Petrus Valerus Diazius, Sententia de quodam loco libri de Mortibus persecutorum

TWO LETTERS OF ÉTIENNE BALUZE, IN WHICH TWO PASSAGES FROM LACTANTIUS'S BOOK ON THE DEATHS OF THE PERSECUTORS ARE EXPLAINED AND ILLUSTRATED.

(Prefixed at the beginning is an observation by a most learned man on the second of these passages.)

The opinion of the most illustrious man Pedro Valero Díaz, counsellor of the king of the Spains in the supreme council of Aragon, concerning a certain corrupt passage of Lactantius.

In the book of Lactantius On the Deaths of the Persecutors, which the learned world has lately seen restored by the zeal and ability of the most illustrious Lord Étienne Baluze, there is a passage corrupt beyond the others, on p. 43, where we see it published thus (col. 269): "Also either those who bought, or those who have obtained by gift, if they have thought anything of our benevolence, let them request the Vicar, so that they too may be provided for through our clemency."

I, however, judge that this passage must be cleansed by three emendations and written in this form: "And then either those who bought, or those who have obtained by gift, if they have desired from our benevolence something in its place, let them request it, so that they too may be provided for through our clemency."

And first, that the word etiam does not suit this part is clear enough, and by a slight division et jam is to be substituted, which means the same as tum, or mox, or postquam, as Plautus said in the last scene of the Truculentus: "Now you go away, after you have the gold." For the mind of the emperors in the edict set forth was this: that the goods should be restored to the Christians without any price as quickly as possible, and that afterwards compensation, as they say later, should be dealt with, if they desired it. In the second place, that putaverint was brought in by an easy error, from the interchange and transposition of the letters o and u. But the sense of the passage stands perfectly by reading optaverint. For in the same constitution it is said further down, "let them hope from our benevolence". And these two verbs of desiring and hoping often occur joined together, and Cicero, in oration 27, to the Quirites, said: "Besides, we have obtained many things desired from the immortal gods."

But our chief observation concerns the word Vicarium, which word Lord Baluze had printed with a capital initial letter, perhaps because he had found it so in the Colbertine manuscript copy, or, as I rather think, added it on his own account, supposing that the dignity of the Vicar is signified in this place, and following the ancient reading and interpretation of Eusebius; which he had seen that both the earlier translator Christopherson and the most recent, and by far the more learned and more accurate, Henri de Valois had expressed in their versions. However, Eusebius erred (if I may say so with his leave) and led others into error, which this passage of Lactantius has uncovered for us. For in this imperial edict, which he transcribed in Latin as it had been drawn up, no mention is made of a governor, a Vicar, or any other judge of the province: rather aliquid vicarium means some thing in exchange, that is, in the stead and place of that which had been restored to the Christians, to be rendered by the emperors; which is proved by the following reasons. For Lactantius had expressly said that this imperial letter was given to the Governor, not to the Vicar; and its whole wording is directed to that same man, to whom the carrying out of the restitution to be made was entrusted: so that it would be plainly absurd for the words of the emperors to be turned towards some other prefect who administered justice in that province.

But now this manner of speaking, aliquid vicarium optare

and postulare, is elegantly used by those writing in Latin. Indeed we also read in Holy Scripture "to render something vicarious", in Leviticus chapter 24, verse 19, where it says: "He who strikes an animal shall render a substitute, that is, life for life"; and further down, at verse 21: "He who strikes a beast of burden shall render another." On this passage Cornelius a Lapide, to pass over the other sacred commentators, interprets it as a living animal in place of the animal killed by him. Lorinus, for his part, says: "A vicarious animal means another one, which may take the place of the one struck or killed." And then he adds: "Only in this place do I find the translator using the noun vicarius."

To the most illustrious and most learned Pedro Valero Díaz, royal counsellor, Étienne Baluze of Tulle.

From the letter you wrote last year to the abbot chamberlain, a man illustrious and of well-known name, I learned that you are well, most illustrious lord, and that you make mention of me, a mention neither unwelcome nor unprofitable; for you not only speak of me and my studies in a friendly and honourable way, but also point out what seems to you to need emending in a certain constitution of Constantine the Great which stands in Lactantius's book On the Deaths of the Persecutors. I embrace both with the reverence and the witness of a grateful mind that I owe you, most learned sir; and so I thought it my duty to send you this letter, both to thank you for this kindly disposition of yours towards me, and to use the occasion to enjoy the friendship of a man whom he with whom I spent the better part of my life, a man of immortal memory, Pierre de Marca, archbishop of Paris, esteemed most highly, and was wont to compare with Antonio Agustín. I call you back, as you see, to the rocks of Brescou, most illustrious sir, where your dealings with that great man began; and since he was later taken up into heaven, you have been bereft of a great friend, and I of the best of patrons.

I come now to the passage of Lactantius whose emendation you have attempted. That it is obscure and mutilated is clear enough, owing, plainly, to the loss of a single word; once that is supplied, no difficulty, as I at least judge, will remain. What that word is, Lactantius's own words indicate well enough, but Eusebius's Greek version more clearly; from it we gather that the word poscendum, or some similar one, must be added in this place, and that we should read thus: "Also either those who bought, or those who have obtained by gift, if they have thought that something should be asked of our benevolence, let them petition the Vicar, so that they too may be provided for through our clemency." This restoration is confirmed by the words of the first law of the Theodosian Code, On the Office of the Governor of a Province: "If in civil cases they have thought that anything should be asked." You, however, most learned sir, judge that it should be read and punctuated thus: "And then either those who bought, or those who have obtained by gift, if they have desired from our benevolence something in its place, let them request it, so that they too may be provided for through our clemency." And your conjecture is indeed worthy of a learned and erudite man, and has a great likeness to the truth. For the ancients elegantly spoke of vicarious labour, vicarious hands, vicarious love, vicarious punishment, vicarious death, and other things of the kind. Yet that opinion of yours, if