen (Rom. 11:33–36). Plainly, then, it is not us but the Apostle that he altogether resists who says: Unless I first will, grace does not come to me. Which is to say nothing else at all than to give first to God, that it may be repaid him.

Cap. VIII. Omnis motus bonae voluntatis ex Deo. — 24. Sed nos sequentes eumdem apostolum omnem bonarum cogitationum originem, consensionemque earum, et voluntatem ex Deo et per Deum, et in Deo dicimus, qui pravas hominum voluntates, et terrenis actibus implicatas, per infusionem et inoperationem intrinsecus sancti Spiritus absolvit et corrigit, sicut scriptum est: Praeparatur voluntas a Domino.

CHAP. VIII. Every movement of good will is from God. — 24. But we, following the same apostle, say that the whole origin of good thoughts, and the consent to them, and the will, are from God and through God and in God, Who, by the inward infusion and working of the Holy Spirit, sets free and corrects the crooked wills of men, entangled in earthly doings, as it is written: The will is prepared by the Lord.

25. Hinc etiam beatus Basilius Caesariensis episcopus, in oratione sacri altaris, quam pene universus frequentat Oriens, inter caetera: «Dona (inquit). Domine, virtutem ac tutamentum: malos quaesumus bonos facito, bonos in bonitate conserva, omnia enim potes, et non est qui contradicat tibi; cum enim volueris salvas, et nullus resistit voluntati tuae.» Ecce quam breviter, quamque districte doctor egregius olim huic controversiae finem posuit, docens per hanc precem, non a seipsis, sed a Deo malos homines bonos fieri; nec sua virtute, sed divinae gratiae adjutorio in ipsa bonitate perseverare.

25. Hence also the blessed Basil, bishop of Caesarea, in the prayer of the holy altar which almost the whole East uses, says among other things: «Grant, O Lord, strength and protection: make the evil good, we beseech Thee, keep the good in goodness; for Thou canst do all things, and there is none who gainsays Thee; for when Thou willest, Thou savest, and no one resists Thy will.» See how briefly and how strictly the excellent teacher long ago put an end to this controversy, teaching through this prayer that evil men are made good not by themselves but by God; and that they persevere in that goodness not by their own strength but by the help of divine grace.

26. Similiter beatus Innocentius apostolicae sedis

26. Likewise the blessed Innocent, [bishop] of the apostolic see,

Editors' notes and page, col. 449

Footnotes

(a) ‹consensionemque earum› · call in col 449

Editi, earum confessionem; sed rectius ms., consensionemque earum.

The printed editions have "earum confessionem" (their confession); but the manuscript more correctly has "consensionemque earum" (and the consent to them).

(printed under page 230)

(b) ‹infusionem et inoperationem› · call in col 449

Sic ms.; at in excusis, et operationem.

So the manuscript; but in the printed copies, "et operationem" (and working).

(printed under page 230)

Page

running head: 449 EPISTOLA X... (right part cut off in the image)
marginal letters: A ‹damnat, salvat autem volentes›; B ‹Apostolum vetuit verbum›; C ‹nobis, sed Apostolo omnino›; D ‹quit). Domine, virtutem›
old-edition numerals: 283 after ‹quod›

PL 65:450

antistes, in epistola (†V. in capit. Coelestin. cap. 5) ad Concilium Milevitanum: «Omnia, inquit, studia et omnia opera ac merita sanctorum ad Dei gloriam laudemque referenda sunt: quia nemo ei aliunde placet, nisi ex eo quod ipse donaverit.» Quod diligentius manifestiusque in epistola sua ad papam Zozimum, replicando, ipsius papae sententiam explicant Africana concilia dicendo: «Illud autem quod in litteris quas ad universas provincias curasti esse mittendas, posuisti, dicens: Nos tamen instinctu Dei (omnia enim bona ad auctorem suum referenda sunt, unde nascuntur) ad fratrum et coepiscoporum nostrorum conscientiam universa retulimus; sic accepimus dictum, ut illos qui contra Dei adjutorium extollunt arbitrii libertatem, districto gladio veritatis velut cursim transiens amputares. Quid enim tam libero fecisti arbitrio, quam quod universa in humilitatis nostrae conscientiam retulisti? et tamen instinctu Dei factum fideliter sapienterque vidisti, veraciter fidenterque dixisti, ideo utique quia praeparatur voluntas a Domino (Prov. VIII, 35; sec. LXX), et ut boni aliquid agant paternis inspirationibus suorum ipse tangit corda filiorum: Quotquot enim Spiritu Dei aguntur, hi filii sunt Dei (Rom. VIII, 54), ut nec nostrum deesse sentiamus arbitrium, et in bonis quibusque voluntatis humanae singulis motibus magis illius praevenire non dubitemus gratiam; quod ita Deus in cordibus hominum atque in ipso libero operetur arbitrio, ut sancta cogitatio, pium consilium, omnisque motus bonae voluntatis ex Deo sit, quia per illum aliquid boni possumus, sine quo nihil possumus.»

bishop, in his letter to the Council of Milevis (see the chapters of Celestine, ch. 5): «All the endeavours, he says, and all the works and merits of the saints are to be referred to the glory and praise of God: for no one pleases Him from any other source than from what He Himself has given.» This the African councils set out more carefully and more plainly in their letter to Pope Zosimus, explaining in reply that pope's own judgement, saying: «But that which you set down in the letter you had sent to all the provinces, saying: Yet we, by the prompting of God (for all good things are to be referred to their author, from whom they spring), have referred everything to the conscience of our brethren and fellow bishops; this saying we took in this sense, that, as if passing swiftly by, you cut off with the drawn sword of truth those who exalt the freedom of choice against the help of God. For what did you do with so free a choice as your referring everything to the conscience of our lowliness? and yet you faithfully and wisely saw, and truly and confidently said, that it was done by the prompting of God, for this reason assuredly, that the will is prepared by the Lord (Prov. 8:35, according to the Septuagint), and He Himself touches the hearts of His sons with fatherly inspirations, that they may do some good: For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God (Rom. 8:14); so that we neither feel our own choice to be lacking, nor doubt that in each and every good movement of the human will His grace rather goes before; for God so works in the hearts of men and in free choice itself that a holy thought, a godly counsel, and every movement of good will is from God, because through Him we can do some good, without Whom we can do nothing.»

27. His congrue beatissimus Coelestinus in epistola (cap. 11) ad Gallos data: «Cum enim, inquit, sanctarum plebium praesules mandata sibi legatione funguntur apud divinam clementiam, humani generis agunt causam, et tota secum Ecclesia congemiscente postulant et precantur ut infidelibus donetur fides, ut idololatrae ab infidelitatis suae liberentur erroribus, ut Judaeis, ablato cordis velamine, lux veritatis appareat, ut haeretici catholicae fidei perceptione resipiscant, ut schismatici spiritum redivivae caritatis accipfant, ut lapsis poenitentiae remedia conferantur, ut denique catechumenis ad regenerationis sacramenta perductis, coelestis misericordiae aula reseretur. Haec autem non perfunctorie neque inaniter a Domino peti rerum ipsarum monstrat effectus, quandoquidem ex omni errorum genere plurimos dignatur attrahere, quos eruens de potestate tenebrarum, transfert in regnum filii caritatis suae, et ex vasis irae facit vasa misericordiae. Quod adeo totum divini operis esse sentitur, ut haec efficienti Deo gratiarum semper actio laudisque confessio pro illuminatione talium vel correctione referatur.» Rursus post pauca: «His ergo (inquit [Coelest, cap. 12]) ecclesiastici regulis et ex divina sumptis auctoritate

27. In agreement with these, the most blessed Celestine, in the letter sent to the Gauls (ch. 11): «For when, he says, the bishops of the holy peoples discharge the embassy entrusted to them before the divine clemency, they plead the cause of the human race, and with the whole Church groaning together with them they ask and pray that faith may be given to unbelievers, that idolaters may be freed from the errors of their unbelief, that to the Jews, the veil of the heart being taken away, the light of truth may appear, that heretics may come to their senses by receiving the catholic faith, that schismatics may receive the spirit of revived charity, that the remedies of penance may be granted to the lapsed, and finally that to catechumens, led to the sacraments of regeneration, the court of heavenly mercy may be opened. And that these things are not asked of the Lord perfunctorily or in vain the outcome of the things themselves shows, since He deigns to draw very many out of every kind of error, and, rescuing them from the power of darkness, transfers them into the kingdom of the Son of His love, and out of vessels of wrath makes vessels of mercy. And this is felt so wholly to be the divine work that thanksgiving and the confession of praise are always rendered to God Who accomplishes it, for the enlightening or the correcting of such.» Again, a little after: «By these ecclesiastical rules, then (he says [Celestine, ch. 12]), and by [the documents] taken from divine authority

Editors' notes and page, col. 450

Footnotes

Editi, ad papam Romanum; ms., ad papam Zozimum.

The printed editions have "ad papam Romanum" (to the Roman pope); the manuscript, "ad papam Zozimum" (to Pope Zosimus).

(printed under page 230)

(d) ‹legatione funguntur› · call in col 450

Editi, fungantur.

The printed editions have "fungantur" (subjunctive: should discharge).

(printed under page 230)

(e) ‹a Domino peti› · call in col 450

Sic ms. et editi, præter Basil., in quo legitur, neque inaniter a Domino peti, sed efficaciter, ipsarum precum monstrat effectus.

So the manuscript and the printed editions, except the Basel, in which is read: "neque inaniter a Domino peti, sed efficaciter, ipsarum precum monstrat effectus" (the effect of the prayers themselves shows that these things are asked of the Lord not in vain but effectually).

(printed under page 230)